The \u201cGreatest Generation\u201d is renowned for military heroism during World War II. But before this famed demographic signed up to fight for Uncle Sam, many were shaped by a childhood spent amid World War I.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not surprising, then, that the First World War instilled an entire generation with a brand of patriotism that could prompt risking everything to preserve the American dream. That exact experience is currently showcased in the National World War I Museum\u2019s exhibit \u201cThe Little War<\/a>,\u201d an exploration of childhood between 1914 and 1918.<\/p>\n The exhibit\u2019s items, according to Specialist Curator Natalie Walker, incited questions for museum staff about war\u2019s impact on children, both during World War I and throughout subsequent conflicts.<\/p>\n \u201c[It was] the literature that was being produced for children at the time, the toys, the games they were playing \u2014 Allies versus the Central Powers,\u201d Walker told Military Times. \u201cIt made it that much easier to embrace the Second World War just 20 to 25 years later.\u201d<\/p>\n Those who produced children\u2019s literature, toys and costumes of the time presented the war in a way that would remove fear factors. In doing so, the lens through which World War I was viewed by children was one of adventure, where morally superior participants always emerged victorious.<\/p>\n It was natural, then, for young Americans raised in such an environment to not only be willing to serve if called upon, but do so excitedly \u2014 even subconsciously \u2014 as they deployed like the heroes they once read about.<\/p>\n \u201c[The literature] beat it in in terms of good versus evil \u2026 to instill these ideas of patriotism, being a good citizen, and fighting for your country,\u201d Walker noted. \u201cBut these kinds of things also trivialized violence and war. [Children are] playing from the safety of their backyards and all of this literature talks about a Boy Scout who goes overseas, and he escapes every battle and conflict unscathed. \u2026 They didn\u2019t want to scare children. \u2026 At the same time, they\u2019re not really telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of the most prominent items in the exhibit\u2019s collection include illustrated literature, children\u2019s soldier and nurse costumes, ration books and nighttime prayer missals. Much of the media at the time, meanwhile, dehumanized the enemy in the eyes of children.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my favorite pieces is called \u2018Nursery Rhymes for Fighting Times,\u2019\u201d Walker said. \u201cIt\u2019s a book that was published in 1914 in Great Britain, and it takes popular nursery rhymes of the time and reworks them as a form of propaganda that really demonizes and dehumanizes Germany.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were no holds barred when they were creating this stuff. \u2026 If you\u2019re a little kid, and you\u2019re reading about the Kaiser, who\u2019s going to come and bomb your town and hurt people you love, that\u2019s a scary thing,\u201d she added. \u201cIf you\u2019re in middle school, maybe you\u2019re reading this and getting angry. If you\u2019re in high school, you\u2019re probably ready to go enlist.\u201d<\/p>\n The double-edge sword, however, is that many children were vital to the efforts of their countries during both world wars. Even simply by contributing to work around the house, Walker said, many were being molded for duty.<\/p>\n Given that these phenomena continue into today\u2019s conflicts, Walker said she hopes the exhibit will spur conversations between children and adults.<\/p>\n \u201cI want people to walk in this exhibit and get the sense that children had an active, vital role, and here\u2019s what they did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Originally published by Military Times<\/a>, our sister publication.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.historynet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/WWI-Posters-1024x626.jpeg\")
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