Enola Gay Controversy

Before this week I was one of those students who were completely unaware of what the Enola Gay Controversy even was. While delving into the readings and searching various sites on the internet I was immediately familiarized with the event in which the first atomic bomb was dropped by the United States. I was very intrigued by the fact that this one single event in history was such a controversial topic in regards to being presented in a Museum setting since I believe that so many events that have been portrayed in museums all over with no public controversy. David Thelen, in his article “History after the Enola Gay Controversy” points out that controversy/views were given by so many participants: WWII veterans, the AFA (Air Force Association), the U.S. Senate, the American Legion, and differing curators just to name a few. It was incredible! It was a fight over commemoration versus scholarship in which some though that in-depth research was more valuable and authoritative than veteran’s first hand shared experiences for example. Neither of these should reign over the other, both aspects should be incorporated and shared. Even so, this lead to such an uproar in the designing and implementation of the Enola Gay exhibit at the Smithsonian.

While reading the article written by Richard Kohn entitled, “History and the Culture Wars: The Case of the Smithsonian Institution’s Enola Gay Exhibition,” I came across a statement that I really liked. It stated,

“Do you want to do an exhibition intended to make veterans feel good or do you want an exhibition that will lead our visitors to think about the consequences of the atomic bombing of Japan? Frankly I do not think we can do both.”

No matter what would have been done with the Enola Gay exhibit, some party or parties would have been disgusted, embarrassed or insulted by the material being shared. But isn’t this true for other exhibits, monuments, statues, etc? I do think that even though such extreme events do cause controversy that controversy can be hammered to a minimum with compromise and that is what should have been done with Enola Gay.

I believe that the Enola Gay exhibit should be allowed, even as a possible permanent exhibit somewhere, not necessarily at the Smithsonian, but somewhere where it will be well represented. Just like the 9/11 attack or the Vietnam War, it was an event that changed the world in one aspect or another and is a part of our history whether we want to admit it or not. I do not believe that history should be chosen piece by piece and only those that make us (The United States) look good be represented in a museum or by a monument or statue etc. All historical events, even those that may not build a great representation for Americans should be shared, such as that of Enola Gay. No nation is perfect without stains on their reputation; therefore the U.S. has no reason to hide their wrongdoings.

Now having read about this one single controversy that caused such uproar, I am curious to know if other events that have been portrayed in museums and such have caused similar uproars, even if only to a lesser extent. I would find it hard to believe that this is the only one that has such a strong story behind it.