Imperial War Museum - Part II

OK, so I had every intention of including this in my last post, but rather than editing and having to move the pictures all around I thought I would make my observations on WWII in a separate entry. As I mentioned before, I'm also working on my professional development here. I've been to some talks and have been hitting different libraries and archives. One of the things that I've been interested in is the experience of children in Britain and France (especially Jewish children) during the war. My interest began with my last project when I studied children's homes for Jewish refugees in the Limousin. I was fortunate enough to have interviewed adults who had spent some part of their childhood in these homes in rural France. In the course of my research I learned about the evacuation of thousands of children from Paris to the countryside for their own safety even before the war began in 1939. The evacuations continued throughout the war. (Sending children to the countryside for their health and well-being wasn't unique to the war years. See fo example, Laura Lee Downs' book on French colonies de vacances.) I still have some questions I'd like to explore and I've been doing some research on children's experiences in Britain in order to have a point of comparison.

One of the things I've done is listened to recordings at the British Library from children who were part of the kindertransports. After the Kristallnacht pogrom in Germany on the night of November 9-10, 1938, 10,000 children from Germany, Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia were sent without their parents to live in Great Britain. The Library has the oral histories of some of these children as well as some of the organizers. The Imperial War Museum touches on some of this history in its Holocaust exhibition, but one thing I have learned from my research is that not all these children were Jewish. Aid organizations tried to help all children who were in danger during the war. It was these efforts to protect all children that I focused on in my latest trip to the museum.

After Britain declared war on Germany once the Nazis invaded Poland, evacuations of children, teachers, and mothers began immediately. According to statistics in the "Children's War" exhibit, between September 1-4, 1939 approximately 600,000 Londoners including 376,652 unaccompanied children, 275,895 mothers with children, 5600 pregnant women, and 2400 children with special needs were sent to the countryside. Government officials weren't just concerned about the country's capital. In the rest of the country, 757,583 children and teachers and 445,580 children with their mothers left towns and cities in search of aid. However, the British (and their French allies) soon discovered that despite the declaration of war, this period was a "phony" war. The Germans decide to wait to launch their attack on western Europe until the Spring of 1940 so by November 1939, all these evacuees started to drift back to their homes.

Throughout the war, populations were in constant movement. What were the effects of all these refugees and evacuees on the daily social fabric? How did families decide to send their children away on their own? How were these children treated in their host families? What motivated people to help? Who helped and why? These are all questions that require further examination. The displays at the Imperial War Museum make it clear that the British government actively participated in encouraging the evacuation of children. Propaganda posters urged mothers to send their children out of London and reminded others that sheltering evacuees was a national duty during the war.

Not all children had happy memories of their lives in the countryside, unlike the smiling kids portrayed on the posters. The Museum actually makes an effort to show the multiple reactions to the evacuations: happy situations, unhappy children, loneliness, and homesickness. It's clear that many of these messages were gendered: they are directed at women. "Mothers...send them out of London." "She's in the Ranks, too." The woman surrounded by children reinforces ideas about a woman's role to care for children, but it also reminds us that men have been called up for different duties and many women were on their own...yet another aspect to be explored.

Many of the posters regarding daily life and daily concerns were aimed at women. They draw on stereotypes but also show the British effort to mobilize the entire population in the fight against the Nazis including men, women, and children. I found that in France it was often assumed that women were responsible for the daily acts of clothing, feeding, and caring for their families, but the reality was often different. In an atmosphere of extreme shortages, families enlisted all aid at their disposal in the struggle for survival. My best guess is that a similar situation also existed here in Great Britain(especially when you see all the kids in the posters). I like the posters, though!

Imperial War Museum

Since I've been here, I've been to the Imperial War Museum twice - both with my politics and culture class. On the first visit, I focused on WWI and on the second, I looked at material on WWII. I noticed as I was going through the exhibit I was automatically drawn to the topics that interest me the most: daily life. You could say that I'm a bit obsessed with the politics of food during the war (just check out my book if you don't believe me) so on the first trip I was really interested in the display on rationing in Britain during the Great War. It just reinforces my argument that in times of crisis the concerns of daily life affect politics and can be even more influential than official laws passed by the government. I also found support for the idea that governments recognize the importance of daily concerns and try to influence public opinion in multiple ways. My favorite things on display were the plates, cups, and jugs with a message from Britain's Prime Minister, David Lloyd George. The dishes all have a message to the people, "I have no hesitation in saying that economy in the consumption & use of food in this country is a matter of the greatest possible importance to the Empire at the present time." While you were eating there was a political message underneath the food you were putting on your plate: don't eat too much! As an island nation that did rely on imports at a time when German u-boats were practicing unrestricted submarine warfare, conserving food was important. Soldiers at the front in France needed supplies, but governments were also well aware that civilian morale played a key role in a government's ability to sustain the war effort. Traditional forms of propaganda (such as posters) were supplemented by more unique items that were specifically aimed at people's daily activities.

Random Stuff

It seems that wherever I go, there is something that can be related to politics and culture in twentieth-century Europe. Here are a few pictures I've taken with a few thoughts on their importance.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Oxford. Oxford offers all kinds of topics for further exploration: the British education system, the (re)production of political and social elite, and the setting for scenes from Harry Potter. It also produced two very successful writers: JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. The contemporaries met weekly for lunch at the Eagle and Child Pub and we happened to have lunch at the table under their favorite meeting spot. These two men have had remarkable success with their books, which have also been turned into movies: 2 different cultural formats. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, which have sold over 100 million copies and have been translated into 41 languages. Tolkien is the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and has been called the father of modern fantasy literature. Both were professors at Oxford and both had fought in the Great War. Their writings continue to influence readers around the world.

Yesterday was a trip to Dover and Canterbury. While both towns have long and important histories, I was drawn to their more recent histories, especially their experiences during World War II (surprise, surprise). Unfortunately we didn't get to visit the secret underground tunnels dug into the famous white cliffs that were used during the war, but I did manage to take a couple of pictures from a statue that overlooks the harbor. The artwork depicted the rescue from Dunkirk and the Normandy D-Day invasions. With France just 17 miles away, Dover was an important site for planning operations and protecting Britain during the war.

From the very beginning of our visit into Canterbury Cathedral, I was reminded of the war again. You expect to learn about Thomas Beckett and the long history of the cathedral. At the entrance to the nave is an engraving on the floor dedicated to the people who helped save the cathedral during the German bombing campaign. The war certainly threatened the survival of the cathedral, which would have been an incredible loss of Britain's history and culture.

London Central Mosque

This afternoon's trip was to the London Central Mosque as part of the Politics and Culture in 20th Century Europe course. Our guide introduced us to the central tenets of Islam, allowed us to witness late afternoon prayers, and answered all our questions.

I could go on and on about the history of Islam or the role of Islam in Europe, but I won't. There was one thing Omar said towards the end of our visit that really rang a bell. He said he thought it was easier to be a practicing Muslim in Britain than in most other European countries. He specifically mentioned the secularism laws in France that prohibit the overt display of religious symbols (Christian crosses, Jewish Stars of David or yarmulkes, Islamic headscarves) in public schools. There is a long history to this secularism, whose roots can be found in the Enlightenment and the ideals of the French Revolution of 1789. In 1905, a law officially separated church and state and granted religious freedom in the predominantly Catholic country. Religious education and symbols were banned from public schools. In 2004, based on arguments of equality (among other things) a law was passed that outlawed the wearing of head scarves in schools.

There are about five million Muslims in France (NYT, 9/30/2008), which is the largest Muslim population in Western Europe. (We learned today that there are about 2 million Muslims in the UK.) There are only 4 private Muslim schools in France; therefore, many Muslim girls are starting to attend private Catholic schools, which allow girls to wear the scarves and demonstrate religious toleration.

There are pros and cons to the secularism...what do you think???

Tate Britain

Today was another field trip day. First stop: Tate Britain Art Museum. After an interesting guided tour of the collection focusing on British artists from the 16th-19th centuries, we had some time to wander through the rest of the museum. I went in search of the Turner paintings and walked through a room twice without noticing the subject matter or the paintings. On the third pass through the room, I noticed that the room was called "Asylum" and upon reading the information sign I discovered that all the paintings were done by refugees from Nazism who came to Britain in the 1930s and 1940s. The objective was to show the impact refugees have had on art in Britain. As someone who studies refugee and native communities during the Second World War, I was instantly drawn to the topic.

One of the first paintings to really capture my attention was called "1939" and was painted by Hans Feibusch in (try to guess what year....)...1939. Feibusch, a German painter, found that his art was outlawed in his own country in 1933 after Hitler was appointed Chancellor because he was Jewish. Later that year, he fled to Britain (we often don't realize that 10s of thousands of Jews fled Germany in 1933). In 1938, Feibusch became a British citizen. A year later, he painted "1939." The Second World War began on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and his painting reflects both the fears of the coming war and his experiences of the First World War. Feibusch had fought in the Great War and just 20 years later - one generation - Europe was at war again. The painting, I think, shows the anguish and the horror of the wars in the figures and the colors that Feibusch chose.

Feibusch's work had been displayed in Germany after he fled the country. In 1937, his paintings had been included in the Nazi exhibition of Degenerate Art (Entartete Kunst). Art that Hitler considered to be "un-German" went on a travelling display. Modern art, art by Jewish artists, Socialists, and others was banned. Rather than stay in a country where art was a crime, many fled to other European countries, like Hans Feibusch.

I was also drawn to a painting by Jankel Adler. Adler was considered "degenerate" in at least 4 ways. He was Polish, Jewish, Socialist, and a Modernist. He also fled Germany after the Nazis came to power in 1933. According to the painting's label, Adler worked in Warsaw and Paris before coming to Britain. Like many other fleeing persecution, Adler chose other European countries when he first left Germany in 1933. These countries turned out not to be safe havens after Hitler quickly conquered most of the European continent in 1939 and 1940. Adler came to the UK as part of the Polish Army. (After the country's swift defeat in 1939, the Polish government went into exile in London - they continued to support the AK (Polish Home Army) as a resistance force throughout the war). In 1942/3, Adler painted "The Mutilated" in the midst of the heavy bombing of London. Adler said his painting reflects his admiration of London's population in the face of daily suffering and extreme stress. According the Adler, "only then could humanity been seen at its best." Yet the subject matter shows humanity at its worst...the mutilation of others through warfare.

Today's trip reminded me of the clear connections between politics (in this case the rise of Nazism and its exclusionary and then genocidal "laws") and culture. The paintings were a direct reflection of individual, daily experiences in Europe between 1939 and 1945.

Professional Development

So part of the great thing about teaching in London is that I also get to take advantage of all the other things the city has to offer in terms of my professional development. Being a professor means also being a professional student. There is always more to learn and more things to research. I started looking on the internet for information on how to use the Wiener Library for research yesterday. The Wiener Library was formed in 1933 and it is a library and archive dedicated to preserving information on the Holocaust and Nazi era in order to make it available to researchers. As I was looking around the webpage, I discovered that they were hosting a book launch and talk that night! Dr. Neil Gregor would be talking about his new book, Haunted City: Nuremberg and the Nazi Past.

The talk turned out to be a very interesting discussion of how the people of Nuremberg (the site of the Nazi Party rallies and home to the post-war trials of Nazis) have commemorated and remembered their participation in the war and the Holocaust. He argues that the people of Nuremberg preferred to remember themselves as victims of the war (especially as victims of Allied air raids on the city) than remembering their participation in exclusion, discrimination, and genocide. History isn't just about the events...it's about the way that those events are remembered and interpreted.

The talk was interesting and so was the location. We were seated on chairs in the aisles between bookshelves in a typical London building. Now I know where to go for my research and hopefully for more talks in the future.

The first week

I've been here for not quite a week and I'm already amazed at the amount of European history, culture, and politics you run across in your daily life. Within the first few days I had a very interesting conversation with a man whose family fled Poland during the Second World War. Fearing both the Nazis and the Soviets, the family headed to Hungary. I study and research the history of World War II in Europe all the time as part of my job, but I rarely have the opportunity to talk to someone who experienced it when I'm living in Rolla.

Walking back to the flat through my neighborhood also gives me the opportunity to see history. Sometimes it's marked right there on the building! Not only do the streets and the buildings themselves have histories, people who lived in them also have their own histories. Not far from my flat is the house where T.S. Eliot died. Eliot seems especially appropriate to discuss in a blog related to our Missouri London course on 20th century European politics and culture. Time Magazine even calls him one of the 100 most important people of the twentieth century. Eliot was born in St. Louis but became a British citizen in 1927 (according to his Nobel Prize biography.) Eliot has been called "one of the most daring innovators of twentieth-century poetry." His works often reflected the disillusionment of people after the Great War and are linked with ideas of modernity, especially his poem "The Waste Land." I've heard that Eliot's friend and fellow poet, Ezra Pound, lived in the street behind our flat. I'll have to go take a look. Who knows? Maybe they even walked by this house on their way to the pub or on a shopping trip.

On a more pop culture note, I've been noticing the similarities between British and American tv. Why is it that we both seem to have the same bad shows?? I saw a less-flashier version of "Deal or No Deal" the other day; then there's "Big Brother" and "Wife Swap." I think I saw something similar to "American Idol" (I didn't watch long enough to confirm it) and I had to watch "Dancing on Ice" last night! It's like "Dancing with the Stars" only on ice and with more chances for injury. I saw a football player smash head-first into the ice and another contestant who had to sit out last season because he broke his ankle skating in practice. Even though I have no idea who the celebrities are that I was watching, I just couldn't turn it off. I had to wonder if the show would be migrating to the US next. One part of me says no because Americans aren't huge skating fans, but then again Americans aren't big ballroom dancing fans and "Dancing with the Stars" is still a big hit. And there's the chance for injury and we Americans seem to like watching things with an element of danger. So who knows?? [NOTE: I remembered that the US *did* have this, but all I remember about it was the celebrity gossip. It obviously didn't make a lasting impression...]

I wonder what this tells us about European culture? In some ways I guess we are more similar to the Europeans than we often think. Or maybe we're just more similar to the British (although I saw "Deal or No Deal" in France before I saw it in the US). Reality tv seems to be just as popular here as at home. Is this a reflection of culture in general? What is the different between "high" and "popular" culture? Is "high" culture disappearing? These are definitely things to think about and explore. It certainly shows the global nature of our world.