Viewing museum objects through a Cold War Lens – eye-opening possibilities

Abstract

• In museums, Cold War history is often hidden in plain sight. Objects are silently relevant. Timelines skip across well-known dates of the postwar period. Maps steer visitors’ eyes towards ‘hotspots’. Thematic exhibitions shake up narrative. Omission is the natural by-product of curatorial focus. Coupled with the false but detrimental view by visitors themselves that they know very little about the Cold War, the camouflaged character of this historical topic is both a museological challenge and an opportunity.