The Exhib That Bombed: The Enola Gay Controversy and Contted Memory - U.S. Studi Onle

Contents:

• CONTROVERSY OVER THE ENOLA GAY EXHIBN
• THE SMHSONIAN’S DECISN TO EXHIB THE ‘ENOLA GAY’
• EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY
• THE EXHIB THAT BOMBED: THE ENOLA GAY CONTROVERSY AND CONTTED MEMORY
• HISTORIANS PROTT NEW ENOLA GAY EXHIB
• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER IT DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB
• THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY
• THE NEW ENOLA GAY CONTROVERSY: HISTORIANS PROTT THE LATT SMHSONIAN EXHIB
• THE SMHSONIAN AND THE ENOLA GAY
• ENOLA GAY CONTROVERY

CONTROVERSY OVER THE ENOLA GAY EXHIBN

For the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Natnal Air and Space Mm (NASM) proposed an exhibn that would clu displayg the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortrs that was ed to drop the bomb on Hiroshima. The veterans formed “the Commtee for the Rtoratn and Proud Display of the Enola Gay” to raise funds. At first, the Enola Gay was planned to be displayed at an annex NASM facily near Washgton Dull Internatnal Airport.

The Enola Gay had recently fished beg renovated and the mm had been ncerned about transportatn and reassemble fe; therefore, the proposed annex appeared to be a ftg lotn. They cid to exhib the Enola Gay at the annex, wh an acpanyg msage about the dangers of strategic bombg and latn. Commtee member Admiral Noel Gayler believed that any exhibn of the Enola Gay would imply “that we are celebratg the first and so far the only e of nuclear weapons agast human begs.

” Still, Harw phed for a follow-up wh an exhibn on World War II that would clu the Enola Gay.

THE SMHSONIAN’S DECISN TO EXHIB THE ‘ENOLA GAY’

While they were “unanimo agreeg that the Enola Gay is an artifact of pivotal signifince and that should be exhibed, ” they asked the mm to avoid discsg the cisn to drop the bomb and to nsir an alternative se, such as an armed servic mm. The planned exhibn was replaced by a simple display of the felage of Enola Gay wh ltle historil ntext.

Officials om the Universy stated was not tend as a replacement for the Enola Gay exhibn at the Smhsonian.

Loted near Dull Airport, provis a permanent home for Enola Gay, as origally proposed back 1988. The 2003 exhibn of Enola Gay, followg s trend of ntroversy, also raised a new round of protts, om Japane survivors and others. The Smhsonian’s Decisn to Exhib the 'Enola Gay' - Public History Weekly - The Open Peer Review Journal.

EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY

What harbgers of the future of public history the US rid the mid-1990s fight over the meang of the Enola Gay? When the Smhsonian cid to exhib the “Enola Gay, ” the B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the director and curators of the Natnal Air & Space Mm (NASM) hardly anticipated the firtorm of ntroversy that would rult. While the “Enola Gay fias, ” as some at the mm me to ll , was not the first skirmish Ameri’s ongog culture wars, was an omo warng of the battl to e.

As a NASM curator volved the early planng of the exhib, who was also prent at the bacle, the followg is a first-person acunt of the origs, evolutn, and fate of the “Enola Gay” exhib, tled “The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II. One project was to brg the “Enola Gay” out of the Garber llectns and rtoratn facily, and fish the plane’s rtoratn time for a major exhib on the Capol Mall to ci wh the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII. Sce I had wrten a doctoral dissertatn on the aftermath of the atomic bombg, later published as The Wng Weapon: The Atomic Bomb the Cold War, 1945-1950, Mart asked me to take the ial lead planng the “Enola Gay” exhib, until Tom arrived at NASM.

To my amazement, he was entirely supportive of our plans to tell the story of the atomic bombg, and even offered to loan any of the artifacts his mm had s llectn, for as long as the “Enola Gay” remaed on display at NASM.

THE EXHIB THAT BOMBED: THE ENOLA GAY CONTROVERSY AND CONTTED MEMORY

Mart and Steve likewise cid that we should show a draft of the exhib’s planng document and label script to those we thought might be our most proment crics, wh the hope of rpondg to and fg their cricisms before the “Enola Gay” went on display.

My memory is that the AFA required to say the followg three thgs the “Enola Gay” exhib, and we were given to unrstand that the assertns were unequivol and non-negotiable.

The exhib that opened at the Mall mm on June 28, 1995, was a pale shadow of the “Enola Gay” exhib as origally nceived.

HISTORIANS PROTT NEW ENOLA GAY EXHIB

The mimal exhib script and a short vio featured quotatns om the “Enola Gay” pilot, retired Air Force brigadier general Pl Tibbets, and the other crew members, scribg the missn. In retrospect, none of at the mm had an appreciatn of how much the polil climate had changed Washgton sce planng for the “Enola Gay” exhib began.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER IT DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB

On December 16, 2003, the day after the “Enola Gay” was unveiled s new—and likely permanent—home, NASM’s new annex near Dull airport, a half-dozen atomic bomb survivors joed fifty self-intified “peace activists” to unfurl a banner readg: “Hiroshima—Never Aga” ont of the plane. Today, the “Enola Gay” is jt one of more than 150 aircraft on display at the Hazy Center.

“The Enola Gay and the Smhsonian Chronology of the Controversy 1993-1995, ” Air & Space Forc Magaze. [2] My troductn to the Enola Gay me shortly after I arrived NASM, when I vised the Garber rtoratn facily. [3] Mart Harw, An Exhib Denied: Lobbyg the History of Enola Gay (New York: Sprger-Verlag, 1996), 247.

THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY

[10] “Enola Gay Display Angers Victims, ” BBC News, December 16, 2003, accsed Augt 4, 2022, (last accsed 3 October 2022).

Many veterans had advoted for the display of the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortrs ed to drop the bombs, as a celebratn of Amerin triumph over Japan, but there were already ncerns that the Smhsonian was creatg a polilly rrect, revisnist terpretatn of the events. Harw rigned on May 2, 1995, jt days before he was schled to ttify Senate June 28, 1995, an exhibn, simply tled "Enola Gay, " opened at the Natnal Air and Space Mm. Unlike the ncelled exhibn, "Enola Gay" ntaed no terpretatn, no graphic imag, and no melted objects.

THE NEW ENOLA GAY CONTROVERSY: HISTORIANS PROTT THE LATT SMHSONIAN EXHIB

Only the felage was on display, acpanied by basic facts and rmatn about the plane's entire Enola Gay bomber is currently on display the "World War II Aviatn" exhibn at the Natnal Air and Space Mm's Steven F.

Related RourcCollectns related to the Enola Gay, Smhsonian Instutn ArchivThe Enola Gay: A Natn's, and a Mm's, Dilemma, Edorial by Mart Harw, The Washgton Post, Augt 7, 1994Special Report: The Smhsonian and the Enola Gay, Air Force Associatn, March 15, 1994Smhsonian Cancels Exhib on Atomic Bomb, The Baltimore Sun, January 31, 1995Recent Acquisn - Rerds om Mart Harw, Director, NASM, 1986-1995, The Bigger Picture, Smhsonian Instutn Archiv. The centrepiece of the exhib was supposed to be the rtored Enola Gay, the airplane which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Unlike other stanc of ntroversy surroundg historil memoratn the US, such as the disagreements surroundg the creatn of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, the Enola Gay exhib uld not be saved by a promise. Discsns about facts and their importance are well sued for amic nferenc and bat, but facts are not enough to make someone, the se of the Enola Gay exhib World War II veterans, om lettg go of a story they have been tellg, and have believed, for most of their liv. In this regard the Enola Gay ntroversy echoed earlier stggl the so-lled culture wars over who ntrolled Amerin culture, who valued the Amerin past, who served mentn wh , and who ntrolled any feral actn that touched on such matters.

THE SMHSONIAN AND THE ENOLA GAY

The Enola Gay exhib was not exempt om the wrath of the newly appoted lawmakers: durg the height of the ntroversy, the Senate passed a rolutn submted by leadg Republin Senator Nancy Kassebm which nmned the exhib as revisnist and offensive to many World War II veterans. [ix] In the se of the Enola Gay exhib, Congrs laid down an official historil le and mand the firg of any curator or mm director who did not toe to . The Enola Gay ntroversy should therefore be seen as a public policy battle which objective evince and ratnal discsn were given up favour of bigoted treatment of differenc based on powerful emotns.

ENOLA GAY CONTROVERY

Followg the ntroversy, mms and curators beme creasgly ut of any topic that uld be seen as ntroversial and other issu of the culture wars beme highly emotnal affairs and treated wh the same disda for facts and discsn that the Enola Gay exhib was. And Engelhardt, Tom, eds., History Wars: The Enola Gay and Other Battl for the Amerin Past, 1st edn (New York, 1996); 174-5. [vi] ”Senate Rolutn 27, ” [vii] Harw, Mart, An Exhib Denied: Lobbyg the History of Enola Gay, 1st edn (New York, 1996); 387.