Leros War Museum — Attraction in Municipality of Leros

You might want to read up on the context of the Battle of Leros before visiting because you won’t get much from the museum itself either on the pre-war Italian hegemony over these islands, nor the 1943 Italian surrender and subsequent joining of the Allies in the battle. There is a film covering in bombastic terms the doomed struggle to hold the island against the Germans in September-November 1943, in which the crucial naval battle barely merits a mention. Oddly, given the museum itself is contained in an Italian defensive tunnel, it talks of islanders sheltering in caves. I mean, maybe civilians were not allowed to shelter there, but surely that would have been worth noting.

The rest of the museum is mostly relics of the battle, photographs of Greek sailors, and barely described odds and ends of exploded ordinance and military and occupation paraphernalia. The atmosphere is musty, metaphorically as well as literally, but certainly worth a brief visit, longer if you’re...

The War Museum of Leros, Dodecanese: Opened in 2005, the Leros War Museum is situated in Lakki and constitutes a testament to the weapons of mass destruction and loss of human life in the Second World War. Leros was regarded as a corridor of the Mediterranean and was first under the fascist regime of Italy for 31 years, during which the Italians had established strategic naval bases on the island. During the Second World War, Leros was heavily bombed by the British Royal Air Force and later on, it suffered heavy aerial bombardment and assaults from German troops.

The War Museum is housed in an old tunnel that was built by the Italians during the Second World War. It hosts a fine collection of exhibits, including guns, bombs, helmets, uniforms as well as documentation and other audio-visual material relating to the battle of Leros. The museum is open to visitors in...

Leros war museum is a place filled with history as it is located inside the tunnels that Italians had constructed during their first stay in Leros, before the Second World War. You can see things like bombs, weapons and mines that were used during the war but you can also see more ordinary objects like clothing and small furniture that date back at the time of the war and both German, Greek and Italian soldiers would use in their day to day life. There is also a 9 minute film about the 1943 attack of the Germans in the island. Such a beautiful experience visiting with the museum and learning more about the attacks and the resilience of people of Leros. The entrance fee is only 3 euros and it is easily accessible by...