The Imperial War Museum in London was an amazing experience. The informative and interactive exhibits kept my attention for hours. A couple of artifacts from World War II I found interesting were the Morrison shelter and the Nazi eagle statue. During the blitz, London was bombed daily and the citizens needed protection from the unexpected attacks. The Morrison shelter was built as an easy access shelter for low-income families. Normally used as a dining room table, a family of four could theoretically fit below it to protect themselves from aerial bombardment. When I saw it, it looked like it would be comfortable for only one person and that person would be buried alive if a raid came and bombed the house. It made my heart melt to realize that people had to sleep in such shelters nightly for many months during the Blitz and for those that were trapped underneath.
The second piece I thought was interesting was the Nazi Eagle. Those who lived under the Reich and appreciated Hitler and his motives swore their life to it, but to others it was the devil in disguise. The Nazi Eagle was recovered by the British when Berlin finally fell at the end of the war. An emblem once hoisted high in the sky is now viewed in a museum on the ground. Remarkably, there is an accompanying video showing the allies breaking the concrete the eagle stood on.
Museums in Ohio have limited physical evidence of the war itself, and most of what they contain are American items. Visiting museums of World War II in Europe that are close to the fighting grounds sheds a new perspective on the conflict. I was astonished with the beautiful job the curators did to put the story together along with the accompanying artifacts. The Imperial War Museum has given me a new appreciation for the British perspective on World War II.
Imperial War Museum