UNDER PROPAGANDA extended until November 2027

Who owns the past? And what happens when archaeology is used for political messages? 

The special exhibition “UNDER PROPAGANDA – Archaeology between war and peace” at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology will now be on display until November 7, 2027. This means that in the coming school year students from South Tyrolean secondary schools in particular will have the chance to engage with a chapter of South Tyrol’s recent history that still raises many questions today. 

Between 1920 and 1972, archaeology also fell under the influence of politics. During the Fascist Era, archaeological finds were used as evidence of South Tyrol’s Roman past, while Nazi researchers interpreted prehistoric objects as evidence of Germanic heritage. The exhibition UNDER PROPAGANDA uses specific finds to demonstrate how science was appropriated for ideological purposes, who determined how the past was interpreted at that time, and how local experts dealt with the political climate.
Many of the objects on display have been reexamined and scientifically classified for the special exhibition. Some of them had never been shown to the public before.

For schools in particular, the exhibition offers an unusual approach to history: It focuses not only on dates and political events, but also on how history is created, who tells us – and why it’s worthwhile to take a closer look. Museum visits as a part of a school trip are free for South Tyrol’s schools.  
“We are very pleased to be able to display these extraordinary finds in Bolzano for another year. It is especially important to us that South Tyrolean students will still have the opportunity to visit the exhibition in the coming school year and to explore this chapter of our history firsthand”, said museum director, Elisabeth Vallazza.
 
In addition to the exhibition, we offer guided tours, workshops, dramatized walking tours, excursions, and much more catered to different age groups. 

All dates and events can be found here.