Bảo tàng Chứng Tích Chiến Tranh Hồ Chí Minh

On August 31, 1858, French colonialists attacked Da Nang, marking the beginning of their invasion and colonial rule over Vietnam. For nearly 100 years, the Vietnamese people valiantly conducted a resistance movement to liberate the nation and gain independence for their homeland. On September 2, 1945, after the success of the August Revolution, President Ho Chi Minh delivered the Declaration of Independence, ending the colonial rule of the French and affirming the rights to independence and freedom of the Vietnamese people. Yet, the French colonialists, followed by American imperialists, continued to wage war of aggression, scheming to restore their dominance and establish a new colonial regime in Vietnam. For 30 years, the Vietnamese people had to resolutely fight with countless sacrifices and hardships to protect their independence and freedom.

On April 30, 1975, the resistance of the Vietnamese people achieved complete victory: peace, independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the homeland were restored. To preserve the heroic evidence of the Vietnamese people's struggle against invading forces, as well as to expose the crimes and highlight the horrific consequences of the invasion war, on September 4, 1975, the Museum of American and Puppet Crimes was opened to the public. Subsequently, the Museum of American and Puppet Crimes was renamed the Museum of Crimes of the Invasion War (on November 10, 1990) before becoming the War Remnants Museum (on July 4, 1995).

Currently, the War Remnants Museum is an entity under the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City. It is part of the system of museums in Vietnam, museums for world peace, and is a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The War Remnants Museum is a specialized museum that researches, collects, archives, preserves, and displays documents, images, and artifacts related to the evidence of crimes and the consequences of wars caused by invading forces against Vietnam. Through this, the museum educates the public, especially the younger generation, about the spirit of struggle to protect the independence and freedom of the homeland, the awareness of opposing aggressive wars, safeguarding peace, and the spirit of solidarity and friendship among nations worldwide.

The museum houses more than 20,000 documents, artifacts, and photographs, with over 1,500 of these items displayed in 8 regular exhibition themes. Over its 35 years of operation, the museum has welcomed more than 15 million visitors both domestically and internationally. Currently, with approximately 500,000 visitors each year, the War Remnants Museum is one of the most attractive cultural tourism destinations, earning the trust of the public both in Vietnam and abroad.

With the achievements obtained, the War Remnants Museum has been awarded the Third Class Labor Medal by the State (in 1995) and the Second Class Labor Medal (in 2001). Since 2002, the War Remnants Museum has been invested in a new construction to modernize its activities comprehensively. On April 30, 2010, the building project was completed. Currently, new exhibition content is being developed, expanding to include the period of French and Japanese colonization as well as the post-war period.