EXPLORING the LEGACY

The National WWII Museum is hosting a global conference in New Orleans on Sept. 10–12, 2020. “Memory Wars: World War II at 75” is a presentation of the Museum’s Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, held at the institution’s new Higgins Hotel & Conference Center.

“Memory Wars” will explore World War II’s place in public memory through a global prism, examining how museums, filmmakers, media, memorials and historians (both academic and public) help shape memories of the conflict.

We currently stand at a crossroads. The generation that fought the war is passing away, and firsthand accounts of World War II are transitioning from living memory into history. The year 2020, therefore, is a perfect time to take stock and pose fundamental questions: How is the war remembered today? How do public memories of the war differ, not only from country to country, but also within various societies?

To give one example, the attack on Pearl Harbor remains the foremost WWII event in U.S. memory — a moment of “infamy,” a crime that dragged a reluctant America out of isolationism and into the war. But other combatants, such as Germany or the former Soviet Union, do not remember Pearl Harbor in the same way. Japan, too, has a very different narrative about Pearl Harbor and the causes of the war. And even within the United States, Pearl Harbor may hold different meanings, for example, for descendants of those Japanese Americans who spent the war in internment camps.

“Memory Wars: World War II” at 75 will examine a range of provocative questions and issues related to collective memory of this global conflict. Was World War II really a “good war” for everyone? How do video games, films and other forms of popular culture shape our memory of World War II? Which memories of the Holocaust are we passing on to future generations? And what relevance do these public memories have for people around the world today? Do the war crime trials and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights still have relevance among the victors and victims of World War II?

We believe that this reflective and forward-thinking conference will be both fascinating and profoundly meaningful. We hope you will join us for it.

To register for the “Memory Wars” conference, visit nationalww2museum.org/ memory or call 1-877-813-3329 x 511.

[COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM] The Pearl Harbor National Memorial reflects how many — but not all — in the U.S. remember and honor WWII today.