In 1941 the Novgorod museums planned to continue the work they had been doing in the past few years. It included the restoration of monuments, archaeological excavations, and publishing activities. New exhibitions opened. Particular attention was paid to the recent history of the country. All this ended after the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. The retreat of the Red Army units from the western border and the bombing of Novgorod demanded the most urgent evacuation of the population, enterprises and all museum valuables. Exhibits of the Novgorod museums were eloigned in four turns. On June 30, 1941, the city authorities gave the order to start the evacuation of museum valuables. But it concerned only unique items made of precious metals: ancient gold and silver items from Novgorod cathedrals and monasteries as well as precious jewelry pieces. Novgorod was occupied by the Nazis and their allies. Museum workers managed to evacuate only a part of the exhibits to the Soviet rear and, thus, save them from destruction. This was due to the commitment of the Novgorod museum workers: B. K. Manteuifel, N. G. Porfiridova, P. A. Kryzhanovskaya, T. N. Konstantinova, and L. A. Konovalova. On February 4, 1942, by the order of the People’s Commissar for Education of the RSFSR they all were awarded a commendation “For the exemplary work on the evacuation of museum property”.
