Tampere 1918
24.4.2008-2010
Exhibition about the Finnish Civil War at the Museum Centre Vapriikki
On the morning of the 6th of April 1918, Tampere was full of smoking ruins, and dead bodies lay in the streets. Two thousand people had died in battle. The punishment measures and prison camps that were set up after the occupation of the city demanded even more victims. The events were a great tragedy that involved bravery, suffering, and a desire for revenge on the part of both the fighting parties and civilians. The wounds of the war have not yet fully healed even now. The Finnish Civil War only lasted for a little over three months (27 January – 15 May 1918), but it left a permanent mark on Finnish society. In total, almost 40,000 people died in the war. It was a bloody struggle for power between the White Army and the Red Guards, and foreign powers were also involved. The Red troops had Russian soldiers, while in the final stages of the war Germans gave assistance to the Whites, who also had Swedish volunteers fighting for them. There were a number of internal reasons for the war, but the Russian Revolution, the First World War, and German aspirations for power were also important.
The time is now right for a comprehensive analysis of the events of 1918 at a museum exhibition. The Vapriikki exhibition presents many sides to the events in Tampere, the most important city of the civil war, and sheds light on the different perspectives on the war. The Tampere 1918 exhibition brings to the public for the first time a powerful collection of items gathered from the scenes of battle and the city streets 90 years ago. The collection, which is part of the Tampere Museums collections, was collected by the then director of the Häme Museum, Gabriel Engberg. The exhibition also presents a wide range of photos, many of them previously unseen, from the Vapriikki photo archives.
Perspectives of the fighters on both sides, civilians, and outside observers are included. Their experiences are conveyed to the visitors through sound, narrative materials, and new technology. The exhibition includes an interactive map of the locations of the events in the city. The exhibition and the related book also discuss the background of the events of 1918 and their effects visible in subsequent decades. The exhibition concludes with the memories and interpretations of the war.
The exhibition has been organised in close co-operation with the Department of History and Philosophy of the University of Tampere.
PHOTO:
Dead bodies on the corner of Hämeenkatu and Pellavatehtaankatu
Photo: Vapriikki Photo Archive
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