Remembering Fallen Soldiers

A recent controversy at the Ottawa War Museum highlights the delicate art of remembering the country’s fallen soldiers. The furor erupted in 2006 when veterans’ groups complained that a panel entitled "Strategic Bombing: An Enduring Controversy," examining the allied air raids on Germany in 1944, mentioned that "[t]he value and morality of the strategic bomber offensive against Germany remains bitterly contested." Moreover, the panel noted that, "[a]lthough Bomber Command and American Attacks left 600,000 Germans dead, and more than five million homeless, the raids resulted in only small reductions in German war production until late in the war." Indeed, the Dresden "firebombing" of February 13-15, 1945, which is perhaps the best known episode of this allied aerial campaign, is said to have killed tens of thousands. Some estimates go as high as 135,000.

Some veterans were upset that the panel’s questioning of the morality of the operation implied that their actions constituted war crimes. Indeed, if the allies had not won the Second World War and been able to dictate who was to be tried, many allied leaders – in military and civilian roles – would likely have been found guilty of such crimes. The Second World War was a horrifying global trauma, and it is ridiculous to proceed with the assumption that only one side was guilty of committing war crimes. Not surprisingly, the Nuremberg Trials, which began in 1945 to punish the Nazi leadership, were not mandated to prosecute the activities of the allied powers.

Nevertheless, the War Museum panel did not actually say that any operation constituted a crime. In fact, the word ‘crime’ did not even appear on the original panel. Instead, it seems that the Museum’s much more conservative goal was to send visitors the message that, given the extensive destruction caused by the bombing campaign, it is something we should all consider when evaluating the justness of particular allied operations during the war. Moreover, as Dean Oliver, the director of research and exhibitions at the Museum, explained: “In the effort to understand and learn from past conflicts and the sacrifices Canadians have made, it is essential to scrutinize how war is waged. This cannot be done selectively, by ignoring difficult subjects.”

This past spring, a Senate subcommittee on veterans’ affairs held hearings on the matter. Jack Granatstein, a well known and very conservative historian specializing in military affairs, sided with the museum by explaining that “[e]very fact in that panel is a fact, it’s true. It’s almost impossible for me to put the interpretation on it that they [the dissatisfied veterans] do. I’m frankly baffled on this one.”

Nevertheless, the Senate subcommittee released a report in June that called for a rewording of the Strategic Bombing panel, while acknowledging that there were no factual inaccuracies on it.  Two months later, in August, the Museum announced that it would rework the panel. Upon hearing this decision, historian Margaret Macmillan of Trinity College, who authored the well-reviewed Paris 1919, commented that it was “a sad day for museum,” and noted that this made “Canada as a whole look cowardly and afraid.”

A group of disgruntled veterans, meanwhile, proposed its own wording: “Thousands perished in the raids, and millions were left homeless. While these numbers are very large, they pale in comparison to the genocide perpetrated … by the Germans and their proxies.” It is difficult to read the preceding without getting the impression that these veterans were trying to insert a bizarre relativism into the panel: ‘we were bad, but the Germans were worse.’ Can one not examine the morality of killing hundreds of thousands of civilians in an allied bombing campaign without trying to deflect attention to the enemy’s crimes? Is this how we teach children to evaluate the morality of their actions?

In the end, the War Museum somewhat diluted the panel. Instead of noting that the morality of the operation is still “bitterly contested,” the new wording reads that it is still “debated.” The length of the panel was also more than doubled, from 80 words to 202, adding more detail and context, including allied casualties, but rightly avoiding references to the enemy’s crimes.

The text of the original and revised panel’s is reproduced below. I will let you decide which does the best job of remembering fallen soldiers, and providing a morally meaningful account of history.
 

ORIGINAL WORDING:

Mass bomber raids against Germany resulted in vast destruction and heavy loss of life. The value and morality of the strategic bomber offensive against Germany remains bitterly contested. Bomber Command's aim was to crush civilian morale and force Germany to surrender by destroying its cities and industrial installations. Although Bomber Command and American attacks left 600,000 Germans dead, and more than five million homeless, the raids resulted in only small reductions in German war production until late in the war.

REVISED WORDING:

The strategic bombing campaign against Germany, an important part of the Allied effort that achieved victory, remains a source of controversy today.

Strategic bombing enjoyed wide public and political support as a symbol of Allied resolve and a response to German aggression. In its first years, the air offensive achieved few of its objectives and suffered heavy losses. Advances in technology and tactics, combined with Allied successes on other fronts, led to improved results. By war's end, Allied bombers had razed portions of every major city in Germany and damaged many other targets, including oil facilities and transportation networks. The attacks blunted Germany's economic and military potential, and drew scarce resources into air defence, damage repair, and the protection of critical industries.

Allied aircrew conducted this gruelling offensive with great courage against heavy odds. It required vast material and industrial efforts and claimed over 80,000 Allied lives, including more than 10,000 Canadians. While the campaign contributed greatly to enemy war weariness, German society did not collapse despite 600,000 dead and more than five million left homeless. Industrial output fell substantially, but not until late in the war. The effectiveness and the morality of bombing heavily-populated areas in war continue to be debated.

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