City of Gold and Mud

Last week, we visited the Imperial War Museum to uncover Imperial London through artifacts and the World Wars.  I would describe my experience of the visit a little unordinary. One of my first experiences in the museum was speaking with an unpaid volunteer, I believe by the name of Graham. He told us about how the museum does not necessarily appreciate his volunteerism because he does not stick to a script. Graham takes pride in that he talks about details that the museum perhaps does not want to portray in their story of Imperial London. I think this represented a theme of London that we uncovered in class: that London took a very unified front during the war. The Royals became involved, normal civilians were either drafted or donated, and children and families experienced bombings on a regular basis. The horror of the wars brought London together as a they took a united front against the war. The Imperial War Museum continues to tell that story as a singular force and uni...

John Walsh City of Mud and Gold   Blog Post #2: Imperial War Museum             Following my presentation, it was a very educational and applicable experience to visit the Imperial War Museum.   I found that the museum was much larger than I expected and was crammed with information.   I enjoyed the layout and how each of the sections contained a single time period, for example, WWI, WWII, and the Holocaust.   After reading and discussing the violent period of the Blitz, it was very intriguing to view the history, art, and actual equipment used during this time.             An image from class that relates to the museum is Aftermath, by Louis Duffy, from the year 1940 (see image above).   This artwork is significant because it shows the magnitude and destruction of the Blitz.   The image details the aftermath of the bombings, showing the rubble ...

Last week’s trip to the Imperial War Museum was one of my favorites, particularly for the Holocaust Exhibit. As stated by Harry Rosewell in an opinion article for the Londonist, “Memorials to an event are usually placed close to where the event happened, or at least somewhere with a strong connection to it… Just because the Holocaust didn't occur in this country, it doesn't mean Brits didn't experience it. Many British soldiers played a role in liberating the camps towards the latter stages of the war. Many Holocaust survivors moved to Britain after the war end, in attempt to escape the scenes of their terror and rebuild their lives” (2018). The permanent display at the museum was extremely moving for me. It was much more quiet than the other floors, likely because of the severity of this horrific event and the choice of light, color, stories, and artifacts. Those under the age of 14 were also not permitted. I found particular interest in the clothing displays, espec...

Reading the letters from the Blitz and visiting the Imperial War Museum gave me a different outlook on World War II and London during this time. These experiences gave me a more human understanding of life at this time. At the Imperial War Museum, I was reminded of how real the war was for everyone alive at the time by seeing artifacts that people once wore, maps that real people once wrote on, equipment people once used and more. With how separated we are, not only as a generation that wasn’t alive during the war, but also as Americans who did not have fighting on our soil, it is sometimes difficult to visualize those events. Being in London and seeing buildings that are still damaged from the Blitz and visiting places like the Imperial War Museum help with that visualization and understanding. In addition to seeing items in a museum, the letters that we read also helped to add a human understanding to the events. Reading about people dying and bodies being pulled from th...

Pratham Bawa Prof Nancy Marshall City of Mud and Gold Blog Post #2 Last week’s trip to the Imperial War Museum was especially unique and one that really caught my attention. I personally do not know much about World War II, more specifically Britain’s role within it, even though this is a topic that fascinates me. Because of this, I was especially interested in the exhibits, structures, paintings, and other things I was able to see/experience during our time there. I did not really know about any of the destruction that London had faced during these harsh times and how much the city was actually impacted.  One particular sight that caught my attention during our trip was the remains of a car that had been destroyed by violence, most likely a bombing strike, during the war. This structure really gives the perspective as to how brutal the violence would get and how anything within the path of destruction would get completely decimated. This is especially true during tim...