Open Access“Ghosts in the background” and “The price of the war”. Representations of the Lapland War in Finnish museums
Author(s) -
Suzie Thomas,
Eerika Koskinen-Koivisto
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
nordisk museologi
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2002-0503
pISSN - 1103-8152
DOI - 10.5617/nm.4411
Subject(s) - exhibition , privilege (computing) , narrative , context (archaeology) , subject matter , history , visual arts , museology , subject (documents) , media studies , sociology , political science , art , archaeology , literature , law , library science , curriculum , computer science
Museums decide which events and perspectives to privilege over others in their exhibitions. In the context of “difficult” or “dark” histories – in which the subject matter might be painful, controversial or in some other way challenging for one or more community or interest groups to reconcile with – some events may be marginalized or ignored. This may also happen due to official narratives diverting attention to other events that have come to be seen as more “important” or worthy of discussion. We explore the ways that information about the Lapland War (1944–1945) is incorporated into permanent exhibitions at five Finnish museums: the Provincial Museum of Lapland; Siida – the National Museum of the Finnish Sámi; the Gold Prospector Museum; the Military Museum of Finland; and the Finnish Airforce Museum. Despite the significant social and environmental upheavals brought about by the brief but destructive conflict, it seems surprisingly rarely addressed.