Does War Belong in Museums?

Presentations of war and violence in museums generally oscillate between the fascination of terror and its instruments and the didactic urge to explain violence and, by analysing it, make it easier to handle and prevent. The museums concerned also have to face up to these basic issues about the social and institutional handling of war and violence. Does war really belong in museums? And if it does, what objectives and means are involved? Can museums avoid trivializing and aestheticising war, transforming violence, injury, death and trauma into tourist sights? What images of shock or identification does one generate - and what images would be desirable?

Wolfgang Muchitsch studied History and English in Graz and Oxford. After graduation, he worked as a university lecturer and project leader in Britain, Northern Ireland and Austria. From 1992 to 1995 he worked for the Department for Planning and Organisation Development of the University of Graz. From 1995 onwards he was responsible for art management in the office of the First Deputy Governor of Styria. He has been the scientific manager of the Universalmuseum Joanneum GmbH since January 2003.