[Melissa Davis]

I’ve been struggling with recognizing appropriately the anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and now VJ Day. In my  “semi-official” social media, there needs to be some mention, but trying to find the right tone is tough. Of course there were celebrations when WWII ended, I’m sure my family was happy as after more than a year in Europe, my Dad would be heading home instead of to Japan. But the devastation — to people, infrastructure, economies — was horrific in both Japan and Europe and that doesn’t seem a cause for celebration. In history-related jobs, how do we handle commemorating end end of WWII?

[Jay Shaw]

That’s a really fine line for an organization to walk. In my experience, we have highlighted all the activity during the end of the war. Of course there is a focus on our organization, but while the end of the war for the allies was a good thing, there was so much destruction that an attempt has to be made to remember the civilians of the conflict. These were people with hopes and dreams, just as much as the allies, to forget them and their sacrifices is to miss an important part of the war.

[Author]

Posts