Setting the Holocaust in its context is a fine achievement
Second World War and the Holocaust Galleries Imperial War Museum, London ★★★★★
The creators of the new Second World War and the Holocaust Galleries at the Imperial War Museum faced a series of complex challenges. How do you do justice to a war – in one space – that lasted nearly six years and spread across the globe? Is it right to place a Holocaust gallery inside a war museum – shouldn’t there be a separate museum to educate the public about this most appalling crime? And how do you retain the interest of younger visitors without dumbing down history?
The good news is that on these big questions the Imperial War Museum gets the balance just about right. While one could argue that disproportionate space within the Second World War gallery is given to the British experience, it’s important to remember that each country approaches the history of the war from its own perspective.
The audiovisual screens spread throughout the gallery are enormously effective. The highlight is the one of the Battle of the Atlantic, where the interweaving of specially shot footage of the sea with archive of the period is so artistically done that it could almost be on show at Tate Modern.
It’s also commendable that the Soviet contribution to the war is recognised – not enough people know, for example, that the Red Army lost more soldiers in one battle, at Stalingrad, than the British did in the entire conflict. Just as refreshing is the acknowledgement of the role played in the war by countries of the British Empire.
However, even though there is some reference to the Soviet “domination” of Eastern Europe that followed the Red Army’s triumphant advance west, no prominence is given to the horrific crimes Stalin committed during the war against his own people. The Soviet leader ordered the deportation of entire ethnic groups – including the Kalmyks, Crimean Tatars and Chechens. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children died as a result. This all happened when Stalin was our ally, and it’s a shame it’s not given due acknowledgement here.
The creators of the Holocaust gallery faced a different set of problems. The biggest of which was should the gallery even be inside the IWM – especially since many other cities, including Berlin and Washington, have dedicated museums of Jewish remembrance?
There are pros and cons to each approach, but the new gallery demonstrates that the benefits of placing this history within the context of the Second World War can outweigh the disadvantages. While antisemitism has existed for thousands of years, and the Nazi persecution of the Jews predates the war, the reality is that the Holocaust as we know it emerged during the conflict.
Indeed, the death camps were not created until after Hitler declared war against the Soviet Union in 1941 – a war he described as one of “annihilation”. This linkage is brilliantly symbolised here by the opening out of one section of the Holocaust gallery to give a view of the Second World War gallery below.
It is a tremendous achievement. Home movies and other archive footage offer an immediate connection to those who suffered. So much so that I recommend that you revisit the first section of the gallery after you’ve finished your journey through the exhibition. The footage of Jewish families enjoying themselves before the war is devastatingly poignant – all the more so after viewing the displays that detail their subsequent suffering.