A despised exhibit
Exhibits usually display things people respect and value highly. But in this case, the National Museum presented something that the Czech nation despises to the very depths of its soul. The main attraction of the Republic Exhibition was the original, infamous Munich Agreement.
Our task was to prepare a campaign on this controversial event in a provocative and entertaining manner. This was a bold move for the National Museum, which is hailed as a serious institution. Thus, “Munich— A Despised Exhibit at the National Museum” was created.
None of us have seen the Munich Agreement with our own eyes, but everyone knows it from school and the media. This occasion would be the first time it had ever been exhibited outside of Germany. The exhibition captured the history of the First Czechoslovak Republic from its creation until its sad end in 1938. Other unique items were also on display, such as posters by František Kupka from his time in the Czechoslovak Legion in France and the text of the Washington Declaration telegrams that Edvard Beneš had sent to Prague.
An exhibition like this may seem like the embodiment of boredom, especially for young people. However, we managed to overcome this by presenting this historical topic on a single media channel—Czech Television—in a manner that was comprehensible and interesting, even for younger generations. And so, the Republic Exhibition became one of the most-visited exhibitions in the history of the National Museum.