A Trip to the Imperial War Museum.

Visiting the Imperial War Museum was a strangely rewarding experience for me because of a unique experience provided by an exhibit that the IWM does not particularly approve of. I am speaking about the Graham, the man from Birmingham who grew up during the blitz. While he discussed his experiences in a way that I could clearly tell were scripted. It was only when I was able to ask questions for myself that I found myself enjoying the experience. After I asked him, "did you ever think you would lose?" and he responded by saying, "no, of course not, Churchill said we weren't going to." I have always felt that the feelings of patriotism that Britain likes to tell itself about during the blitz were somewhat exaggerated. The letters we read for this week of reading certainly seemed to display a far greater degree of fear and horror than Britain would like you to believe, yet Graham seemed to look back on his time growing up fondly. He said that he felt like he made a difference, and I think that sometimes that is the greatest thing that anyone could ever ask for, because no matter how scared all of those citizens in London were during the blitz, their bravery was more than patriotic, and it was due to Britain's stoicism in the face of terror, not the absence of it, that allowed the island to stay free of Nazi control in the 1940s. The image that Britain cultivated for itself was obviously a mixture of truth and nostalgic patriotism, but from the way Graham recounted his experience, I was forced to confront the fact that maybe I had been overly cynical about my response to the museum as a whole. After all, American philospher Marion Morrison once said, "courage is not the absence of fear, but being terrified but still saddling up anyway." I think that describes Britain's War effort well. 

Comments

  1. John WalshApril 1, 2019 at 2:54 PM

    Response:

    It is interesting to hear your take on the museum and your conversation with Graham. Specifically, reading about how your perspective and opinions were genuinely contemplated from this conversation intrigued me. I think it shows how important and influential it can be to talk to people who are passionate and nostalgic of a period in history. It can give you a personal and unique insight that many exhibits or books cannot offer. In addition, the fact that you only began to enjoy the conversation when he stopped reading off of a script and spoke freely about his memories seemed special. I think many museums could benefit from having more speakers like this, who despite some controversial statements, can provide a personal and different take on history that they witnessed.

    I didn’t get a chance to speak with Graham, but he sounds very interesting and educational man. It is inspiring to hear his strength and loyalty for his country during such a dark time. I also found his response to your question about losing the war very amusing and illuminating. Seeing how British leaders like the royal family, and as Graham mentioned, Churchill, were able to provide hope and motivation for all of the people is very interesting. This gives some insight into the time period and how political and famous figures had a large responsibility to show hope and strength in order to empower the country to fight back.

    I also think that the quote that you have used from Marion Morrison does encapsulate the war effort and spirit of Britain at the time. Despite London’s fear and utter destruction, they were still able to stand against the fear and evil to eventually defeat the Nazis.

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