Dan would love this continued: The Imperial War Museum

 

Our mid-semester excursion for British Life and Culture class was the Imperial War Museum, a free museum devoted to the history of both World Wars in addition to modern warfare. It doesn't glorify war by any means, and in fact it does a fantastic job of exposing the human cost of war and the horror of it. Naturally, this is right up Dan's alley, and in fact I saved the WWI section for when he came. Just the WWII and the Holocaust galleries were more than enough for three hours. 

There is a great deal to see in this museum, and I appreciated the level of detail, including individual stories of soldiers, citizens and volunteers affected by these wars. This included the Holocaust Galleries, which were comprehensive and extremely moving. Be warned, there is a great deal of horror to behold there...especially toward the end. It's not every day I cry in front of my students.

See here a piece of the USS Arizona, which was bombed at Pearl Harbor.

This boat was at Dunkirk.

I appreciated the way the museum highlighted roles of women in both world wars...including ambulance drivers.

Nazi eagle symbol taken after Germany's surrender.

Items found in the aftermath of Hiroshima, including a melted glass bowl and tiles thrown off houses in the atomic blast.

The Holocaust Galleries featured displays of the various media used to demonize Jews in Europe, such as this game Juden Raus! in which players move to round up Jewish people and deposit them outside the city.

A sea mine from World War I.

Some of the gear featured in the WWI exhibit was taken by British soldier from fallen German ones. 

The exhibits often highlighted what the wars meant for citizens, especially with regard to what they needed to use less of or donate...like rabbit fur. Or peach pits for the gas masks.

A WWI cannon.

The museum also had exhibits devoted to modern warfare and the future of war. This is a piece of the World Trade Towers after 9/11. 

These are real fighters and missiles displayed in the entry lobby to the museum. Great gift shop too.

Note to teachers: This museum is free, and it provides a great learning experience not just for British Life and Culture, but any kind of history course. Since the visit is free, and will likely always be a part of BLC (for good reason), you could also make a creative writing assignment relate to this. The images presented could be great inspiration for a poem about war, and there are plenty of stories about individuals affected by war in different ways that students might flesh out into a scene. The museum provides a lot of insight into that experience, and it might be good for students to get out of their comfort zone in writing about real people in history. (As you will see, many other museums provide similar inspiration...see upcoming posts.)