The Great War from the Periphery
Representing and Remembering the First World War in Swedish and Chilean War Museums
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21838271 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stefan Aguirre Quiroga (0000-0001-6305-8048, University of Gothenburg, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 297-313 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | First World War Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1947-5020 • E-ISSN: 1947-5039 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/19475020.2025.2545267 |
| OpenAlex | W4413190613 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 24 |
Scholarship on the representation of the First World War in war museums in countries who fought during the war has grown exponentially in the last three decades. Less attention has been given to how the war is represented in countries who were not involved in the conflict. This article examines the museal representation of the First World War through a comparative analysis of exhibits in war museums in two countries that maintained their neutrality during the war: Sweden and Chile. Whose memory is present in these exhibits? This article concludes that war museums in Sweden and Chile present diverging but reductive representations of the war, drawing on old memory tropes and clichés. The Swedish display of the First World War is critical and encourages self-reflection about the nature of war, following a European cosmopolitan memory. The Chilean display is influenced by an internationalisation of European war memory, facilitating the visitor’s emotional distance to the war. No explanation for the country’s choice to stay neutral in the conflict is provided by either museum although each country’s experience of the war is explored
Ancient history · Archaeology · Economic history · First world war · Political science · Spanish Civil War · World War II · History · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Museums and Cultural Heritage · Visual Culture and Art Theory
Curatorial Omissions in Virtual War Museum Displays
A History of Chile, 1808–2002
Museums and the Representation of War
From technical showroom to full-fledged museum
War in the Museum
Emotions and critical thinking at a dark heritage site
The multiple roles of battlefield war museums
The Politics of Nationalism in Recently Built Turkish Museums
Museum as Memorial
The edutainment scan
War museums as agonistic spaces
Objects and the Representation of War in Military Museums
The sacred memory regime and museum exhibitions during the centenary of the First World War in Russia
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |