Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum

Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum
Беларускі дзяржаўны музей гісторыі Вялікай Айчыннай вайны
The Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum and the Minsk Hero City Obelisk

Established	1943; 81 years ago (1943)
Location	Victors Avenue 8, Minsk, Belarus
Coordinates	53°54′58″N 27°32′17″E / 53.9161493°N 27.5380439°E / 53.9161493; 27.5380439
Type	War museum
Collection size	approx. 143 thousand objects
Visitors	approx. 234,900 (2012)^[1]
Public transit access	Nyamiha, Minsk Metro
Website	warmuseum.by

The Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum (Belarusian: Беларускі дзяржаўны музей гісторыі Вялікай Айчыннай вайны, romanized: Belaruski dzi͡arz͡haŭny muzeĭ historyi Vi͡alikaĭ Aĭchynnaĭ vaĭny, Russian: Белорусский государственный музей истории Великой Отечественной войны) is a museum in Minsk, Belarus.

The conception of a museum commemorating the Great Patriotic War after the end of Nazi occupation sprung up even before the close of the war. The museum first opened shortly after the liberation of Minsk from the Nazi invaders, on 25 October 1944, making it the first World War II museum to open during the course of the war.^[2] It moved to its current location in 2014.

The museum has 24 exhibition halls. As of 2012 there were 142,676 items in the museum's collection.^[3]

The museum staff also engages in historical research: particular areas include Belarusians in the Red Army, local anti-fascist and partisan activity, and the history of the Auschwitz death camp.^[4]