EXHIBITION 1918 as turning point in Croatia
Croatian History MuseumNovember 2018 - September 2019
Museographic treatment and presentation of year 1918 in Croatia is the topic of a historical exhibition, which the Croatian History Museum will present to the public on the eve of the centenary of the end of World War I.
The year 1918 was undoubtedly a turning point in the historical development of the Croatian people. In the last year of the Great War, Croatian political structures were making decisions with far reaching consequences. With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the Croatian countries, administratively divided within the Austrian and Hungarian part of the Monarchy, joined at the end of 1918 the new Yugoslav community through a series of war and political circumstances. In doing so, Croatia went from the central European cultural and civilisation circle to the Balkan geopolitical area.
The aim of the exhibition is to provide an overview and insight into the political and social circumstances in the Croatian countries in 1918 through selected museum items, archive material, newspaper articles, memoirs and diaries, based on relevant professional literature and recent historiographic research.
The concept of the exhibition will be based on a presentation of key events and occurrences during 1918, with a review of immediately preceding and following events, with the intent for those to be told from the perspective of prominent participants and also through the fate of "unknown" individuals. From the historical standpoint, the year was marked by an emphasis on the political activity of groups and parties at home and abroad in tackling the issue of the future of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy South Slavic peoples.
The exhibition will present relevant museum, archive and library holdings for the period in question, a total of 200 items. The exhibition will be accompanied by bilingual texts and a catalogue in Croatian and English language.
The author of the exhibition is Andreja Smetko, senior curator of the Croatian History Museum.
