Cold War Scotland

13 Jul 2024 — 26 Jan 2025 at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

11 November 2024

Campaign for Nuclear disarmament protest, Glasgow, c1980s. Courtesy of National Museums Scotland

Cold War Scotland explores the stories of Scots at the centre of this global conflict.

The Cold War was a 40-year nuclear stand-off between the USA and the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Scotland’s unique landscape provided a useful base for Allied military preparations and research.

The impact of the war still lingers in Scottish politics, culture and memory. Scots played an active role in the global conflict as soldiers within intelligence services and as part of voluntary civil defences. The exhibition will draw on Scotland’s rich history of Cold War-era protest and activism.

Cold War Scotland is an output of Materialising the Cold War, a collaborative research project between National Museums Scotland and the University of Stirling. The project explores how the Cold War heritage is represented and how museums can adapt to tell this story in future. Materialising the Cold War is funded by a major grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

National Museum of Scotland

At National Museums Scotland, we care for collections of national and international importance, preserving them, interpreting them and making them accessible to as many people as possible.

Museum profile

Location

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Design by Peter Forster, Orbit pattern earthenware platter, side plate, jam dish and spoon, c1957. Courtesy of National Museums Scotland

Polaris demonstration at Holy Loch, 3 February 1961. Courtesy of National Museums Scotland

Protest rattle made from a laundry detergent bottle used on the Peace March Scotland 1982. Courtesy of National Museums Scotland

Design by Peter Forster, Orbit pattern earthenware platter, side plate, jam dish and spoon, c1957. Courtesy of National Museums Scotland
Polaris demonstration at Holy Loch, 3 February 1961. Courtesy of National Museums Scotland
Protest rattle made from a laundry detergent bottle used on the Peace March Scotland 1982. Courtesy of National Museums Scotland

Polaris demonstration at Holy Loch, 3 February 1961. Courtesy of National Museums Scotland
Protest rattle made from a laundry detergent bottle used on the Peace March Scotland 1982. Courtesy of National Museums Scotland
Design by Peter Forster, Orbit pattern earthenware platter, side plate, jam dish and spoon, c1957. Courtesy of National Museums Scotland