Description of the attraction
In the center of Heraklion, not far from the Archaeological Museum, there is the Museum of the Defense of Crete. The museum was founded by the municipality of Heraklion in 1994 and is dedicated to the defense of Crete and popular resistance during the Second World War. The purpose of the museum is to collect, protect and display the historical relics of 1941-1945 properly, as well as to document and disseminate information about the popular struggles during the Battle of Crete and the German-Italian occupation.
The museum exhibits thousands of original photographs, paintings and drawings of the Battle of Crete and popular resistance, about 200 books, monographs, essays on historical events from 1941 to 1945, hundreds of documents and newspaper publications. The museum also displays various items related to the war: weapons, uniforms, various accessories, household items and much more.
Most of the exhibits cover the "Battle of Crete" in May 1941. This battle is one of the largest airborne operations in World War II history and is also known as Operation Mercury. The main goal of the German invaders was to drive Great Britain out of the Mediterranean and establish strategic control over the Mediterranean basin. The organizer of the militia was a British archaeologist working for British intelligence, John Pendlebury. Despite numerous losses, the Germans won the battle.
The museum has its own research center, whose employees are focused on collecting wartime archival materials from different countries (1940-1945) and translating them. The activities of the museum are aimed at attracting the attention of the younger generation to the history of the Cretan people and awareness of the destructive power of war.
