Military(War) Museums Thesis

[prada]

Hello everyone!!

I am new in here, and really excited! I am having my thesis in military (war) museums!

I was wondering if you can give me information about war museums such as:
Why a war museums should exist?
What aspect of history do they say?
Are they kind of "nationalistic"?
Do they show the "black pages" in a country's history, or not?
.
.
.
.or any other information concerning Military museums history!!!

Hope to hear from you!

thanx in advance!!!

[Bombardier]

Hi prada nice to have you on board.

In answer to your questions I reply as follows

War museums should exist for a number of reasons, the technological developments that war created, the historical interest, the personal interest (war has touched families/people throughout history).
Are they nationalistic? well yes and no I mean they do allow us to be proud of our nations achievement but they also show us the equipment etc that our once enemies used against us. Museums are a lot of things to a lot of people and should be encouraged.

in answer to your last question may I quote this statement which you can see at the top of every forum page.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to relive it." Georges Santayana, The Last Puritan.

So the answer is yes they do how the black pages of our countries history and so they should .

:mrgreen:

Good question and im sure you will get more opinions on this from other members

[prada]

Hello Bombardier!! Thank you for your answer!

Well here is my point!:

Are they nationalistic? well yes and no I mean they do allow us to be proud of our nations achievement but they also show us the equipment etc that our once enemies used against us. Museums are a lot of things to a lot of people and should be encouraged.



I mean they only show us our nations achievements! I am sure that when involved in a war both sides do "bad" things and they kill each other! In a museum you can see somthing like that : "They(the enemies) killed eg 10 people of us"! They dont say how many people we killed!
In that way the show only the one aspect of the history! I only saw that in "Hitlers Museums" , where they say it all!

Do war museums give one-sided-information? Do they try to make us proud of our ancestors only??

As far as the equipment is concerned i totally agree with you! We can see the technology which has been used!

:)

[Zofo]

Basically agree with Bomber here but there are of course museums that show the "black pages" of history - Auschwitz and the Nazi death camps are a good example as "living" museums. Black propaganda museums exist; read the Vietnam threads esp. posted by 'Frisco - they too have their purposes.
The Central Army Museum in Moscow holds a display of hundreds of Nazi standards which were ceremonially carried into Red Square in front of Stalin and dumped in a huge pile. Some standards remain in the museum, along with a stone Nazi eagle taken from perhaps the Reichstag. These museum exhibits glorify the defeat of a truly "evil empire".
Sure, museums show the potential for destruction but as they are only the tools then blame, if there is, should not lie with them.
Hope some of that helps!

[tam]

I believe that museums hold capsules of times past and Military museums do the same thing. It is only by having these collections that the children and generations of the future will learn by the mistakes made in the past. Being able to read about it is fine but the visual aspect I believe puts it across much more powerfully. Yes there were atrocities carried out by all sides and as the events in the news today show it is not being tolerated.
Hope this helps. Regards Tam.

[prada]

Well, yes! Having a Military Museum , helps us remember a war for exapmle which took place!

I am asking if we are satisfied with what war museums show to us, and how they present the history to us! Do they show only the "good" things?
Most of them yes!

What we expect from a war museum???

[tam]

As most Military Museums are run by or for a particular Regiment or Corps you are bound to get a tainted picture leaning towards their battle honours and victories.. No one wants to see or be seen as the losers in any conflict, it certainly is not good for moral or the credentials of the Regts/Corps.

By good things do you mean the Daring deeds and bravery of the men ?
Then my answer would be yes.

Expectations of war museums?
I don't think that anyone enters with any thoughts or visions of the horrors that are war. Such places would be deemed to be ghoulish. As opposed to the likes of Bergen/Belsen and Auschwitz which have to be there for all to see man's inhumanity to fellow man.

[Bombardier]

Well said tam :mrgreen:

Prada, museums are a place of learning also, and by that i mean we learn about the individual exhibits for example if I went to a tank museum i would want to see the tanks, not what the tank has done to another human being. We all know what tanks do to other people.
I want to know how that tank helped to win a battle or how it failed to win a battle. Who designed it and who provided the technology to build it.

War is and always will be a terrible thing, when the talking is done and hasnt achieved anything we as humans have always resorted to conflict. Im not saying thats right, its just the way it is. (for now anyway).

Most war museums I have been to do show some of the horrors of war for example the Imperial war museum in London and Manchester display photos and videos of the bomb damage caused to both sides during WW2, which is fine but too much of it can stop people going back to the museum for more.

People do not want reminding too much of how violent we as humans can be.

this is proving to be a very good discussion prada, thanks for the lead. :mrgreen:

[prada]

Most war museums I have been to do show some of the horrors of war for example the Imperial war museum in London and Manchester display photos and videos of the bomb damage caused to both sides during WW2, which is fine but too much of it can stop people going back to the museum for more.
People do not want reminding too much of how violent we as humans can be.

this is proving to be a very good discussion prada, thanks for the lead. :mrgreen:

But thats war! I go to a War Museum to see how is a war! I want to see all the bad things, the kills, the cry, the smoke, all the negative things war causes! In that way we "fight" more for peace!

I personally think that , its ok seeing the technology used in a tank or whatever, but there are Technology Museums for that cause!

By the way,
I dont know what happens in other countries, but here in Greece War Museums are under the principle of The Ministry of National Defence, and not of Ministry of Culture! What do you think about that? I am against...
You :?:

[Drone_pilot]

the strange thing is that the Imperial war museum is the old Bedlam mental hospital

Bedlam (http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/MOLsite/exhibits/bedlam/b_ward.htm)

which sums war up to a "T" =Madness.

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
--Albert Einstein

[tam]

Prada, for more info try this site.

http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/

[prada]

Prada, for more info try this site.

http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/

Thank You tam! I already have this in mind...

I was wondering if its possible to provide some information about the birth of War Museums, or if someone knows where i can find such information... :D

[tam]

Try this one, they also have an e-mail address.

http://www.warmuseums.nl/index.html

[prada]

Try this one, they also have an e-mail address.

http://www.warmuseums.nl/index.html

Thank you!

Theres just a list of War Museums!

Thanx anyway.... :D