By Patrick Norén
Coins, patches, and a certificate issued by NCT Consultants have been included in an exhibition at a military museum in the Croatian town of Pakrac.
The Military and War History Museum – the only museum of its kind in Croatia – was delighted to receive the NCT Consultants memorabilia from an associate of theirs who had participated in the NCT PRO Challenge training exercises in Croatia in 2022 and 2023. An article about the most recent exercise can be found here.
The museum’s origins date back to 2012 when the museum’s director Prof. Mario Tušek – a highly-ranked teacher of the Japanese warrior art of ninjutsu for 30 years – began collecting old items for training purposes. In the same year, Prof. Tušek organized a large exhibition of old equipment that had been borrowed from associates and collaborators. After the event, the then-mayor of Pakrac Davor Huška suggested creating an exhibition of military items from the Croatian War of Independence, also known as the Homeland War in Croatia.
“Since Croatia does not have a national military museum, we decided to do something that visitors will not see anywhere else, which is to show Croatian military history through various centuries to the present day,” Prof. Tušek told CBNW Magazine.
In addition to exhibits related to the Croatian military and war history, one part is also dedicated to foreign armies and corporations that have played a role and continue to strengthen Croatia’s defense and security, hence the inclusion of the NCT Consultants patches, coins, and NCT PRO Challenge certificate.
Elsewhere in the museum are thousands of items grouped into different collections, including uniforms, weapons, insignias, and posters. As one of the must-see destinations in Croatia for anyone interested in military history, the Military and War History Museum in Pakrac attracts over 10,000 visitors per year, according to Prof. Tušek.
Some of the oldest items in the museum date back to as early as the 13th century. Pakrac was then the location of the first ever mint in Croatia, and in 1256 the Knights Templar minted silver coins in Pakrac under the name “Slavonski Banovac”. A number of these silver coins can be found in the exhibition on older history, while the newest items in their collection have been donated by Croatian military personnel serving worldwide. The number of exhibits in the museum’s collection has continued to grow since 2012.
On top of the exhibitions on military history, the museum also boasts a library of several thousand books, as well as an archive open to all interested visitors.
While the Pakrac municipality provides the space and overheads for the museum, everything else is self-financed and supported by a dedicated team of volunteers. The museum is also very active on Facebook, regularly posting information about the museum and its exhibits.
About Pakrac
Pakrac is a small town in Croatia’s Požega-Slavonia County, located approximately 100km southeast of the capital, Zagreb. After the break-up of Yugoslavia and the independence of the Republic of Croatia, the first armed conflict between Croatian forces and rebel Serbs took place on March 2, 1991, in Pakrac.
This day is marked every year in Pakrac every year as the anniversary of the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence. During this time a large part of Pakrac was occupied by Serbian rebels until May 2, 1995, when operation “Bljesak” was launched and returned the territory of western Slavonia to Croatian control.
Patrick Norén is the Editor of CBNW Magazine.
