While in London I visited the Imperial War Museum two times. The first things that I noticed while walking up to the building were the large naval gun and the size of the building itself. Just from the size of the building I knew that this museum would have a great impact on its visitors. The first time visiting the museum was focused on two areas in the museum. The area on culture/fashion during World War II and the Holocaust exhibit. While these two areas are very different, they both show the impacts of war.
The area focused on fashion showed how fashion changed from before the war, during the war, and after the war. Fashion reflects what is happening during the time period, and it shows how everyone experienced the war, even if they were not directly involved in the fighting. During the war, clothing reflected the idea of rations. Clothes were being made with fewer resources and it would reflect poorly on you to wear high-end extravagant clothing. I think this idea the fashion represents the time can still be seen in London today, while fashion is definitely impacted by the weather in London I would be interested in the impact that COVID-19 has on fashion and other long-term effects it will have (perhaps better hygiene). As the virus has already made a large impact on the world economy, I am sure fashion will reflect what has happened.
The Holocaust exhibit is the largest part of the museum and definitely the most impactful part. While going through the exhibit I read about various aspects of the Holocaust that were not covered in previous classes and I learned how widespread it really was. The exhibit is dark, gray, and the rooms get colder as you walk through the exhibit. The construction of the rooms gives a feeling of how dark of a time it was. I think the most impactful part of the museum was the model of a concentration camp. The model showed how the size and really showed how inhumane people could be.
On my second visit to the museum, I visited the remaining parts that I had not yet seen. One of the aspects that I noticed on my second visit was the design of the interior. The walls were slate gray and the floors were polished concrete, this made the building feel industrial and unfeeling. The design was obviously done intentionally to give visitors a certain feeling. I think the idea behind this is to show visitors how unforgiving and cold war is. Personally, I think the IWM does a good job depicting how people are impacted by war.
Visiting the IWM had a similar impact on me that visiting the Arlington Cemetary did. Both depict the effects of war and how large an impact war has not just on soldiers but on everyone. I think that the IWM is a worthwhile visit and everyone would benefit from going. There is something for everyone to take away from visiting.