Dealing with Personal Belief in Vietnam’s Museums

During the first week of the field school, we have visited seven museums and historical sites around Hanoi, each addressing different aspects of the history and peoples of Vietnam. At each of these museums, we discussed the representation of major traumatic events from Vietnam’s history – French colonization, the revolution, the American War and the subsidy economy period. These events have taken up the majority of the exhibition space we have visited, but are represented in very different ways, with very different stories and voices. These different approaches have the ability to help survivors, and Vietnam as a whole, deal with these traumas.

On day one, we visited the Women’s Museum. Through telling personal stories of women who were involved in the American War, this Museum allowed people to consider their own stories, and reflect on the personal sacrifices of those who were directly involved. For example, the Museum includes stories of women who died or underwent decades of imprisonment for following their own personal beliefs. These stories allow everyone, including those who were not directly involved in the War, to reflect on the sacrifices that people have made for their beliefs, and to consider whether they themselves have any beliefs for which they would make such sacrifices. This in turn supports reflection on the beliefs that motivated people during the War, allowing visitors to come to terms with why people acted in the ways they did. 

Conversely, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the Military History Museum focused on much higher-level narratives. At this Museum, we learnt about the weaponry used, how the rest of the world felt about the American War, and the military tactics used within key battles of both the revolution and the War. However, none of this material gave me a chance to reflect on why the revolution or the War occurred, what the impacts on those living through them were, and what the lasting ramifications are for all the people of Vietnam, including those who fought on both sides of these wars, bystanders, and those who have been born since. While able to appreciate the achievements of the Vietnamese military tacticians, I could not properly relate to the events, as I had no more human reference point to which I could connect. Having never experienced a war first hand, I found it very hard within this Museum to reflect on what these experiences must have been like for those experiencing them. Where they cold, scared, hungry? What gave them the motivation to go on? Why were they willing to make such sacrifices, or merely stand by?

Progressively, these questions may be asked by more and more visitors, as those with personal experiences of these times pass on. Without an understanding of these more human factors, it is very hard to understand the whole picture, and to truly appreciate the sacrifices that have been made by those in the past that allow us to lead the lives we now have. As generations change, it will be increasingly important to provide this understanding through museums, as it becomes one of the few bastions to which people can turn.