Commemoration in the United Kingdom: A multitude of memories

In the United Kingdom (UK) the centenary commemoration of the First World War has been driven by a combination of central government direction (and funding) with a multitude of local and community initiatives, with a particular focus on 4 August 2014; 1 July 2016 (the beginning of the Battle of the Somme) and 11 November 2018. ‘National’ ceremonies on these dates have been and will be supplemented with projects commemorating micro-stories and government-funded opportunities for schoolchildren to visit Great War battlefields, the latter clearly aimed to reinforce a contemporary sense of civic and national obligation and service. This article explores the problematic nature of this approach, together with the issues raised by the multi-national nature of the UK state itself.

英国的一战百年纪念是由中央政府指导（并出资）,地方及社区发动,焦点是2014年8月4日、2016年7月1日（索姆河战役）、2018年11月1日。这些纪念日的国家仪式之外还有微观事迹的纪念项目,以及政府资助在校儿童参观一战战场之类,后者的目的显然在于加强当代公民与国家的责任及服务意识。本文讨论了这种做法的问题所在,以及英国政府本身的多民族性所带来的问题。     

The politics of memory: Commemorating the centenary of the First World War

This symposium examines how the centenary of the First World War has been marked in five countries: Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Given their distinctive national historical experiences and political cultures, the metanarratives of the war in these countries differ; as does the relationship between the state and sub-state actors in memory making. However, in each case the commemorations of the war have been shaped by a negotiation between the state and other agents of memory at the sub-state level. National memory has also been consciously projected into international relations, through carefully orchestrated anniversary ceremonies and performative memorial diplomacy. But, despite these transnational commemorative practices, the centenary of the war remains predominantly framed within local and national imaginings.

这次研讨会议论了一战百年在奥地利、法国、德国、英国、美国这五个国家是如何庆祝的。考虑到各国不同的历史经验以及政治文化,这些国家关于一战的元叙事各不相同,国家与次国家主体关系的记忆也是如此。不过,每个国家的战争纪念,都是国家与其他次国家层面主体协商的结果。通过精心策划的纪念仪式日以及表演性纪念外交,国家记忆被有意识地投射到了国际关系之中。除了这些跨国纪念活动,一战的记忆主要是在地方以及国家的想象框架内形成的。     

French commemoration: The centenary effect and the (re)discovery of 14–18

A centenary effect is bringing the First World War back into the public sphere in France, even though state authorities have struggled to generate momentum around its national commemorations. First, this article synthesises France's memory of the First World War, comparing it with Australian commemoration, arguing that it is generally consensual and that, to date, there has been an absence of debate over its commemoration. Second, it examines the Mission du Centenaire, France's official board for the commemoration of the centenary of the Great War, the key commemorations announced and the articulations between local, national and international commemorative events. Finally, the article analyses the economic rationale behind the French authorities’ desire for an internationalised centenary, the political messages articulated through the memory of the conflict and the level of popular interest in the centenary commemorations since 2013.

在法国,一战的百年效应就是让一战回到公共领域,政府当局大力营造国家纪念的声势。本文首先对法国的一战记忆做了综述,并同澳大利亚的纪念活动进行比较,指出法国的特点是普遍共识,至今关于一战的纪念并无辩论。本文还研究了法国官方的大战百年纪念委员会即“百年使命”,宣布的主要纪念活动以及地方、国家、国际层面的纪念活动的结合。本文最后分析了法国当局希望百年纪念国际化背后的经济理性、通过战争的记忆所传达的信息、以及2013年以来公众对于百年纪念活动热情的程度。     

Commemoration in the United States: ‘The reason for fighting I never got straight’

The United States entered the First World War late, in April 1917, and so its centenary commemoration of the war will begin well after those of its former associated powers and enemies. Even in 2017, however, US commemoration will likely be muted by the past and present ramifications of the debate and confusion over the meanings and significance of the First World War to the United States that have raged since the end of the war itself.

美国参战是在1917年4月,是一战的后期了。因此它的一战纪念活动会晚于从前的那些友国和帝国。即便在2017年,过去和现在关于一战意义的争吵（战争结束以来就没停过）也会消弱纪念活动的音量。     

Imported memories: the Italian audience and the reception of American movies about the Second World War

Memories of the Second World War played a central role in shaping the European imaginary and in founding the European political order after 1945. Nevertheless, while the Second World War was a global event, its memories have been mainly studied from a national point of view, thus underestimating the conspicuous phenomena of transmission of narratives and representations of the conflict from one country to another. This article analyzes the Italian reception of American movies about the Second World War, as a way to overcome the preponderance of a nation-centered perspective and to open up to a transnational analysis mainly based on the concepts of communication, diffusion and exportation of cultural products. After a theoretical introduction, the article analyzes an original source of great use for the study of the reception of American movies: the evaluation forms produced by the audience of an Italian cineforum about five American war movies in the 1960s. The importance of the source lies in its rarity: direct testimonies of the opinion of a non-specialist public about a movie are very rare, and thus extremely precious for a bottom-up approach to such issues.     

Commemoration in Germany: Rediscovering history

In Germany a common narrative of the First World War could never be established. In the post-1918 period, explanations of Germany's defeat were highly contested between the political factions of the Weimar Republic. The subsequent Nazi tyranny, the Second World War and the Holocaust came – and continue – to overshadow any other event in German history. During the Cold War, the First World War was largely a forgotten conflict. In recent years, the federal government has remained hesitant about embracing the centenary, but countless exhibitions, seminars, books and other media productions have brought this aspect of history back to public attention from late 2013, and with it has come a renewed public debate on war guilt.

在德国是不会有共同的一战叙事的。1918年以后,对德国战败的解释成为魏玛共和国不同的政治派别的战场。接下来的纳粹独裁、二战以及大屠杀,则让德国历史上的任何其他事件黯然失色。在冷战期间,一战差不多被遗忘了。近些年联邦政府一直对庆祝百年的事犹犹豫豫。不过2013年底以来,无数的展览、研讨会、图书以及其他媒体产品使得这段历史成为公众关注的对象,关于战争的罪孽问题又起纷争。     

第二次世界大战期间的旅欧华侨

据中华民国侨务部门 1935年的统计 ,当时旅居欧洲的华侨近 4万人。然而 ,时至30年代末 ,当战争乌云在欧洲大陆上滚滚翻卷之际 ,上万欧洲华侨为免遭战祸 ,匆匆回国。因各种原因而留居欧洲的华侨 ,与欧洲人民一起在漫天战火中度过了六年的艰难时光。本文追溯旅欧华侨在二次大战期间艰苦而顽强的求生历程 ,并展示旅欧华侨与欧洲人民共同抗击法西斯而留下的一页鲜为人知的华章     

德国史学家关于第一次世界大战战争责任问题的争论

在德国史学界,关于第一次世界大战战争责任问题一直是有争议的。20世纪20-30年代,主要针对《凡尔赛和约》的相关宣判,一部分德国史学家编辑出版了大量外交档案,极力为德国开脱责任,从而在国际上引起激烈争论。20世纪50年代末、60年代初,汉堡史学家弗里茨.菲舍尔以其论述德国战争目标的论文,对德法两国一度达成的一致意见提出质问,再次引发激烈争论。这些争论既与国际国内政治局势的变化密切联系,也与参与者的政治态度和民族情感息息相关。时至今日,不同观点依然存在,只是研究重点发生了明显转移,研究方法也出现了较大更新。     

A research report on Japanese use of chemical weapons during the Second World War

This research report introduces the historical process of Japanese use of chemical weapons against the Chinese during the Second World War, which caused serious casualties and mass destruction. In addition, it also elaborates on the discarded chemical weapons' injuries to the Chinese people and their negative effects on environmental pollution. According to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which became effective in 1997, Japan should take responsibility for destroying all chemical weapons abandoned on Chinese territory.     

Gettysburg and the Great War

Fifty years after the conclusion of the Civil War, the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania faced the challenge of another war. From 1914 to 1917, the townspeople followed events in Europe closely, becoming vehement supporters of the American entry into the war by April 1917. In 1918, the Gettysburg Battlefield became inundated with American soldiers for the second time in its history, as doughboys trained for overseas service on the site of Pickett’s Charge. This paper considers the way the town of Gettysburg reacted to and mobilized for the First World War. It explores the notion of a ‘forgotten’ American war in a place that is perpetually haunted by war memories.     

Commemoration in Australia: A memory orgy?

Australia's commemorations of the First World War have thus far been massive at both the government and local levels, reflecting and affirming the dominance of the memory of war and the ANZAC ‘legend’ in the national political culture. The commemorations in 2014–15 triggered some debate about the commodification of the memory of war and the possibility of commemoration fatigue, but the centenary of the key commemorative event, the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April, attracted large crowds and blanket media attention. Whether Australians of culturally diverse backgrounds engaged with these centenary commemorations, and how strongly they identify with the ANZAC legend as the dominant narrative of Australian nationalism, however, remains unclear.

澳大利亚对一战的纪念迄今在政府和地方层面都大张旗鼓,反映并肯定了在国家政治文化中战争记忆以及澳洲军团传说的岿然不移。2014-15年的纪念活动引发了关于战争记忆被商品化以及纪念疲劳症的辩论,虽然一些关键事件如4-25的加里波利登陆的百年纪念日吸引了大众以及媒体的关注。不过文化背景各色各样的澳大利亚人士是否都参与了这些百年庆典,他们在多大程度上将澳洲军团的传说当做澳大利亚民族主义的主流叙事,这些都不清楚。     

论二战期间澳美军事同盟关系的建立

20世纪澳大利亚外交和防务政策演进的一个主要特点就是在保持与英国传统关系的同时,寻求美国对澳的安全保护.二战以前,由于受制于澳英隶属关系以及美国对外战略的价值取向,澳美关系难以取得突破性进展.第二次世界大战是对国际关系产生重要影响的事件,战争的特殊背景不仅使得澳美正式外交关系得以建立,而且因出于反击日本侵略的共同需要,两国结成战时军事同盟.澳美军队联合作战不仅扼制了日本的侵略气焰,而且建立了相互合作与信任的机制.这就为战后澳美同盟关系的缔结奠定了基础并提供了范式.     

Celebrating victory on a day of defeat: commemorating the First World War in Portugal, 1918–1933

In Portugal, the development of a memorial project commemorating the First World War, from the treatment of physical bodies to their more or less symbolic (or more or less doctrinal) representations, did not achieve its intended results, in the sense that it did not succeed in consecrating Portugal as a participant of recognized standing and a victorious Allied nation. The memory of the war was clearly shaped by a dimension of tragedy and not by victory. This article will provide, via the dialectics between official and public memory, an in-depth analysis of the politics of memory as it manifests in official commemorative projects. It will examine the forms, pace of implantation and rituals carried out to renew the meaning of memory, as well as the underlying play of forces it is subject to, along with the way in which it establishes cultural and even political rupture or continuity. Through the observation of elements that constitute a war culture – images, language and practices – which emerged during and after the conflict, this study seeks to clarify the First Republic’s successes and failures in delineating and consolidating an official memory of the First World War in Portugal.     

Towards an encompassing perspective on nationalisms: the case of Jews in Turkey during the Second World War, 1939–45

ABSTRACT. This article focuses on the plight of the Jews in Turkey during the Second World War, with the intention of analysing specific historical events through the lenses of leading theories of nationalism. First we review recent developments in historiography that contribute the framework for understanding both the hermeneutical possibilities and limitations when addressing historical texts. Then we employ three theories of nationalism – the ethno‐symbolist, instrumentalist and social constructivist – as a means of analysing and interpreting the historical events of the Jewish predicament vis‐à‐vis the Republic of Turkey. We conclude by suggesting what impact our findings may have on the narratives from this time period, and the way in which we can understand narratives today.     

‘Fighting from the fields’: developing the British ‘National Farm’ in the Second World War

The Second World War had a profound impact on British Agriculture, with state intervention at an unprecedented level cementing the idea of a ‘National Farm’ in both the popular and the governmental psyche. Critical attention has recently begun to refocus on this period, adding to the somewhat celebratory meta-narratives written in the official histories. Drawing from the practice of micro-historical research and recent work in geography that seeks to understand the production of the landscape ‘from within’, this paper explores how ‘small stories’ can afford an appreciation of the ‘complications of everyday existence’ and bring greater depth, nuance and understanding to these ‘larger’ historical events and their influence on the British countryside. Utilising oral histories from farms in Devon (UK), the paper explores the micro-geographies which shaped as well as destabilised the national farm message as it was translated into the local context.     

HMS Falmouth: addressing the significance of a light cruiser lost in the First World War off the coast of Yorkshire

HMS Falmouth is the only known wreck of a Town Class light cruiser, which were ‘arguably the best cruisers of the First World War’ (Lyon, 1977c: 49). This article reports on a project to better understand the significance of the wreck and to raise public awareness of the heritage of the First World War at sea. Although the wreck is heavily degraded it is still of considerable importance, raising methodological questions about the role of multibeam survey and 3D visualization, access to archival material, and the characteristics of archaeology as applied to 20th‐century warships.     

On the Battlefront: Canadian Soldiers,an Imperial War,and America's National Pastime

“The moment our men get out of the trenches they begin to play baseball… .” ¹ 1. Coningsby Dawson, Living Bayonets: A Record of the Last Push (New York: John Lane Co., 1919), 129.

—Lieutenant Coningsby Dawson, an officer in the Canadian

Expeditionary Force during the First World War

The Great War is credited by some historians for giving direction to Canadian nationalism. Success on the battlefields provided many citizens with patriotic pride, as well as a sense of brotherhood as Canadian troops fought alongside the British in an imperial struggle. Despite an environment that favoured nationalism and imperialism, Canadian soldiers embraced America's national pastime. For many of the rank and file, baseball was an important part of their war experience. The commanding officers' support for sport, however, was essential to baseball's existence in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. Despite the enjoyment baseball brought soldiers, a handful of officers in the military's high command were apprehensive about sport's rising status. By 1917, after years of uncertainty about how to incorporate baseball into the soldiers' training regimen, the military could no longer ignore the need and role for sport in military life. Perhaps spurred by American entry into the conflict, the CEF issued a report that officially authorized baseball and like games.     

World War II Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites in Truk Lagoon: Considering a Case for World Heritage Listing

This paper explores a number of issues in regard to the world heritage listing of the World War II underwater cultural heritage sites located in Truk Lagoon. The destruction of the Japanese Naval Base at Truk was an important event in the American strategy to end World War II and it had a profound effect on the indigenous inhabitants. Divers from all over the world visit Truk Lagoon to dive the 50 shipwrecks and numerous aircraft. The paper investigates the significance of the sites in accordance with the criteria for world heritage listing, and in context with Pacific Island Nations requirements.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society