Read on Twitter
1. Archives. In a recent thread a series of tweets indicated there was interest in opening a conversation. Let’s begin with museums. Most researchers started with museums and their exhibits - a good place to start on the anniversary of the Bulge. #battleofthebulge https://twitter.com/bloodphilip/status/1336384306315456517
2. Museums - as archives and centres of research. In 2017 Ben Nock advised on the practicalities of a large radio wireless system, in a dense forest area, during pacification operations. Ben’s expertise explained the performance and benefits.
https://www.qsl.net/g4bxd/
https://www.qsl.net/g4bxd/
3. Museums are not easy. Some are cramped spaces - no facilities. Staff can appear intimidated while students assume all staff are knowledgable. Some museums have found a balance, but others still struggle. Researchers complain but rarely listen. Here’s a timeline:
4. Aberdeen Proving Grounds - USA - 1985-2006 - @USAGAPG The first trip was like entering a tank-scape. The museum advisors were friendly, but I really wasn’t prepared for the amount of German equipment or their layout. The exhibit area provided a sense of scale.
5. Aberdeen - second visit 1992 involved engagement with advisors and raising technical questions. The language and culture of armoured forces is more than tanks in battle. Thoughts about Hitler’s fire brigade began to raise questions not answered in the literature.
6. Aberdeen - 3rd visit linked to PhD research of Nazi security doctrine. Discuss German artillery in Bandenbekämpfung ops. This part of the collection is extensive and the advisors were aware of weapons performances especially rail guns.
7. Technik Museum - Sinsheim @museumtechnik - Germany. Researching in Freiburg military archive, a drive to this museum was relatively easy. Contrasting scales of equipment and the styles of uniforms added an image context to long hours reading combat reports.
8. The Tank Museum - @TankMuseum - 1976-1997. Pictures from 1976 do not flatter the collection. Visiting as hobbyists in the 70s was not like today. Few staff, little interest in advising. Even in 1994 the collection was still cramped.
9. The Tank Museum - 2014, space and preservation changes made a difference. Conducting research with the museum is in parallel with Aberdeen. It proves that an education driven theme can work and maintain public interest.
10. France - Musee des Blindes - Saumur - 1994. Visited while leading a D-Day 50 battlefield tour. Exhibits were displayed by nation. This created a sense of wartime development. Sadly, circumstances meant I have not been able to return.
11. Poland, Muzeum Wojska Polskiego - Polish Army Museum Warsaw - @MuzeumWP. The first trip in the 1990s, many exhibits had rusted. With research set in Poland/Belarus, visits to the museum continued - importance of preservation and restoration. An important research source.
12. Working, in archives-museums - the odd hidden benefits: IWM (London 1995), Carlisle (Penn. USA - 2006), Brussels Army Museum (2010), Normandy (1994).
13. Pleasure - holidays and vacations - sneaking into a museum for a break from the cuisine or shopping runs: Dieppe, Pas de Calais, Normandy (Calvados) and the Ardennes (the Malmedy cheese run). Keeps the research pot boiling.
14. Museums indirectly encourage research and fuel interest. Public museums often misunderstand their part in the education process. The future will be about saving exhibits, but museums might find offering greater research access will have longer term benefits.
@threadreaderapp unroll
