An exhibition entitled "Dubrovnik and World War II: Places of Remembrance" has opened in the Red History Museum.

The director of the Museum, Krešimir Glavinić, and historian, author of the text and curator Ivan Lujo, spoke at the opening. Both are signatories of the concept, and together with Kristina Mirošević, they prepared the visual display. The graphic design was done by the Creative Agency Bonsenjo, the translation was made by Katarina Bijelić Beti, proofreading by Ivana Obradović, and the author of the photographs is Hrvoje Margaretić.

"Over the four years of World War II, more stories and myths have been told and written, more dogmas accepted and contested, more questions raised and answers given than about any other four years in Croatian history. These are the years in which the old political, economic, and social order was destroyed, and a new one created. Years that were celebrated, years that were despised, years that society remembered willingly or unwillingly. The collective memory of individuals, groups, and events from that time is, and still is, visible through the names of streets, squares, entire neighbourhoods, organizations, and companies. Materialized memory in the form of tens of thousands of memorial plaques, sculptures, monumental architecture, or memorial graves has spread throughout the Yugoslav region, including the city of Dubrovnik,” stated the organisers.

Adding that “With this exhibition, 80 years later, we remember those difficult years and the people who lived through them. We remember those who lost their lives as soldiers or civilians during those years. We recall the places of remembrance that the citizens of Dubrovnik chose to mark or forget for various reasons. The displayed photographs show their condition at the beginning of the summer of 2024, while the archival material was taken from the monograph Dubrovnik - Monuments of the Revolution from 1987, by Ivo Dabelić and Mišo Đuraš, published by the Department of Socialist Revolution of the Dubrovnik Museum. Through their duality, we remember that society's relationship to past events can change, and lasting memory can turn into silent oblivion. Finally, we are reminded once again of the words of the greatest Dubrovnik playwright Marin Držić that every war, especially a world war, is a “destruction of human nature.”

The production of the exhibition is financially supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media, the City of Dubrovnik, the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, and the Croatian Tourist Board.