Each artifact - a historical story

Among more than 20,000 valuable historical artifacts and documents in the Provincial Museum, the artifacts about the 1945 general uprising to seize power by the people of Nghe An are preserved and kept here, although not many, but they "speak" of the spirit, patriotism, and indomitable fighting spirit of the people of the province at that time. Besides artifacts such as books, documents, leaflets, national flags... it is worth noting the primitive weapons used by the people to fight for power, break the chains of slavery, and establish the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

The primitive weapons used by the people of Nghe Tinh in
August 1945 General Uprising.

It is an iron anvil, with 3 parts cast together, a rectangular bottom, an inverted trapezoid body, a mechanical production tool, metal weapons of the Le Viet Thuat mechanical production workshop (Nghe An). It is a spike set (including a spike table and 4 separate spikes), a wooden spike table with 5 sharp spikes and 4 separate spikes in the shape of the letter Z and the letter V, which is an anti-French weapon of the Dien Kim commune militia (Dien Chau) used to set up defenses (buried in the ground) where the French colonialists and their henchmen often passed through to destroy them and protect the local Party base during the period of 1945-1954... This spike table was handed over to the Museum by Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh - Head of the Dien Kim Cultural and Social Block in 1979. It is a pick with a bamboo handle, an iron blade with 3 sharp teeth, a primitive weapon of Nghe An farmers during the general uprising to seize power in 1945.

These are also the types of swords used to equip the Red Guards, Red Farmers' Association, National Salvation Youth... to fight and gain power in 1945. The sword with classification number 753 was the weapon equipped for the Red Guards of Duc Son commune (Anh Son) to practice in preparation for the general uprising. The sword with classification number 754, with a long, thick blade, beveled tip, and smooth oval iron stitching, was the weapon of the Thai militia in Son Ha village (Tuong Duong) used by Ha Van Thao (Thai, Tay Muoi group) and handed over to the Museum in 1980. It was a very simple homemade sword of the family of Mrs. Vi Thi Khai (Man Thanh ethnic group) in Tam Quang commune, Tuong Duong district. It was later used during the resistance war against the French. After gaining power, the people of Dien Thinh commune (Dien Chau) forged 30 swords to practice defending the Fatherland. One of these 30 swords is still kept in the Museum. This is the sword that Mr. Nguyen Dinh - Team 19 (Dien Thinh) was a militiaman at the same time, practiced and kept until today.

Next to the weapons are oval-shaped bronze seals, which were the legal basis of the Chairmen of the People's Committees of villages and communes in Nghe An in the early days of taking power. In addition, artifacts such as red flags with yellow stars, leaflets, banners... are being collected and classified by museum staff to be put on display. Currently, the museum still preserves about 36 seals of villages and communes in the province.

According to Mr. Truong Dac Thanh - Deputy Director of the Provincial Museum, the above artifacts were collected from the 1960s to the present. Although the artifacts about the August Revolution are not really rich, complete and have not been displayed in a separate topic, they are important artifacts that recreate the heroic historical period of the people of Nghe An during the uprising to seize power. These valuable artifacts show us that, although there were no guns, ammunition, no modern weapons, only rudimentary tools, but with patriotism, deep hatred for the enemy, our army and people won the victory, smashed the yoke of domination, opened a new era - the era of independence, freedom, and mastery of the country.

To collect the above artifacts, museum staff groups must work at the grassroots level, close to the people, and stick with the people to learn and collect. After collecting these artifacts, they must meet living witnesses who participated in this event to verify and certify them, then classify them according to material, time, historical events, etc. Each artifact is a story, a historical event that recreates the general uprising to seize power of the army and people of Nghe Tinh in 1945. Therefore, preservation work is always given top priority, including both therapeutic preservation and preventive preservation. Artifacts are periodically cleaned, de-terminated, and sterilized to prolong their lifespan and limit damage. The wish of the General Museum is to organize a special exhibition on artifacts and historical documents of the August Revolution to review a period of boiling revolutionary spirit and educate historical traditions for today's young generation.

Phuc Thanh - Gia Huy