Imperial War Museum

It may not be one of the most uplifting attractions in the capital, but the Imperial War Museum is certainly one of the most important
Ailis Brennan1 December 2017

Entering this museum past two colossal naval battleship guns may ring warning bells, but after time spent inside its walls – previously the walls of Bethlem (or Bedlam) Royal Hospital – one thing becomes clear: The Imperial War Museum does not deal in the glorification of war.

The museum was founded in 1917 as a vehicle to address and record the military and domestic effects of the World War One in the UK and abroad. Since then, the museum’s remit has expanded to cover worldwide conflict from 1914 until the present day, contemplating the developing nature of war and peace.

The most immediately striking exhibit is held in the museum’s atrium, reopened in 2014 following a redesign by acclaimed architects Foster & Partners. This area of the museum hold a collection of nine objects that have been “Witnesses to War”, including a Spitfire, a Harrier jet, a 14 metre high V2 rocket bomb (of which over 1000 landed in Britain during World War Two) and a car destroyed in a suicide bombing in a Baghdad book market.

Surrounding the multi-storey atrium is a selection of permanent exhibitions exploring the moral questions, technologies and experiences that come out of conflict: Curiosities of War explores the less obvious objects that describe life in a warzone; Peace & Security contemplates notions of global concord and stability from the latter 20th century via 9/11 and up to the present day, while the award-winning Holocaust exhibition examines the harrowing personal stories behind the Nazi persecution of the Jewish people of Europe between 1933 and 1945. This exhibition, understandably, is not advised for children under the age of 14.

Beyond these exhibitions, the museum which in 2018 will include Age of Terror: Art since 9/11, an exhibition of artwork made by contemporary artists – including Ai Wei Wei and Grayson Perry – in response to the changing security climate since 2001. If you fancy continuing your investigations outside of Southwark, you can also visit the IWM’s other locations – the Churchill War Rooms in Westminster and HMS Belfast near London Bridge – or alternatively you can end the day Peyton and Byrne café

The Imperial War Museum may not be one of the most uplifting attractions in the capital, but certainly one of the most important, crammed not only with fascinating objects but truly remarkable human stories.

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