War Museum
Thessaloniki Branch
General Information
The Thessaloniki branch was established in 1993 and has been operating since 2000. It is housed in the wider area of the Areos Field camp, in a building designed by the Italian architect Vitaliano Poselli (1838-1918) at the beginning of the 20th century for the needs of the Ottoman Army.
Permanent Exhibition
Exhibition space
Hall: 1912, the liberation of Thessaloniki
The lobby of the first floor houses very important exhibits that tell the story of the liberation of the city from Ottoman rule. The visitor can see the original manuscript “Protocol of Surrender of Thessaloniki“, a document from 1912, which until 2012 was kept in the Directorate of Army History. The document is placed on the table where it was signed. The space is also dominated by the first Greek flag that the Greek Army units saw when they entered Thessaloniki as liberators in 1912 and the Greek flag that was raised on the White Tower on October 26, 2012, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the liberation of the city.
Hall: Memories from Modern Greek History
The exhibition documents the war route of the Greeks from the end of the 18th century until 1974. The exhibition includes important periods of modern Greek history, such as the pre-revolutionary period, the National Liberation War of 1821, the War of 1897, the Macedonian War, the Balkan Wars, the First World War, the Asia Minor Campaign, the Second World War, the participation of the Armed Forces in UN missions and the Games in Cyprus.
Hall: 1940-1941, this is how we fought
The exhibition is a detailed tribute to Greece’s participation in the Second World War. The historical narrative begins with the saga of the Greek-Italian war and continues until the liberation of the country from the German occupation forces. The visitor has the opportunity to see the evolution of the political, military and social events of the period through a display of historical relics such as documents, newspapers, unpublished photographs, clothing and military equipment of all the warring factions, letterheads, orders, maps, battle diagrams and weapons. (Collection of Konstantinos P. Gioulekas).
Hall: Polyclitus Regos. Nopography of the tetralogy of Greek history.
An integral part of the Museum is the painting of Greek History by Polyclitos Regos. The work, a Byzantine fresco technique, runs around the upper part of two rooms. The first section depicts the battle of Alexander the Great at Issus, the second section the fall of Constantinople and the third section the exit of Messolonghi. The fourth and last section is a double composition and deals with the modern history of Greece, presenting the Balkan Wars and the Epic of 1940.
Hall: 102 Years of struggles for the homeland and freedom
In the museum area there is an exhibition of family heirlooms of the Fika family, which refers to their contribution to the nation’s struggles, from the revolution of 1821 to the Asia Minor Campaign. This collection attempts, through family heirlooms, personal objects, documents, photographs and postcards of the period, to inform the visitor of the contribution of each Greek family to the struggles of our country for freedom and to bring him in contact with the historical units of this period.
Room: excellence & Battalions & Soldiers’ Medals
On the ground floor of the Museum one finds the most complete exhibition of military medals and decorations in Greece. These are moral rewards, which reflect, in a symbolic way, the distinctions of soldiers on the battlefields, in command and staff duties. They also reward citizens who have rendered outstanding services in various fields of public life, such as the sciences, letters, arts or commerce (Collection of Vassilios Nikoltsios).
Room: weapons & Weapons and Swords of all branches of the Armed Forces
The exhibition consists of weapons used by the Greek Army as well as its opponents and allies during a long historical period, from the years of the Revolution to the present day. Ten display cases bring together weapons of 1821, rifles, carbines, machine guns, ammunition, bayonets and spears, swords and bayonets, revolvers and pistols (Collection of Vasilios Nikoltsios).
Sophia Vembo sang Greece and all of Greece sang with her
The largest collection in Greece dedicated to the great singer Sophia Vembo, the singer of Nike. Sophia Vembo played an important role in the Second World War, inspiring people and the army with her songs. Visitors will find in the exhibition a unique collection of her memorabilia, which includes original personal heirlooms, rare sheet music, gramophone records, theatre costumes, everyday dresses, jewellery, manuscripts, theatre programmes, unpublished photographs, press cuttings of the era and many other items. “Sophia Vembo”, as it was written about her, “is a singer through the paths of her voice walked the Glory of the 40s”. (Collection of Katerina K. Petridou).
