Military Museum

08/10/06 We just left the Military Museum at the old arsenal. When we first arrived we were slightly lost and went to WWII instead of the beginning. That was a really unsettling experience. I couldn’t read much, if any, of the German descriptions of the exhibit which made it even more creepy. There were propaganda posters and pictures of Hitler and even a bronze Hitler head. There was some kind of artistic representation of the horrors of the war with descriptions only in German and French. I could only muddle through bits of the French which made the mangled bodies and limbs all the more disturbing. It reminded me that there is terror and hardship as part of the war more than just something intangible you read about in a history book. The ugly and terrible side of the war was a reality for a lot of people and still is throughout the world. As a military brat I’ve grown up with a profound respect for the wagers of war and I appreciate stories of honor and glory involved with wars. I’m conflicted by my knowledge of the heroic aspects of war and my knowledge of the horrible aspects of war. I have a deep personal conviction in the value of honor and the role honor plays in wars. But at what cost? Is there anything so valuable in war that cannot be achieved another way? Why has war been made into a fantasy so often in history? Can we escape its allure as a solution to world problems? Does it ever really solve anything anyway? These are all questions I kept asking my self every time I saw a tank or a sword or some armour and got excited like a six year old kid. I have a great appreciation for the craftsmanship and engineering for the weapons and armour and such. I also have an appreciation for the complexity of tactics and the precision of training involved in war. Perhaps this same fascination has contributed to the glorification of war as a necessary evil. I thought it was interesting to listen to the audio guide at the museum and hear about the military history of the Austrians. In the U.S. we have jokes about the French’s lack of military success even to the point of Google making them. “French military victories” used to produce “did you mean French military defeats?” It seems that this joke may be more appropriate to use with the Austrians. I don’t remember hearing about very many decisive military victories, but I do remember a series of defeats, many of them to the French! This reminded me of yesterday’s lecture where the professor said they were successful in the bedroom, not on the battlefield. It made me wonder why anyone would want to marry the Habsburg family if the were so unsuccessful in war. What did they have to offer the countries that married into them? Were they particularly rich or just well connected? Perhaps it was some combination thereof. I was struck by what a “fluke-y” incident the World Wars were. I think it was some time in class when we mentioned the wars were cause by “a series of unfortunate events.” It makes me wonder how many such events happen all the time and just never occur in the right combination to cause wars. How can we prevent such a thing it it’s so unpredictable?

I’m conflicted by my knowledge of the heroic aspects of war and my knowledge of the horrible aspects of war.