The history of humanity has been punctuated by periods of bloody warfare. Far from forgetting the long shadow that war casts, however, military museums around the world aim to preserve, share and examine the history of conflicts, from the American Civil War to the World Wars.
These institutions, such as London’s Imperial War Museum and the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, offer a fascinating – if sombre – insight into the lives of those who have been caught in the crossfire of conflict.
From collections of bullet-scarred fighter planes, sunken warships retrieved from the ocean and suits of armour dating back as far as the Middle Ages, these 10 war museums from around the world explore the long and bloody history of conflict.
1. Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow
The Museum of the Great Patriotic War (as Russians call World War Two) is located at Poklonnaya Gora (Victory Park) in west-central Moscow, and also makes up an important part of the memorial complex in the same area. It was inaugurated in 1995 on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
