The content of Peacefront

The Concept "Peacefront": Attack, War and Zona


The concept behind the exhibitions is called Peacefront. The concept behind our exhibitions does not stand still, it is a call to action. The opportunity lies in the rare possibility given by the mandate of the Narvik Centre for War and Peace.

A possibility is created to combine content and feelings, past and future, in ways that are unprecedented in other Norwegian exhibitions. The exhibition combines a large collection of historic artifacts with bold and challenging reflections on the nature of conflicts based on current research and debate.

The exhibitions are divided into three floors named Attack, War and Zona.

The structure of the WWII exhibitions

The headlines of the exhibitions that can be found in the museum are:

The fighting in Northern Norway

  • The war will never reach Norway!
  • Attack – They came at night
  • Mobilizing – From guards to warriors
  • The allies/mountain war – The world arrives in North Norway
  • Surrender – Victory turns to defeat

Hitler’s Zone of destiny

  • Festung Norwegen
  • Infrastructure – Northbound on tracks and roads
  • Norwegian resources fuel the war
  • Daily life in occupied Norway

The Crucial Arctic Front

  • The Litza front – The front comes to a halt
  • Enemies become allies
  • The burning and forced evacuations of Finnmark and North Troms – Everyone has to leave

Forced labour, punishment and genocide

  • Forced labour – If you can work, you may live
  • Punishment – Obey or face the consequences
  • Genocide – No right to live

My war

Stories from individuals that took part in the war told through recordings

Peace and reconciliation

Zona

The last part of the exhibition is called Zona. The Zona has its own place in time and space, and is not your everyday historic museum exhibition. The mood of Zona can hardly be described in words, you have to experience it. Using historic artifacts in combination with state of the art AV-equipment, design and scenography we hope to engage in an open debate about topics related to war and conflict. Some of them are:

  • The Geneva Сonvention
  • Current state of war and conflict in world
  • What creates a refugee
  • What is the background for war and conflict: climate, religion, ideology etc.
  • Propaganda
  • Imprisonment

Main elements/installations

  • Narvik 2027 – film
  • Something is about to happen – film
  • Peace Torpedoes
  • The Labyrinth
  • Recoil
  • Big bang
  • The Witnesses
  • Rules of War
  • Global Peace Index
  • The classroom – our area for teaching

Target groups

We have tried our best to make the exhibition accessible and interesting to young people, but we do not think that this should stand in the way for other an interesting experience for others.

Partners