Exhibitions and Galleries
Gallery 4 A Violent Peace
The Cold War, Peacekeeping, and Recent Conflicts, 1945 to the present
Canada became a respected international player through its commitments
to Western defence and peacekeeping
Home from the Second World War, veterans and their families returned to
a peaceful and prosperous Canada. Visitors enter a post-war veteran's home
and walk through its well-appointed kitchen, where convenience and
modernity are now the norm. No sooner have visitors left this suburban
dream home than they are faced with the reality of the Soviet nuclear
threat, and the onset of the Cold War.
Visitors explore the formation of NATO, and walk through a Sabre
airplane factory, signalling Canada's commitment to its allies and
rearmament. With the Korean hillside visible in the distance Canada trains
troops, and sends ships and supplies to the Korean ground war. Visitors
enter a night patrol experience where the unseen enemy lurks in the
darkness.
Photo: Bill Kent, CWM
The Cold War was a potentially deadly waiting game. Military and
civilian authorities on both sides watched one another's every move and
prepared to sound the alarm for war if an attack appeared likely. After
watching and monitoring from the command centre, visitors are faced with
the immensity of the Cold War: as they stand on the deck of a St-Laurent
class ship, under the wing of CF-5 fighter jet, and are dwarfed by the
weight of a Centurion tank.
The Cold War came close to home with the threat of the Cuban missile
crisis. Entering the NORAD hub, visitors stand beneath the nose of Soviet
missile crashing through the ceiling. They explore key artifacts such as
the Avro Arrow nosecone and ejection seat. The threat to civil liberties,
the peace movements of the 1960s, the Trudeau years, and the October crisis
highlight this time of turmoil and change.
The call for peace leads to the instrumental role of Canada's Lester
Pearson in the creation of the first UN peacekeeping force. From Egypt to
Cyprus, the Golan Heights to the Congo, the history of peacekeeping and the
active role of the peacekeeper are explored in this space.
An East German T-72 tank crashes through a wall, as NATO and Warsaw Pact
countries commit rearmament in the 1980s. But no sooner does rearmament
come into full bloom, than the Berlin Wall is torn down, and the Cold War
ends.
Walking through fragments of a reconstructed piece of the Berlin wall,
visitors experience a three-screen video projection addressing the
international and domestic role of the Canadian military from the fall of
the wall to the present. The end of the Cold War brings a brief moment of
peace, and Canada's reduced military finds itself traveling the world,
responding to international crises in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan, and
domestic crises such as the ice storm, the Red River floods, and BC fires.
Before leaving the gallery, visitors are prompted to share their
thoughts on their experience at the Canadian War Museum, to consider the
possibilities of tomorrow's wars, and to be an active participant, to
contribute to the making of history.