The covers of the two mainstream right-wing magazines in Poland, ( W) Sieci and Do Rzeczy , have put numerous images on display that refer to well-known events from the past. However, most of the images suggest incorrect interpretations or even falsify historical facts. Asserting that visual history as presented in the illustrated press belongs to the field of public history, the author discusses the consequences of such a deceptive use of history in the public sphere. The article challenges the affirmative approach of public history by showing that scholars should pay more attention to those who ignore ethical codes and do not follow what are considered to be best practices.

This paper explores competing narratives of the Stalinist and Soviet past in the Republic of Georgia through examination of two public history sites: the Stalin Museum in Gori and the exhibit of the Soviet Occupation at the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi. While the former remains a site of Stalin’s cult of personality, largely unaltered even during the “de-Stalinization” campaigns that unfolded in the decades following the dictator’s death in 1953, the latter fails to interrogate Stalin’s unambiguous role in the Bolsheviks’ 1921 invasion and political terror amidst its strong emphasis on the martyrs to the Soviet regime. Both museum sites, we argue, are invested in larger scale political and ideological contestations of Georgia’s past in relation to present concerns that anchor, on the one hand, on economic instability and, on the other, on political assertions of Georgian “Europeanness.” The sites raise important questions about the role museums play in the preservation of a contested past and in shaping divergent visions of national memory and identity.

Persuasive Weapons: WWI Propaganda Posters is an ongoing digital exhibition and collection hosted by the University of Alabama to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Armistice signing. This collaborative project distinguishes itself from other publicly available collections by providing detailed compositional interpretations for each poster that situate the images historically and locate salient persuasive strategies. The following Report from the Field chronicles the project’s development, outlines the novel methodological approach, and presents select findings to elevate WWI in public memory, guide future research, and invite adoption of similar approaches to the curation of visual material.

The Sparking Memories project of the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor is part of our mission to create inclusivity and accessibility for all people. We created specialized tours for people living with dementia as a way for the museum to serve an underserved audience, increase its accessibility, and attract a new demographic. Statistics show that rates of dementia are on the rise. This Report from the Field describes how we created the tour and our plans for other programs for groups of underserved individuals.