The war in retrospect

Editorial

The Second World War continues to have dramatic repercussions on the self-image of nations around the globe. Generations of Germans have struggled to retain self-respect in a national identity stained irreparably by the legacy of the Third Reich. Japan today wrestles with the legacy of "comfort women" – victims from subjugated countries forced into sexual slavery for the gratification of Japanese soldiers.

And Canada seems to engage in a crisis of conscience every time a new exhibit opens at the National War Museum.

This time, the issue is the Allied bombing of German cities, particularly the notorious attacks on Dresden, which have been a source of controversy for six decades as debate has raged over whether the attacks were militarily relevant or merely gratuitous "punishment" of enemy civilians.

The current controversy centres on a panel of a display at the Ottawa museum, discussing the morality of the Allied bombing – by Canadian and American air forces – of German cities. The wording of one of the exhibit's display panels has upset Royal Canadian Legion members, who say it implies they are war criminals.

"Mass bomber raids against Germany resulted in vast destruction and heavy loss of life," states the display. "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."

The Royal Canadian Legion has threatened a boycott of the museum, and independent historians have been called in to review the panel. The museum has determined that the depiction of events is historically accurate and will remain as posted.

The War Museum deserves credit for taking seriously the concerns of veterans. It deserves even more credit for sticking to its commitment to historical veracity in the face of criticism.

Wars are a time of horror. A war museum must depict this reality, even when it conflicts with our view of ourselves and our national identity. Other countries face such moral challenges in recalling their war-era behavior. That there is some ambiguity in the moral historical behavior of the Canadian military is not proof that we are evil or immoral; it is a sign that we are human. It would be hard to imagine a country participating in the cataclysm of the Second World War and emerging from the other side without a scar on its morality. The fact that we fight for a good cause does not preclude us from having our behavior reviewed.

The war museum raises the possibility that Allied bombing raids, especially near the end of the war, were excessive. It does not conclude that they were. Evidence suggests that the museum's exhibit is fair and accurate.

Historical revisionism and national aggrandizement may be the raison d'être of some countries' museums, but Canada has rarely succumbed to blind patriotism at the expense of historical accuracy.

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