Introduction

War and ‘museum front’ in a digital era: The Ukrainian War Museum during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

“…The existing literature on the wartime function of museums, mainly limited to the wars of the 20th century, clearly shows that the activities of museums during armed conflict could encourage ‘emotional, physical, and financial commitment’ (Wellington, 2019: 740) to the war across the war societies involved. Many museums were drawn into the war effort during the Second World War, ‘useful for inculcating values, improving morale, and encouraging the vision of a certain post-war future’ (Hill, 2021: 6; Pearson and Keene, 2017).…”

“…As noted by Hill (2021: 6), ‘By the Second World War, though, and at least across Europe, museums’ relationship with war propaganda became more difficult.’ In the post-war Western world, museums, including war museums, avoid creating narratives that support war and create antagonisms between states and societies living peacefully within the Euro-Atlantic community (Duffy, 2022). At the same time, as shown by the examples of contemporary museums operating in societies that are experiencing or have recently experienced an armed conflict, these institutions remain an essential space for legitimizing war and mobilizing for the war effort (Bounia and Stylianou-Lambert, 2013; Mendel and Steinberg, 2011).…”

“…This applies in particular to cases in which war museums operate in the conditions of an ongoing armed conflict. The existing literature on the subject mainly concerns the total wars of the 20th century (Hill, 2021;Pearson and Keene, 2017). Although individual studies focus on more contemporary contexts (Bounia and Stylianou-Lambert, 2013;Mendel and Steinberg, 2011), they do not address the weaponization of online media, which is crucial in contemporary warfare.…”

“…These institutions can be sites where moral questions about sacrifice, courage, heroism, nationhood and peace are raised. Nevertheless, they can also perpetuate nationalist, exclusionary narratives and legitimize violent conflicts (Hill, 2021; Winter, 2012). That is why their careful and critical examination, considering the contemporary digital transformation, is so important.…”

“… 2. While ‘there is no clear way of defining museums which interpret and display war’ (Hill, 2021: 7), we can distinguish between military museums that focus on military history and war museums that interpret war in a broader social and cultural context. For more about the history of creating war and military museums and their changing function, see Raths (2014), Hill (2021). …”