The War Museum of Thessaloniki ( el, Πολεμικό Μουσείο Θεσσαλονίκης ''Polemiko Mousio Thessalonikis'') is a military museum in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Thessaloniki War Museum opened in October 2000. It is housed in a building designed by architect

Vitaliano Poselli Vitaliano Poselli (1838–1918) was an Italian architect from Sicily, mostly known for his work in the city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece. Life He was born in Castiglione di Sicilia in 1838, and studied in Rome. In 1867, the Catholic Church ...

and erected between 1900 and 1902. The museum's mission is to help preserve military historical memory and heritage in

Northern Greece Northern Greece ( el, Βόρεια Ελλάδα, Voreia Ellada) is used to refer to the northern parts of Greece, and can have various definitions. Administrative regions of Greece Administrative term The term "Northern Greece" is widely used ...

. The permanent collections show events which were a watershed in

Modern Greek history The history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition by the Great Powers — Britain, France and Russia — of its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1828 to the present day. Background The Byzantine Empire had ...

from the turn of the 20th century to the liberation of Greece from German forces at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They include photographs of the era, Hellenic army, air force and navy uniforms, weapons of the army, replicas of artillery and ships, works of art, stone engravings, maps, paintings, postcards, and similar items from the armies of other

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

countries. These exhibits give insight to the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Asia Minor Campaign, the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...

, the Battle of the Forts in eastern Macedonia, the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...

, the

Occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

and the

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

, the part played by Greek forces in Allied action in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, as well as the liberation from the forces of occupation. In addition to exhibition spaces, the War Museum has an amphitheatre, a multi-purpose hall, a library of writings on history and war, and a giftshop.

Gallery

File:Macedonian Museums-99-Polemiko Thessalonikhs-450.jpg, Interior File:Adrian hellene 01198.JPG, WWI

Adrian helmet The Adrian helmet (french: Casque Adrian) was an influential design of combat helmet originally produced for the French Army during World War I. Its original version, the M15, was the first standard helmet of the French Army and was designed whe ...

of Greek army File:Adrian Serbe 01166.JPG, Adrian helmet (Serbian army) File:Redempteur chevalier croix or et argent 743.jpg, Decorations of the

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...

, from the museum's orders collection File:Macedonian_Museums-99-Polemiko_Thessalonikhs-447.jpg, Artifacts from the collection of Nikolaos Nikoltsos File:Macedonian_Museums-99-Polemiko_Thessalonikhs-448.jpg, Artifacts from the collection of Vasilios Nikoltsos File:Uniformes WWII 00839.JPG, Uniforms of WWII File:M8 01375.JPG, Preserved tank File:M60 1380.JPG, Preserved tank File:Thessaloniki 6 inch 30 cwt Howitzer (Left).jpg, BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer File:Πυροβόλο Skoda στο ΠΜΘ 1.jpg, Skoda artillery gun File:Bofors 40 1371.JPG, Artillery gun File:War Museum of Thessaloniki exhibits.jpg, Uniforms of WWII with the

Greek M1934/39 helmet The M1934/39 helmet was the primary combat helmet used by the Greek Armed Forces during the Second World War. Greece purchased these helmets from Italy prior to the conflict as a replacement for their World War I-era Adrian helmets and refitted ...

File:Greek Flag - 1912 Thessaloniki - War Museum of Thessaloniki by Joy of Museums.jpg, Greek flag of 1912

References

External links

Museums of Macedonia, Greece — War Museum
Military and war museums in Greece Museums in Thessaloniki Museums established in 2000 2000 establishments in Greece World War II museums in Greece {{Greece-museum-stub