[MSN] Canada. Museum boycott is wrong answer.

[Museum Security Network Mailing list]

Museum boycott is wrong answer

 
(Mar 17, 2007)

For some of the now grey-haired Canadians who as young men flew bomber
missions over Nazi Germany, the Canadian War Museum's description of the
Allied bombing campaign is misguided and an insult.

The Royal Canadian Legion has reported that the groups upset with the museum
include the Aircrew Association of Canada, the Air Force Association of
Canada, the Bomber Command Association, the Halifax Aircraft Association,
the RCAF Prisoners of War Association, the Wartime Pilots and Observers
Association and the National Council of Veteran Associations in Canada.

The seriousness with which this coalition has launched its campaign cannot
be understated. It has called on Canadians to boycott the museum, which
opened in 2005 on the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
With such an impressive list of groups marshalled against the museum,
Canadians have to take a close look at their complaint.

The veterans have focused on a panel at the museum entitled, An Enduring
Controversy. The panel says the bombing raids against Germany resulted in
heavy destruction and loss of life, and that the bomber offensive remains
controversial. It also says the "raids resulted in only small reductions in
German war production until late in the war."

The coalition thinks that this description doesn't properly describe the
bombing campaign. Fair enough. It may not tell of the sheer terror these men
endured, never knowing whether flak guns or fighter planes would fire on
them -- never knowing if they were about to endure a horrible, painful
death.

It may not describe all the reasons why the Allies used the deadly tactics
they did: They wanted not only to destroy Nazi Germany's war industries and
military sites but also to create such havoc that Germany would collapse
from exhaustion.

The Allies also wanted, toward the end of the war, to prevent more German
troops from being able to reach the eastern front where Soviet troops were
rapidly advancing toward Germany.

Yes, fair enough. The men who were in the bombing campaign did their duty
and they should not feel that they are being second-guessed today. Now in
their 80s, these veterans should feel confident that they have the
admiration of Canadians and that historians will, over time, understand what
they did.

But what the War Museums panel states is also factually correct: The Allied
bombing of German cities, which killed 600,000 civilians, is controversial
today and it was controversial more than 60 years ago. In light of this, it
is unfair for the coalition to call on Canadians to boycott the museum. Even
those veterans who would like the museum's display to say more than it does
should realize the strategy of boycotting the museum is counterproductive.
Canadians should be encouraged to go to the museum even if a particular
display is less than perfect. The museum has a story to tell. It is as
important as it is complex.

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