Memorial museum – about war and peace

Abstract

The article explores the educational, axiological, and existential dimensions of museum experience in memorial museums, particularly in martyrdom museums located on the sites of former concentration and extermination camps. Drawing on qualitative research conducted among university students, the author analyses the emotional and moral responses of visitors to spaces marked by suffering. The study reveals that encounters with authentic sites of atrocity inspire reflection on the nature of evil, the loss of humanity, moral responsibility, and the meaning of peace. The paper interprets students’ testimonies through the perspectives of dialogical philosophy, memory pedagogy, and the Christian concept of peace. The author argues that museum education at sites of remembrance possesses formative potential: it teaches empathy, gratitude and responsibility for a world in which the past remains a moral obligation towards the future.