War and Conflict Subject Specialist Network

This month, Walking with Ghosts returned to Folkestone Harbour Arm Station. The immersive outdoor artwork had a powerful impact on audiences last year when it premiered at the historic station where so many crossed to and from the battlefields during the First World War. In this blog post, Professor Helen Brooks from University of Kent reflects on the impact of this powerful commission, part of the IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund programme.

2023 marks 60 years since the first Memorial Library dedicated to the 2nd Air Division of the 8TH Air Force of the United States Army Forces (USAAF) was opened in Norwich, Norfolk. Today the library retains the identity first envisaged for it – that of a living memorial, a place where there is a shrine to the dead and a daily exchange of American thoughts and ideals. In this blog post, Orla Kennelly of the American Library shares details on this unique memorial and library.

Inspired by collections at Nottinghamshire Archives and Imperial War Museum, The Mother of Tension featured a group of talented young dancers from across the Midlands in a ground-breaking new Hip Hop dance theatre performance exploring themes of conflict through lived experiences. In this guest post, Ruth Imeson from Inspire: Culture, Learning and Libraries shares details of the historical collections that shaped the performance.

Britain’s entry into the Second World War in 1939 affected not only the island nation but also the many areas of the globe that formed its empire. In order to urge all her colonial subjects to contribute towards the war effort, colonial authorities used propaganda in the form of posters, films, and more. In this guest blog post, researchers Nihara De Alwis and Lara Wijesuriya share how posters were adapted and framed according to the colony and area in which they were to be used, to sell the ‘product’ of empire most successfully.

On 26 September 1943, 250 Jewish prisoners escaped from a tunnel that they had dug to escape the Novogrudok Ghetto and Labour Camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. 170 survivors of the escape went on to fight with Jewish partisans in the forests, made famous in the film Defiance. In this blog post, we share the story of one of the men who escaped that day - the late Jack Kagan BEM (born Idel Kagan in 1929).

In recent years, there has been a remarkable surge in interest surrounding the preservation and exploration of Cold War heritage in the UK, the US, and Western Europe. Dr Peter Robinson of Leeds Beckett University shares details of a project to explore the curatorship and memory of Cold War heritage in both Eastern and Western Europe, focusing on visitor engagement and experience.

Shelby Anderson is a 5th year social science teacher at Laguna Beach High School in California, USA, teaching U.S. History and Human Geography. Additionally, she serves as the Educational Outreach Coordinator Board of Directors for the Historical Unit of Southern California and represents the Women’s Army Corps when participating in living history activities. In this post, Shelby shares some of her advice on bringing history to life through engaging reenactors.

Dr Alan Burton shares some of his research as part of the AHRC-funded 'Writers in Intelligence' project. The project focuses on writers of spy fiction who also served in the real world of espionage, and this post focuses on the inter-war years in Britain.

July 2023 marked 70 years since the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953, an armistice which ended direct hostilities between North Korea and South Korea. In this post, IWM War Memorials Register Volunteer Konstantina Vardavoulia reflects on the Greek involvement in the conflict, and how it is remembered today.