Social History

Personal stories and myths are just two of the ways the social history of the Great War is presented.

Personal Stories

Although the techniques vary, the voices of the people are heard in both museums. The audio guide in Meaux tells the story with letters in the Alsace-Lorraine section. The personal items of the soldiers tell of day to day life living in the trenches.  

Consider the collection of walking sticks at the Meaux museums and the stories they could tell:

Collection of walking sticks as examples of "Trench Art

In Kansas City, original source quotes permeate the exhibit - here are just a few:

(Sorry for the lack of focus)

The sense, and it was just a sense, was that the Grande Guerre was more attuned to the personal stories. There was certainly attention paid to the personal at the WWI museum, there was just a different feel. Perhaps some of that feel came from the Kansas City audio guide. That guide was well done, but with a voice of authority by the museum curator and an historian.

Myths and Legends

   As Jay Winter says, the myths of war started exactly at the same time as the war. He uses a film purporting to be the actual Battle of the Somme as an example. It was a piece of British propaganda intended to "buck up public morale".  The film was a reenactment by soldiers in training, not on the front lines, filmed while the Battle of the Somme was being fought. More than twenty million people in England, about half the population saw it, without knowing it was a contrivance. 

Myths and legends were represented in both of these contemporary museums. Just three of them are the Taxis of Paris, Joan of Arc and Uncle Sam. 

Parisian Taxis

   With the Grande Guerre museum resting on a battlefield of the Marne it is not surprising that the myth of the Parisian Taxis is one of the stories told. What is interesting is that the WWI museum, although not as dramatically, also tells of the Parisian Taxis. Briefly, as the Germans were approaching Paris, the taxi drivers were called into service to transport soldiers to the front line. The taxi drivers were credited with saving Paris from German invasion and became a symbol of French unity. In fact, they had little choice to participate, their role was minimal, and they were paid by the French military (Hanc). Nonetheless a Renault taxi is displayed prominently in the Grande Guerre museum.

Renault Taxi said to be able to transport five soldiers

And the achievements of the taxi drivers is reported in Kansas City:

Count of taxis is top right

Nationhood

   Historian Margaret MacMillan, in speaking of European culture leading up to the war and nationhood, describes a sense of belonging. Even though strangers, people felt connected. Fighting and dying for the Nation was worthwhile.  Participation in the political process brought an obligation to fight for the nation, and vice versa, the leaders expected the people to respond to the call 
(MacMillan European). 

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc is a powerful national symbol. Revered over the centuries Paul Cohen, in History and Popular Memory The Power of Story in Moments of Crisis, tells how she is called upon in time of crisis. He compares the use of the legend of Joan of Arc to the use of George Washington during the American Civil War. Both the north and south embraced him as symbolic of their cause. So too is Joan of Arc a symbol of French national integrity regardless of politics (Cohen 128-129).  

A Google translation of this sign, which refers to the next picture is: This painting was exhibited at the Salon at the beginning of the year 1914. The Holy the border reflects the renewed tension affecting the Franco-German relations since the beginning of the century. Jeanne d'Arch , the Jubilee was celebrated in 1914 while experiencing great popularity. Eile appears holding the torch and protect a group of dragons looming. In rear - plane we distinguish the Archangel Michael hand on the hilt of his sword.

 

The WWI museum displays a poster of Joan of Arc, as the symbol of France, encouraging solidarity.

Uncle Sam

Meeting the same need for national symbolism as Joan of Arc, the iconic poster of Uncle Sam Wants You is displayed in both museums.

Uncle Sam among the collection of posters at the WWI museum.

Uncle Sam in France

   While I think the curators of the museums recognized the taxi and the posters there was no explicit mention of their use as propaganda. Museum visitors might not understand the use of the symbols without more explanation.