How are interpretive programs at historical sites influenced by contemporary political, economic, or social issues?
I can give a particular example. The National Park Service partnered with the Gulag Museum in Perm, Russia, and Amnesty International to develop an exhibit on the history of the Gulag. It opened at Ellis Island, a National Park Service site, and traveled to Boston and around the country. The exhibit dealt with the history of the Gulag, which is something that is not well known in the United States. The Holocaust is a phenomenon that has gotten more attention, and it deserves to get attention here in the U.S., but the Gulag is a very important part of human history, suffering, repression, and the struggle for freedom that is very little understood in the United States. In this exhibit, we talk about the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, of which the Gulag Museum is a member. The National Park Service worked with this coalition—its interest is in historic site museums. This exhibit deals with the history of repression (and every culture has such a history), exploring the hi
