The Military History Museum in Dresden: Between Forum and Temple Author(s): Cristian Cercel Source: History and Memory, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2018), pp. 3-39 Published by: Indiana University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/histmemo.30.1.02 Accessed: 19-06-2018 08:16 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms Indiana University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to History and Memory This content downloaded from 78.48.172.3 on Tue, 19 Jun 2018 08:16:18 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms The Military History Museum in Dresden Between Forum and Temple CRISTIAN CERCEL This article analyzes the Military History Museum (MHM) in Dresden against the backdrop of recent theoretical elaborations on agonistic memory, as opposed to the cosmopolitan and antagonistic modes of remembering. It argues that the MHM attempts to combine two functions of the museum: the museum as forum and the museum as temple. By examining the concept underpinning the reor- ganization of the permanent exhibition of the MHM, and by bringing examples from both the permanent and temporary exhibitions, the article shows that the discourse of the MHM presents some relevant compatibilities with the principles of agonistic memory, yet does not embrace agonism to the full.