When the communists took control of Saigon in 1975 and renamed the city Ho Chi Minh City, they went about appropriating the symbols of French and American power and turning them on their head. There was perhaps no greater symbol of the French colonial period than this building, the former French Governor’s residence. And so it became the Museum of the Revolution - the place where the victors told their story.
As Vietnam embraced the international economy in the 1990s, it was time for the Museum of the Revolution to move on also - it became the Ho Chi Minh City Museum and the collection was adapted to include an exhibit on the city’s rapidly developing economy and some wider historical coverage.
The Museum’s collection still focuses on the city’s revolutionary past - highlighting the protests and bombings that occurred during the 1960s and early 1970s.
The images above are from the the Buddhist protests of the early 1960s. These protests, which climaxed in the self immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc (see top right) were decisive in the collapse of support for President Ngo Dinh Diem.
As he waged his campaign against Vietnam’s Buddhist monks, Diem was resident in this building. And it was from here that he fled a coup by his generals that led to his assassination. The death of Diem is considered a turning point in the escalation of US involvement in the Vietnam War.
People and documents of Saigon’s revolution.
- The public execution of Nguyen Van Troi. Troi was executed at age 17 after his failed assassination attempt on visiting US Secretary of State and Vietnam War architect, Robert McNamara. Troi’s efforts made him a hero of Vietnam’s revolutionary movement. Throughout the country, schools, markets and streets are named in his honour. In Saigon, the main airport road where the attempted assassination took place is named Nguyen Van Troi St.
A painting depicts scenes of jubilation in the former Presidential Palace as North Vietnamese tanks roll in on April 30 1975.
This exhibit displays the costumes of the traditional Vietnamese wedding.
A collection of cars from the French colonial period with a tank in the background.
Like most museums in Vietnam, this one has its fair share of military hardware on display.
Crowds are rarely an issue here. The biggest inconvenience might be waiting for a local wedding party to wrap up their photo shoot on this staircase. The building is a very popular wedding photography venue.
Fading original tiles and straw blinds.
