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REMEMBERING WWI AT OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY
ODU Mace & Crown - Old Dominion Univ. at Norfolk, Virginia
Sept 21 2014
There must have been over a hundred people there; I honestly wasn't
expecting this to have a big turnout at all, but after sitting through
Jay Winter's lecture on commemorating WWI, I understood why so many
people had shown up.
His lecture was not only engaging, but it was also thought provoking.
This led to many arms in the air after he was done speaking.
Winter, a specialist on WWI, visited Old Dominion University's campus
this Thursday where he gave his lecture, "Commemorating Catastrophe:
The Great War 100 Years On." His lecture focused on the what, where
and why we should commemorate.
Refugees, gas warfare and genocide were just a few of the events,
which Winter spoke on, stressing his belief that these are the events
which should be honored. Refugees represented the fact that military
treated civilians as they would soldiers, meaning they were fair game
to be shot. Gas warfare represented torturous war tactics, and the
Armenian genocide paints a gruesome picture of the inhumanity which
the war produced.
How should we commemorate the war? Remembrance be achieved through
pilgrimage, visits to local and national war memorials, to war museums
and cemeteries and to battlefields where the soldiers themselves fought
and died. Local monuments were sites of mourning for those who could
not go to national capitals. They represent the raw emotions of local
villagers who lost loved ones to the war. Museums serve the purpose
of paying tribute to those who endured the tests of war.
Why should we commemorate WWI? Pilgrimage is hard, tourism is easy.
Winter stated that travel is seven times cheaper than it was in 1925.
Taking the time to travel to war memorials and museums to reflect on
the fate of millions of men allows us to recognize how fortunate we
are and we gain a new appreciation for life and the fallen men and
women of war.
Winter makes an interesting statement that "war was not only a killing
machine, but a vanishing act," referring to the fact that 50 percent
of the men who died in WWI have no known graves. It's important to
remember these men and stand where they stood, to understand what
they went through.
"Read inscriptions on their gravestones, read the names because
in most cases that's all that's left of them. Their names shall
liveth forevermore," Winter said. We can remember their names and the
person the soldier was and the memory of them shall never vanish from
this Earth.
Winter's lecture was impactful and very insightful. The room was packed
full, every seat taken, and when he finished the applause lasted for
close to a minute. That's a sign that the lecture really hit home, and
not only made sense, but rang true within the hearts of the audience.
By Kelly Morgan Contributing Writer
http://www.maceandcrown.com/2014/09/21/remembering-wwi-old-dominion-university/
ODU Mace & Crown - Old Dominion Univ. at Norfolk, Virginia
Sept 21 2014
There must have been over a hundred people there; I honestly wasn't
expecting this to have a big turnout at all, but after sitting through
Jay Winter's lecture on commemorating WWI, I understood why so many
people had shown up.
His lecture was not only engaging, but it was also thought provoking.
This led to many arms in the air after he was done speaking.
Winter, a specialist on WWI, visited Old Dominion University's campus
this Thursday where he gave his lecture, "Commemorating Catastrophe:
The Great War 100 Years On." His lecture focused on the what, where
and why we should commemorate.
Refugees, gas warfare and genocide were just a few of the events,
which Winter spoke on, stressing his belief that these are the events
which should be honored. Refugees represented the fact that military
treated civilians as they would soldiers, meaning they were fair game
to be shot. Gas warfare represented torturous war tactics, and the
Armenian genocide paints a gruesome picture of the inhumanity which
the war produced.
How should we commemorate the war? Remembrance be achieved through
pilgrimage, visits to local and national war memorials, to war museums
and cemeteries and to battlefields where the soldiers themselves fought
and died. Local monuments were sites of mourning for those who could
not go to national capitals. They represent the raw emotions of local
villagers who lost loved ones to the war. Museums serve the purpose
of paying tribute to those who endured the tests of war.
Why should we commemorate WWI? Pilgrimage is hard, tourism is easy.
Winter stated that travel is seven times cheaper than it was in 1925.
Taking the time to travel to war memorials and museums to reflect on
the fate of millions of men allows us to recognize how fortunate we
are and we gain a new appreciation for life and the fallen men and
women of war.
Winter makes an interesting statement that "war was not only a killing
machine, but a vanishing act," referring to the fact that 50 percent
of the men who died in WWI have no known graves. It's important to
remember these men and stand where they stood, to understand what
they went through.
"Read inscriptions on their gravestones, read the names because
in most cases that's all that's left of them. Their names shall
liveth forevermore," Winter said. We can remember their names and the
person the soldier was and the memory of them shall never vanish from
this Earth.
Winter's lecture was impactful and very insightful. The room was packed
full, every seat taken, and when he finished the applause lasted for
close to a minute. That's a sign that the lecture really hit home, and
not only made sense, but rang true within the hearts of the audience.
By Kelly Morgan Contributing Writer
http://www.maceandcrown.com/2014/09/21/remembering-wwi-old-dominion-university/