"The Crossroads: The End of World War II, the Atomic Bomb, and the Origins of the Cold War"

"The Crossroads: The End of World War II, the Atomic Bomb, and the Origins of the Cold War"

"The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II"

“Do you want to do an exhibit intended to make veterans feel good, or do you want an exhibition that will lead our visitors to think about the consequences of our atomic bombing of Japan? Frankly, I do not think we can do both.”

--Tom Crouch to Smithsonian Director Martin Harwit, 1993

From the original script:

“For most Americans, this war was fundamentally different than the one waged against Germany and Italy--it was a war of vengeance. For most Japanese, it was a war to defend their unique culture against Western imperialism.”

From the original script:

“For most Americans, this war was fundamentally different than the one waged against Germany and Italy--it was a war of vengeance. For most Japanese, it was a war to defend their unique culture against Western imperialism.”

The revised version:

“For most Americans, this war was different from the one waged against Germany and Italy: it was a war to defeat a vicious aggressor, but also a war to punish Japan for Pearl Harbor and for the brutal treatment of Allied prisoners. For most Japanese, what had begun as a war of imperial conquest had become a battle to save their nation from destruction.”

January Script Revised Script

Total photos 75 64

"Human suffering" photos 49 37

Photos featuring women, children, religious objects 25 23

Total artifacts 26 24

Object-related 16 16

Person-related 10 8

Artifacts related to women, children, religion 13 12

“Museums are about understanding, about making meaning of the past,” said James Gardner, who oversees the nation’s legislative archives, presidential libraries and museums.

“A memorial fulfills a different need; it’s about remembering and evoking feelings in the viewer, and that function is antithetical to what museums do.”

Some things to look for:

The Hiroshima bombing:How does the museum present the Enola Gay aircraft? What does the

exhibit tell visitors? What does it omit? Where is Curtis LeMay here?

Technology:What is the general tone of the museum towards technology? How

does it want visitors to think about technological advances?

Military vs. Civilian aircraft:Parts of the museum are devoted to warplanes; other parts focus more on the space race and civilian transport. How does the museum relate the Space Race and the Arms Race?

The Cold War:How does the museum present various Cold War events we’ve covered this week?