The war became an idea, and the idea became a museum D.Ponomarenka and A.Jurkša are both military men, so anything related to the war is a natural topic of conversation for them. In this way, they noticed that the change of uniforms, i.e. what uniforms used to be like, how and when they were improved, is an almost forgotten part of history in the Lithuanian army.
Andrius Jurkša remembers this moment well: "We used to find very little or nothing. When we saw that there was nowhere else that had such an exposition, we decided that we had to make people aware of this important part of Lithuanian history. After all, we need to know how to recognise a soldier of our country and how to distinguish the enemy. The more we know about our country, the stronger we will be and the more we will preserve what we have for our children.
The founders of the Museum of Army Uniforms found the first exhibits in their own surroundings. Later, people came forward to donate uniforms. This became a strong incentive for the founders to move forward. Slowly, they increased their exhibits, expanded their knowledge, and with a lot of work and effort, and with a collection of 13 uniforms, they decided to set up the museum.
The museum grew steadily and in 2021 it became a public institution. During this time, not only has interest in the history of the army grown, but the museum has expanded from a few casemates in Fort III to the entire right-hand barracks complex, and continues to fill up with exhibits - Lithuanian uniforms, equipment, private collections, and the organisation has begun to think about inclusive sporting and military events that encourage activism.
Collecting the exhibits has been one of the most difficult challenges. As is probably the case for everyone, there are always difficulties when undertaking something. Finding exhibits is not easy. Many things are scarce, hard to get hold of, and the harder it is to get hold of, the more expensive it is to buy. Since everything is done from personal funds, it is often not easy. Nevertheless, the museum is expanding, permanent partners are being found, and help is coming in, which the founders always accept.
One of the biggest problems for the museum is getting the premises ready for the exhibits to be able to live properly. The museum's custodians are also pleased that, with the increase in dissemination, there are good people who donate exhibits. "The support, help and contribution is what shows us that you can't stop and that all problems can be overcome," enthused D.Ponomarenka and A.Jurkša.
Because of the danger of humidity and mould to the exhibits, the museum is slowly discovering a new space - the ammunition warehouses of the Kaunas Fortress in the Panemunė Šile, where the environment is drier, and the casemates need to be properly prepared.
"We want to make the museum as complete as possible, both in terms of the abundance of exhibits, and the narrative. Only in this way can we contribute to the preservation of Lithuanian history and to the expansion of the knowledge of every person who comes. We want everyone to take away a lot of new things from the museum, to learn all sorts of interesting things and to have a good time," said Jurkša.
What are the most important future goals? The main goals are to bring people together to take an interest in their own historical aspects.
Every year since 2019, the museum organises the annual hiking trip "The Ways of Lithuanian Soldiers" to commemorate Lithuanian Army Day, the St John's Day Obstacle Course, and the summer "The Ways of King Mindaugas." Hikers are delighted with the new routes. The museum hosts an exhibition of stitches by collector Emma Račkutė, and every year the organisers hold educational events in schools, work in children's camps and other community events.
