Overview

SAIGON WAR REMNANT MUSEUM

Saigon War Remnant Museum

Saigon War Remnant Museum. For many years, Ho Chi Minh City's most visited museum has been the War Remnants Museum. Many tourists, particularly those from the West, have gone to the museum to study the Vietnam War, a war of tremendous political significance in contemporary global history. They want to know how Vietnam was able to gain a stunning victory over the US and what happened afterward.

Saigon War Remnant Museum Information:

Address: No 28, Vo Van Tan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City

The War Remnants Museum is a tribute to the horrific realities of the Second Indochina War and its significant impact on the Vietnamese people. While the museum's primary focus is the Second Indochina War, it also covers the French colonial period and battles with China, offering a larger historical perspective. Its exhibitions, which include distressing pictures of war crimes, paint a vivid picture of the misery faced by the Vietnamese people, with many images sourced from the United States.

The ground floor's collection of antiwar posters and images provides a counterpoint to the atrocities exhibited upstairs. The museum confronts visitors with the terrible reality of war with exhibits depicting massive damage caused by napalm bombs and the deadly consequences of Agent Orange. The presence of experimental weaponry and the Requiem Exhibition, which honors photographers who died during the conflict, add to the museum's historical relevance.

Saigon War Remnants Museum History:

The War Remnants Museum is one of Saigon's oldest museums. It originally opened to the public in 1975, with the goal of exposing the true and awful truth about the Vietnam War. In the course of normalizing ties between Vietnam and the United States, the museum has undergone many alterations and restorations.

With the fall of the Japanese in World War II, the French returned to capture southern Vietnam in September 1945. Norodom Palace was once again designated as the French regime's headquarters in Vietnam.

The War Remnants Museum has long been one of the most popular attractions in Ho Chi Minh City and around the country. During its 45-year history (1975-2020), it has hosted over 23 million visitors, including over 11 million international guests. The museum currently attracts approximately 1 million visitors every year.

Saigon War Remnant Museum

Some of the photographs on display are disturbing, particularly those of the enormous devastation caused by US napalm bombs and the horrifying poisonous effects of Agent Orange on Vietnamese residents. Many visitors may require a respite in between displays. The museum also provides a unique opportunity to view some of the experimental weapons employed in the conflict that were once military secrets, such as the flechette, an artillery round loaded with hundreds of tiny darts.

Look for the Requiem Exhibition upstairs. This fascinating collection, compiled by famed war photographer Tim Page, examines the work of photographers murdered on both sides of the fight and includes pictures by Larry Burrows and Robert Capa.