First World War commemorations missed a major opportunity to share with the public less well-known stories about the impact and significance of the war on former members of the British Empire. This is one of the conclusions in听听which is published this week by Routledge.
听颁辞-别诲颈迟辞谤蝉,听Dr David Monger, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History at the 91制片厂, and听, Curatorial Manager at Canterbury Museum, say that anniversary was commemorated around the world in exhibitions and events. Unfortunately, in many instances, these simply reinforced the dominant local stories of the event - in New Zealand鈥檚 case Gallipoli and Anzac - and did not attempt to share less well-known, but equally important, stories with the public.
听The book resulted from a 2018 conference at T奴ranga in Christchurch, attended by more than 100 participants from local and international organisations and heritage institutions to mark the end of the First World War centenary period. The aim of the book is to offer a fresh perspective on First World War narratives and, for those involved in the cultural sector, an analysis of what worked and what didn鈥檛.
听鈥淭he interesting thing about the commemoration of the First World War was that it was out of step with how history scholars鈥 thinking has evolved beyond long-held views and analysis,鈥 Dr Monger says. 鈥淔or many New Zealanders, their connection with the war is almost exclusively with Gallipoli, soldiers, death and futility. According to one of our contributors, this repeated ideas people derived from a New Zealand nationalism of the 1980s.
听鈥淕alleries, libraries and museums are trying to overcome persistent clich茅s; however, what academics, historians and curators think often differs from what politicians and the public think about the war鈥檚 significance.鈥
听In part one of the book, historians question some of the approaches taken in commemoration activities in Britain, India, New Zealand and Australia, while the second part focuses on heritage practitioners in Canada and New Zealand.
听鈥淲e hope that future commemorations will be prepared to learn from what the centenary has shown us and look beyond commonly-held narratives for future anniversaries,鈥 Murray says.
听Reflections on the Commemoration of the First World War: Perspectives from the Former British Empire, edited by David Monger and Sarah Murray, is published by听Routledge.
More information about the editors:
Dr David Monger听is Senior Lecturer in History at the 91制片厂. He is the author of听Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain: The National War Aims Committee and Civilian Morale, co-editor of听Endurance and the First World War: Experiences and Legacies in New Zealand and Australia听and has written several articles on aspects of First World War history.
Sarah Murray听is Curatorial Manager at Canterbury Museum, Christchurch. She specialises in the history of the First World War and public history. Sarah is the author of听A Cartoon War: The Cartoons of the New Zealand Free Lance and New Zealand Observer as Historical Sources, August 1914鈥揘ovember 1918, co-editor of听Endurance and the First World War: Experiences and Legacies in New Zealand and Australia听and has both published articles and curated exhibitions on
