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Museums (except for the minority of privately funded museums) are publicly funded institutions. Museum officials are responsible to the public. They should not be spoonfed the kind of stories that politicians and veterans wanted to give them. I believe the American public is smart enough to see such a reflective exhibit. What is so sad about the cancellation of this exhibit is that it had the potential to teach the American public to reflect on the atomic bomb and learn about historical/critical thinking. The stakes were so high because World War II had ended only 50 years ago – many people involved were still alive. And no one wants to believe that the atomic bombs were unnecessary – which some people read between the lines of the exhibit’ early script drafts – though Harwit denies that is what the exhibit was trying to demonstrate. No one wants to think about the devastation and pain that we caused Japanese civilians, regardless of their country’s role in the war. The stakes of the controversy involved heritage – how people view America’s role in the war and our role in starting the Cold War and the arm’s race. History for the historians was about examining the story from different angles and reflecting on long term consequences. It could be us if we are not careful with nuclear weapons. This was not simply to create sympathy for the Japanese but also to remind people that this could have been anyone. NASM wanted to educate people on the consequences of atomic bombs – high casualties and horrifying devastation. The AFA ended up getting politicians involved.įor historians, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki not only helped end the war, it also began the Cold War. In both cases, the veterans and the AFA wanted the exhibit to focus more on heritage than history – only showing their side of the story. They wanted history to be a celebration of their acts and their part of ending the war. The American Air Force Association (AFA) had similar views. In reality, however, the decision to drop the bomb was made by people much higher up – any criticism to be found in the exhibit was not directed at veterans. For veterans, history was about commemorating their service. “To World War II veterans a critical presentation of this climactic event, on the Washington Mall during the fiftieth anniversary, seemed to discredit all that they had done in a cause that had defined their lives and connected them to American history” (Kohn). They also believed that the exhibit focused too much on the suffering of the Japanese as a result of the bombs.
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To most veterans, the exhibit was too critical of the dropping of the atomic bombs and did not portray veterans as heroic. NASM ended up displaying the Enola Gay with simple labels and very little interpretation. However, the exhibit was canceled and caused such an uproar that Martin Harwit, director of NASM, was forced to resign. The exhibit was to be called, “The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II.” The exhibit would include information about the war, how the decision was made to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the consequences of dropping the atomic bombs.
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In summary, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) planned an exhibit around Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The "Enola Gay" from the "Enola Gay" exhibit at the Smithsonian's Air and Space MuseumĪs a Museum Studies student, I have heard about the Enola Gay controversy in several of my classes now.