Name: War and the Mind
Location: IWM London

27 September 2024 to 27 April 2025

IWM London

Free Exhibition

Human thought, emotion, and behaviour is critical to war.

War and the Mind is a free exhibition at IWM London exploring war’s many psychological dimensions, from the First World War to the present day.

What motivates people to start and support wars? How do humans think, feel and act during conflict? How do we make sense of the devastating conflicts that have shaped our world?

Enduring War

EPH 11827

A child's mitten belonging to the baby son of Flying Officer George Shrimpton which he carried on bombing missions during his service with the RAF.

Objects such as this newly-acquired mitten, which belonged to the baby son of a British airman, illustrate how sentimental objects and lucky charms soothed the nerves of many superstitious aircrew as they embarked on fraught missions.

For civilians caught up in conflict, there is a psychological adjustment to a brutal ‘new normal’ - the threat of violence, uncertainty, and separation from loved ones. War and the Mind will explore how exhausted populations are encouraged to endure war’s hardships.

Shattered Safety

Protect and Survive, a booklet providing advice on what to do in the event of a nuclear attack, issued by the UK government in 1980.

IWM

A booklet providing advice on what to do in the event of a nuclear attack, issued by the UK government in 1980. LBY K. 80 / 3280

During the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war prompted the British government to issue this Protect and Survive booklet to households across the country. It gave people practical tips on how to cope in the event of atomic attack, from creating a designated ‘fall-out room’ to dealing with casualties within the home. The booklet's stoic tone was at odds with the terror provoked by nuclear weapons.

Throughout War and the Mind, cutting-edge UK Research and Innovation projects delve deeper into the psychology of conflict – from the use of drones and the front line experiences of British armed forces in the Falklands Conflict, to attitudes towards the enemy and the significance of soldiers’ dreams during the First World War.