Words of peace

From the end of the Great War in 1919 to Greta Thunberg in 2019, the power of the written word is celebrated in a fascinating new free exhibition

Over the last 100 years, the written word has been a powerful force in helping to achieve peace and reconciliation in response to conflicts around the world. Now, through books, photos and letters, these words have been brought together in the Senate House Library’s new free exhibition, Writing in Times of Conflict. The journey begins in 1919 just after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, a moment that marked the end of the First World War and led to the establishment of contemporary peace movements. The exhibition then explores some of the most significant military, environmental and economic conflicts that ensued right up to 2019, touching on current political issues such as Brexit, economic inequality and climate change. There are many bold stories by wellknown writers on display, including one of the first editions of John Maynard Keynes’ The Economic Consequences of the Peace, which he completed after attending the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. There’s also a rare signed first edition of In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway, and a hand-written letter from Virginia Woolf describing Second

World War bombers flying overhead. These works are complemented by unique photographs and documents that give the writing context, such as one of the few surviving photo-static copies of the ‘Nazi Black Book’, listing peace activists and politicians targeted by the Gestapo. It was gifted to the library in 1945 by the Ministry of Information, which was based at Senate House during the Second World War. Running until 14 December 2019, the free exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to explore the writing used for peace at protests, in exile and during wartime, while providing a moment for reflection at a time when the world continues to face conflict.