THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 5, 1994 TAG: 9408050030
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
Saturday is the 49th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the event that, along with the bombing three days later of Nagasaki, ended World War II. The bombings brought a quick end to a terrible war, and saved countless American and Japanese lives that would have been lost in an invasion. Peace ushered in an era of prosperity and democracy for Japan.
The Smithsonian Institution is preparing to place the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the Hiroshima bomb, on public display next May at its new annex at Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. The display that was to accompany the plane was originally designed to provide a ``balanced'' view of the end of World War II. Veterans and historians, however, said the Smithsonian's idea of ``balance'' was to induce guilt in the American public.
``The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II'' became the target of a petition drive begun by Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets, who piloted the airaircraft he named for his mother on its momentous flight to Hiroshima. ``History has been denigrated, the Enola Gay has been miscast and a group of valiant Americans . . . have been denied a historically correct representation to the public,'' he says.
The original script for the display, the veterans charge, portrayed the United States as waging a brutal war motivated by vengeance and racism. While the show properly detailed the devastating effects of nuclear weapons, it said little about Japanese aggression and atrocities. John Correll, editor of Air Force magazine, counted dozens of examples that he said portrayed Americans in an aggressive posture while the Japanese were shown either neutrally or as victims. The Smithsonian has agreed to revise the exhibit in light of the protests.
If this were the only example of the politicization of history at the Smithsonian, it could be dismissed as an aberration. Unfortunately, it may be part of a trend. Matthew Hoffman, a Washington writer, recently detailed in The Wall Street Journal numerous examples of politics taking over from history at the nation's leading museum.
``Does Mars Have Rights?'' asks one display on space exploration. An exhibit on the art of the American West in 1991 was accompanied by labels so biased against American settlers that historian Daniel Boorstin called the show ``perverse, historically inaccurate and destructive.'' Displays that used to emphasize the ways technology had made life better and easier for most people now have an ambivalent or even negative attitude toward technological development.
So, if you visit the Smithsonian on your family vacation, enjoy the displays of the Wright brothers' plane and Apollo 11. But don't be surprised if you also find yourself on an unexpected guilt trip.
Saturday is the 49th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the event that, along with the bombing three days later of Nagasaki, ended World War II. The bombings brought a quick end to a terrible war, and saved countless American and Japanese lives that would have been lost in an invasion. Peace ushered in an era of prosperity and democracy for Japan.
The Smithsonian Institution is preparing to place the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the Hiroshima bomb, on public display next May at its new annex at Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. The display that was to accompany the plane was originally designed to provide a ``balanced'' view of the end of World War II. Veterans and historians, however, said the Smithsonian's idea of ``balance'' was to induce guilt in the American public.
``The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II'' became the target of a petition drive begun by Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets, who piloted the aircraft he named for his mother on its momentous flight to Hiroshima. ``History has been denigrated, the Enola Gay has been miscast and a group of valiant Americans . . . have been denied a historically correct representation to the public,'' he says.
The original script for the display, the veterans charge, portrayed the United States as waging a brutal war motivated by vengeance and racism. While the show properly detailed the devastating effects of nuclear weapons, it said little about Japanese aggression and atrocities. John Correll, editor of Air Force magazine, counted dozens of examples that he said portrayed Americans in an aggressive posture while the Japanese were shown either neutrally or as victims. The Smithsonian has agreed to revise the exhibit in light of the protests.
If this were the only example of the politicization of history at the Smithsonian, it could be dismissed as an aberration. Unfortunately, it may be part of a trend. Matthew Hoffman, a Washington writer, recently detailed in The Wall Street Journal numerous examples of politics taking over from history at the nation's leading museum.
``Does Mars Have Rights?'' asks one display on space exploration. An exhibit on the art of the American West in 1991 was accompanied by labels so biased against American settlers that historian Daniel Boorstin called the show ``perverse, historically inaccurate and destructive.'' Displays that used to emphasize the ways technology had made life better and easier for most people now have an ambivalent or even negative attitude toward technological development.
So, if you visit the Smithsonian on your family vacation, enjoy the displays of the Wright brothers' plane and Apollo 11. But don't be surprised if you also find yourself on an unexpected guilt trip. by CNB