Oral Histories of the First World War and Faces of War (Second World War)
David Hendricks, Library and Archives Canada, Canada
http://www.collectionscanada.ca
Oral Histories of the First World War and Faces of War are exhibitions developed by Library and Archives Canada (LAC). Visitors to the Oral Histories of the First World War will be able to listen to first-hand accounts of Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.) Veterans. These accounts were digitized from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation source tapes for its radio broadcast In Flanders Fields from 1964-1965 and touches upon personal war experiences in Europe at such places as the Somme, Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. Visitors to Faces of War will have access to thousands of photographs from the Second World War taken by the Department of National Defence's military photographers. Individuals will be able to examine Canada's army, naval, and air wings in picture. Concurrently LAC will solicit personal stories from surviving veterans and family via its Blog.
While numerous archival texts, art works and maps are available online, there are limited audio records and personal recollections of historic events to be found in a digital format on the web. Historical audio is a useful tool as it provides an accessible record of past events. While new applications such as Blogs provide a modern venue to explain, comment on, add to, clarify events and continue the historical record and discourse. Both these exhibitions promote the use of original first-hand histories and the creation and continuation them, which provide increased understanding of Canadian life and times.
Demonstration: Demonstrations - 1 [Close-Up]
Keywords: First World War, Second World War, Oral Histories, First-hand Histories, Photographs, Veterans
