War Museum

I had the opportunity to visit the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa in the past week. There was some controversy at the concept of a war museum, more over its design and even more worrisome talk about the cost to Canadians for such a museum. The question of whether we needed such a museum was answered easily for me in my short visit.

First, this is a museum of history, albeit the history of Canadian conflicts from the time the first Europeans arrived in North America to the present. I had forgotten my high school history of how the battles between the French and English in the woods of the new land would set off the Seven Years War that consumed much of Europe; how the French Revolution and eventually the American Revolution had their roots in battles fought along the St Lawrence. The history of how the First Nations people sided with one side or the other and the resulting treaties is still reverberating through our courts and affecting our lives.

The one thing the museum does not do is glorify war. It does recognize the actions of men and women in war, the heroics in moments of stress and danger, the compassion and care for comrades in arms, but if anything, it vilifies the people who get us into these conflicts. A pacifist will come out of the World War I section more convinced than ever of man’s utter stupidity and cruelty, while the warrior hidden within most of us would have to shake our head in disbelief. Added to the displays of weaponry and trench warfare conditions is the war art of the Great War.

Today we are used to digital images flashed on our TV screens from around the globe showing the results of conflicts and wars, but in the years between 1914 and 1918, we relied on still photographs and the canvasses of war artists. Group of Seven artists, Varley and Lismer were there, and one cannot help but be moved by the stark images they gave us. Other artists tried modernism to express what their eyes took in and one can only wonder what the fighting men would think of their efforts in portraying the terrible conflict.

Throughout the museum, art plays a strong role in depicting our history. The writings are there too, Flanders Fields, High Flight and copies of letters from the front. The role of people at home, the propaganda posters and the newspaper headlines all contribute to the message that the museum brings the visitor. The weaponry and ingenuity man has used to kill one another is all there. So too, is the documentation of statistics of ships lost, tonnes of bombs dropped and lives lost and maimed. Underlying the whole display is the making and maturing of a nation. Our role as a defender of what we believe is right, our keeping of peace in far-off lands and now our support of freedom is all there in the War Museum.

The Canadian War Museum is now a firm part of the triumvirate of showcases in Ottawa – The National Gallery, The Museum of Civilization and now the War Museum. Not only are these striking works of architecture, but they are all visitor-friendly and staffed by helpful people proud of their workplace.

The Canadian War Museum is not only a destination for all Canadian students, but should be on our visitors’ list of places to see when they come to our country. Make sure it is on your to do list on your next visit to Ottawa. If Ottawa is not in your immediate future, visit the museum via the internet – you will see a small sample of this important collection.