My time in the UK has been thrilling, beautiful, and eye-opening. The most interesting thing about the first leg of our journey has been the varied presentation of memory in museums. Three museums, in particular, stand out. The Imperial War Museum, the Churchill War Rooms, and Bletchley Park. These museums visited in this order over the course of two days, all focus on different aspects of World War Two and English memory. The Imperial War Museum is a display of war machines and devices. The Churchill Rooms are a journey through Churchill’s life and legacy as well as an in-depth reconstruction of the underground war rooms. Bletchley Park is a reconstruction of the history code-breaking site. All three museums cater to young audiences and focus on the English ingenuity during the war as well as the losses of the war. However, the museums have many more differences than similarities and at least one feature stood out in each.
The Imperial War Museum was a formal museum organized with large, bright, open spaces and small dark rooms to the side noting day to day life as well as the Holocaust. This juxtaposition is the most interesting point of the first museum. Did this separation speak to English memory of the Holocaust? This was the only mention of these heinous events of the war. The second museum, the Churchill War Rooms, had a small interactive panel with the title “Was Churchill Racist”. This poorly executed display suggestion that his racism was simply of the time. The turning away from a history that sullies historical figures is not uncommon but is disappointing. The third and final museum, Bletchley Park, was the most interactive by far and allowed for visitors to fully immerse themselves in a full-scale reconstruction. Visitors were able to mill about the site as if you were a worker at Bletchley. One could play the part without any of the unpleasantness which seemed to be a common way to comfortably remember.
Even with their shortcomings all of the museums where highly educational and offered a uniquely English perspective on a war I have, until this semester, viewed from a solely American perspective. In addition to the museums, I saw an amazing amount of war memorials, beautiful gardens, intriguing modern art, and charming cafes. My first time in London will certainly not be my last and I am very excited to see other perspectives of memories of the war.
