Eastern European museums represent traumatic events of World War II,
such as the Siege of Leningrad, the Warsaw Uprisings, and the
Bombardment of Dresden, in ways that depict the enemy in particular
ways. This image results from the interweaving of historical
representations, cultural stereotypes and beliefs, political discourses,
and the dynamics of exhibition narratives. This book presents a useful
methodology for examining museum images and provides a critical analysis
of the role historical museums play in the contemporary world. As the
catastrophes of World War II still exert an enormous influence on the
national identities of Russians, Poles, and Germans, museum exhibits can
thus play an important role in this process.