(Fwd) RE: [Bcma-l] War Museum
bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca
bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca
Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:07:43 -0700
I have been following the recent snippets of news about this issue,
but after hearing the interview with Dr. Anthony Shelton, Director,
UBC's MOA on CBC Radio's national afternoon program "Q" last
Thursday, I have gone back and compiled a chronological series of
links about the Canadian War Museum/air force veterans
controversy--including last week's "Q" interview podcast.
These are now posted on the BCMA's main homepage:
http://www.museumsassn.bc.ca/content/home.asp
The posted links will not only provide the necessary background
information, but Dr. Shelton provides an articulate discussion about
the roles of the museum, social responsibility, accuracy, integrity,
obligations to funders, if any, etc, which should help fuel continued
discussion here.
I also added a CBC Ottawa feature link dating back to the CWM's
opening. Alongside you will find links to other news stories such as
"War museum's paintings anger veterans group", so this is not new
territory for the CWM... --Jim
> September 4, 2007
>
>
>
> Dear Colleagues:
>
>
>
> I have had a deluge of material about the war museum, but no
> contextual content as to the reason why the discussion is going on.
> If we are to have a coherent discussion of anything, the full
> context must be laid out in the argument for or against or to
> whatever position is taken. I see that Colin MacGregor has also not
> seen what prompted the comments, but put forward a kindly
> directional essay.
>
>
>
> I suggest that the moderator return comments to the authors of list
> serve material when the context is not included in the body of their
> text. The other possibility is to have a place where these types of
> discussions can take place where the context of the discussion is
> accessible. Perhaps the BCMA should look at structuring the
material
> in the list serve into categories of interest - jobs, announcements,
> discussions are prominent elements of what goes on the list serve.
>
>
>
>
> W. (Bill) G. Quackenbush, Curator
>
> Barkerville Historic Town,
>
> Box 19, Barkerville, B.C. V0K 1B0
>
> bill.quackenbush@barkerville.ca
>
> visit - www.barkerville.ca for general information
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca
> [mailto:bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca]
> Sent: September 4, 2007 11:15 AM
> To: bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca
> Cc: Dan Gallacher
> Subject: Re: [Bcma-l] War Museum
>
>
>
> Well, I saw the exhibit as recently as the end of March, and re-read
> the text carefully. Mainly I was re-familiarizing myself in
> preparation for an illustrated talk on the War Museum per se to the
> RCAF Ass'n, and knew I'd be challenged about that display in
> particular. The fact that I'd flown in the RCAF years ago just made
> both my own interest more acute and my own position more
precarious..
> As I've said, its worth writing a brief expository article from a
> museological point of view with an aim of describing ways and
means of
> avoiding such trouble without seriously compromising historical
> accuracy. More later . . . .
>
>
>
> Dan G.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca
>
> To: bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca
>
> Sent: Friday, August 31, 2007 3:35 PM
>
> Subject: RE: [Bcma-l] War Museum
>
>
>
> Larry's memo does not tell the full context of his concern about
> the
> Canadian War Museum, but I deduce that he was talking about the
> Canadian War Museum's exhibit on the bomber offensive in World
War II,
> how it upset the WWII veterans, how the museum refused to change
the
> wording, and how the Director Joe Guertz is not longer employed
there.
>
>
>
>
> I shall start off by saying that although I have visited the new
> CWM
> (as well as the two previous incarnations of it), I am not familiar
> with the exhibit in question and I suspect that the other gentlemen
> have not either. I do not have any information on the exhibit in
> question, the disputed phrases, or the appropriateness (or not) of
> the staff change.
>
>
>
> Although I am very much in favour of museums telling the truth
> and not being dictated to, this is not a simple black and white
> issue. Like the term "Freedom of the Press" there are many shades of
> grey.
I
> encourage museum colleagues to stop and think and not do a knee
jerk
> reaction by grabbing a flag and heading for the barricades.
>
>
>
> I believe that there are several issues to be careful of
> including:
>
> * Political correctness (e.g. Parks Canada renaming the
> Northwest Rebellion as the Northwest Resistance; the pressure put
on
> the Smithsonian to not display the newly restored B-29 bomber
"Enola
> Gay that had dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan)
>
> * The benefit of hindsight (You should have steered into
> the skid ...)
>
> * Making a judgment from the comfort of one's armchair
> more than half a century after the events when we are not subject to
> the same pressures. They were fighting a World War for survival. For
> the people of Canada a quicker victory meant that one's spouse,
sons
> and daughters etc. in the services might survive long enough to
come
> home safely. If they had lost that war, I would be writing this
> message in German or Japanese. No ... come to think of it, if that
had
> happened, I would not be allowed to write this message at all. I
> probably would not be here as my father, a Commando officer, would
> most likely have been executed as a war criminal.
>
> * Mistakenly assuming that wars are fought according to
> rules. Canadians have not been at war very often and are so used to
> thinking in terms of Peacekeeping roles and rules.
>
>
>
> Perhaps a modern fictitious analogy might help relate to the
> different perspective that hindsight creates: Questioning a police
> officer why they shot and killed a teenage boy who was after all
> only pointing an unloaded handgun at his hostage in a bank robbery.
> You
now
> know it was unloaded, but AT THE TIME the officer did not and could
> not know that and reacted appropriately.
>
>
>
> US Marine Corps General "Chesty" Puller was the most highly
> decorated and respected USMC officer ever. After fighting in several
> wars he was attending West Point Military Academy as a student.
The
> lecturer stated that the true history of the Korean War could not be
> written for at least 20 years, when the secret documents were
> declassified. Chesty spoke up and adamantly said that the opposite
was
> true because by then the stories would have faded, and attitudes
would
> have changed. (The story may be found in the book MARINE - The
above
> is from memory. Chesty led his men out of the Chosin Reservoir
where
> they suffered tremendous casualties in the bitter cold and
> fighting.)
>
>
>
> As an empirical test I suggest you do the following. Look at
> modern history books about Canada in World War II. Now find the
red
> hardcover book on the Photographic History of the Canadian Army
> 1939-1945 which was published immediately after WWII. You will
find
> the treatment is VERY different. The modern books are written in
> hindsight and the self-censorship has taken its toll. The Immediate
> post-war book has gory pictures of enemy dead, of Canadian dead
and of
> concentration camp victims and survivors. I still have the Toronto
> special insert from 1945 showing pages of concentration camp
photos -
> many of which have never been published since.
>
>
>
> As a museum Curator I have been ordered not to display certain
> items and naturally did not like it. I do realize however that there
> are a lot of revisionist history exhibits out there that I do not
> like either sometimes. Each case must be looked at on its own
> merits,
not
> in a simple knee jerk reaction. I do not know how I would feel about
> the CWM display text as I have not seen it. I might support Joe
> Geurtz, the former CWM Director, or I might be on the other side
> requesting changes or failing that, a resignation.
>
>
>
> Colin MacGregor Stevens,
>
> Manager,
>
> New Westminster Museum and Archives,
>
> 302 Royal Avenue,
>
> New Westminster, BC,
>
> V3L 1H7
>
>
>
> Phone Office: 604-527-4639
>
> Work Cellular : 604-830-6965
>
> Fax: 604-527-4641
>
> E-mail: cstevens@newwestcity.ca
>
> Web Site: www.newwestminster.ca
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca
> [mailto:bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca]
> Sent: August 31, 2007 12:18 PM
> To: bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca
> Cc: larryewashen@telus.net
> Subject: Re: [Bcma-l] War Museum
>
>
>
> Wholehearted support for Larry's suggestion. We must continue to
> recount, retell and depict history as accurately as possible,
> presenting it as closely to the way it happened as possible, NOT the
> way someone or some group wanted it to be. An incorrect legacy IS
no
> legacy; a dangerous situation.
>
>
>
> Apologies for my over-stating the obvious,
>
>
>
> Steve Bender
> Manager, BC Interior Forestry Museum
> Box 419 Revelstoke BC V0E 2S0
> Ph. 250 837 8078
> Email forestrymuseumrev@telus.net
> Email; forestrymuseum@revelstoke.net
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca
>
> To: bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca
>
> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:37 PM
>
> Subject: [Bcma-l] War Museum
>
>
>
> I believe that BC Museums and CMA should lend what
> little weight they have in support of the War Museums independent
> ability to present history.
>
> The idea of political and single interest groups
> lobbying in such a case is reprehensible, and I believe we should
make
> our views known.
>
> In a land where people died over the issue of free
> speech, where is it, and where is the free [and independent
> prerogative] in doing our job objectively?
>
> Our museum was subjected to such pressure and caved in
> due to an in-camera meeting by our city council, which went on to
> dictate as to what we could or could not exhibit. No members of the
> public or delegations were allowed to debate such an important
issue.
>
> To our shame, we accepted their ultimatum in, but it
> still does not destroy the principle and concept of museum
> independence,.
>
> Our alternative would have been to close the museum.
>
> This is an important issue and I am surprised that I
> have not heard any pronouncements about this by our museum
> organizations.
>
> Are we too busy planning conferences and workshops and
> patting ourselves on the back to pay attention to such an important
> issue?
>
> Larry A. Ewashen, Curator & General Manager
> The Doukhobor Discovery Centre
> 112 Heritage Way, Castlegar V1N 4M5
> 1-250-365-5327
> www.Doukhobor-Museum.org
>
>
>
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>
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>
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_______________________________
Jim Harding, ED
BC Museums Association
(250) 356-5694