Military Museums in Postcolonial Countries: Vytautas the Great War Museum in Kaunas and the Army Museum in Lahore

Type:

Book Chapter

Author:

Agnieszka Nowakowska; Umber Bin Ibad

Published:

2025

This chapter critically analyses and compares the role of military museums in postcolonial Lithuania and Pakistan.Drawn from close readings of the exhibition content at the Vytautas the Great War Museum in Kaunas and the Army Museum Lahore in Pakistan, the chapter discusses how the museums use exhibitions to generate memories of their national past.Both military museums exhibit memories embedded in the colonial legacy, providing the limitations of the national narrative.Since the emphasis on the sacrifices of the heroes or martyrs, on the one hand, and construction of an enemy, on the other, are the cornerstones, both museums generate an antagonistic memory mode for the national narrative.Despite being established in two different continents and traditions, both museums struggle to exhibit a cosmopolitan memory mode and constantly engage with the fear of losing their respective nation's sovereignty.The chapter contends that without the disappearance of the constant threat, military museums will shy away from acknowledging the suffering and humanity of the victims and struggle to give equal voice to victims, perpetrators and bystanders.

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