PHILOSOPHY OF EUROPEAN MILITARY

MUSEUMS

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museum director who ranks as one of the leading military his

torians in Europe.

The arsenal type museums have the most restricted objec

tives. They exist primarily for one purpose to display weapons
and armor. They may also exhibit some uniforms, insignia, and
medals, but these are secondary to the weapons themselves. No
effort is usually made to commemorate military heroes, but this
may occur if the museum acquires a personal collection of a leading
military figure and displays it as a unit. The arsenal museums
often have an intensive research program related to their collec
tions. These studies tend to be specialized treatises on the weapons
themselves or closely related subjects. Such museums are also a
haven for the specialist, for the collections

are often sufficiently

extensive to enable an individual to develop a high level of ex

pertise through concentrated study. The appeal of such museums
to the public tends to be limited, and considerable ingenuity in
display techniques is required if large quantities of arms are to be
displayed attractively, without boring the average viewer. However,
a good collection of armor is an exception to this. Excellent pieces
are examples of fine art and can be attractively shown to the public.
The T0jhusmuseet in Copenhagen is perhaps the outstanding
arsenal museum in Europe. The Leger en Wapenmuseum in

Leiden

is in process of completing

its work of restoration

and is

similar to the Tojhusmuseet, although considerably more limited

in scope. The Tower of London Armouries, the Real Armeria in

Madrid, the Waffensammlung in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

of Vienna, and the Department of Arms in the Bavarian National
Museum of Munich are the best examples of a combination armor
and weapons collections of particular periods. In each case the
objective is simple the display of arms and armor.
None of the European museums embrace the full philosophy
that would probably characterize a national armed forces
museum in the United States. The Imperial War Museum sug
gests the possible broad scope of such an institution, and the
Army Museum in Vienna affords a good example of a museum
which has achieved a commendable balance of museum functions.
The rest are somewhat restricted in purpose but offer useful
suggestions of practical objectives which can be considered within
specialized areas.