Седамдесет година од победе над фашизмом (1945–2015)

English title: Seventy Years Since the Victory over Fascism (1945–2015) 

The exhibition catalogue Seventy Years Since the Victory over Fascism (1945–2015) was published to mark the seventieth anniversary of the victory over fascism and the end of the Second World War in Europe. The publication accompanied an exhibition of the National Museum Čačak and, through historiographical text, archival material, photographs, museum objects and exhibition units, presented war, fascism, the Holocaust, genocide, anti-fascism and the culture of memory.

The catalogue starts from the idea that the victory over fascism was one of the foundational events of modern Europe. The defeat of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and their allies marked the end of an aggressive, racist and exterminatory policy that threatened the survival of entire peoples and basic human values. At the same time, the publication shows that the Second World War was not only an international conflict, but also a civil war that passed through many European and Yugoslav societies.

Particular attention is given to local and regional experiences of Čačak, western Serbia and Serbia as a whole. Through documents, photographs and objects, the catalogue presents occupation, repression, suffering, the Holocaust, genocide, anti-fascist resistance and the postwar formation of memory. It therefore connects European, Yugoslav, Serbian and local history.

The publication also has a strong memory-oriented and museological dimension. It examines how the victory over fascism was represented, remembered and institutionalized through public commemorations, monuments, exhibitions, museum displays and historical narratives. Special emphasis is placed on the role of museums as institutions that not only preserve objects, but also shape public attitudes toward the past and transmit historical meaning across generations.

By combining historiography, museum practice, visual culture and public history, the catalogue shows that anniversaries are not merely commemorative dates, but moments in which the past is reinterpreted, evaluated and included in contemporary society. The publication is therefore an important contribution to the study of memory culture, anti-fascist heritage and the role of museums in the public understanding of history.