Australian War Memorial opens Fall of Kabul exhibition

The Australian War Memorial has opened a new Afghanistan gallery featuring an immersive installation focused on the fall of Kabul and the subsequent evacuation of thousands from Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The exhibition utilizes eyewitness accounts and personal artifacts to depict the chaotic final days of the 20-year war. Among the donated items is a broken phone and a guitar from Fred Smith, a former diplomat who used WhatsApp to coordinate with Afghan nationals seeking escape. Smith noted, “It was an evacuation executed on WhatsApp,” highlighting how digital communication became a