War in European Museum Narratives and Cultural Memory

Abstract

The article examines how the war narrative is displayed in modern European museum exhibitions, particularly in light of new museology and cultural memory trends in Germany and Poland. The study recognises that the contested nature of cultural and historical contexts influences the process of representing cultural memory in museum narratives. It combines the theoretical approach of museology with specific museum practices. Using case studies from the Bundeswehr Museum of Military History, Dresden, Germany; the Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation, Berlin, Germany; and the Museum of the Second World War, Gdansk, Poland, the author examines the impact of challenging issues centred on cultural memory of the war in museum exhibitions over recent decades. The study underlines the significance of innovative approaches to museum exhibitions that display the experience of war and contribute to social dialogue and sustainability.