Канадский Военный Музей: История и Коллекции

The Canadian War Museum (CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history and a place of remembrance. The museum building is situated south of the Ottawa River in LeBreton Flats. The museum houses a number of exhibitions and memorials, in addition to a cafeteria, theatre, curatorial and conservation spaces, as well as storage space. The building also houses the Military History Research Centre, the museum's library and archives. The Canadian War Museum was formally established in 1942, although portions of the museum's collections originate from a military museum that operated from 1880 to 1896. The museum was operated by the Public Archives of Canada until 1967, when the National Museums of Canada Corporation was formed to manage several national institutions, including the war museum. In the same year, the war museum was relocated from its original building to the former Public Archives of Canada building. Management of the museum was later assumed by the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (later renamed the Canadian Museum of History Corporation) in 1990. Plans to expand the museum during the mid 1990s resulted in the construction of a new building at LeBreton Flats. Designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects and Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects, the new Canadian War Museum building was opened to the public in 2005. The museum's collection contains over 500,000 pieces of materials related to military history, including over 13,000 pieces of military art. In addition to its permanent exhibition, the museum has hosted and organized a number of travelling exhibitions relating to Canadian military history.

The collections of the Canadian War Museum originated from the collections of the Cartier Square Military Museum, established through a general order on 5 November 1880. Established with the intention to be a museum of national interest, the institution sought to preserve historical records and materials relating to the Canadian Militia, and any of its colonial predecessors. A proposal to establish a library operated by the museum was made in 1882, although these plans never came to fruition. As the museum continued to solicit donations for its collection the museum quickly outgrew its space in the drill hall, and appeals for a new facility were made by 1886. The museum was closed in 1896, to make room for a new shipment of Lee Enfield rifles and space training. The militia office originally intended for the museum to be relocated, storing its collections in an old military warehouse below Parliament Hill (present location of the Bytown Museum). In July 1901, the Department of Militia and Defence negotiated a lease to house the museum in a building in Ottawa. However, little effort was put into reopening the museum, with the department opting to not renew the building's lease in 1905. On 26 January 1907, the Militia Council was informed by Eugène Fiset, the Quartermaster General of the Canadian Militia, that there was "no interest being taken by the officers of the garrison" to reopen the museum, and recommend to not reopening it. The collection from the Cartier Square Military Museum remained at the warehouse until Dominion Archivist, Arthur Doughty, requested the transference of the items to the archives to display some of them. The militia approved the request, and transferred 105 items to the Dominion Archives between 1910 and 1919; although in doing so, the militia believed the archives had assumed responsibility for establishing any future military museum. By the 1910s, the militia began to redirect potential donors of military artifacts to the Dominion Archives. These artifacts, in addition to captured German weapons from the First World War, were exhibited for the first time in a travelling exhibition in 1916. In December 1918, the Commission on War Records and Trophies was established to distribute German war trophies and war related materials to memorials across Canada. However, the Commission retained several pieces at the Dominion Archives with the hope they would eventually be exhibited in a national museum. In 1924, the War Trophy Building was built adjacent to the original Dominion Archives building to house the military collection. In 1935, Doughty struck a deal with General Andrew McNaughton, the Chief of General Staff, for the militia to support the establishment of the museum. A War Trophies Review Board was established between the archives and militia, charged with selecting the best items to preserve for a future museum.

The Canadian War Museum was formally opened at the War Trophies Building in January 1942; initially operated by the Dominion Archives, and partially funded by the Department of National Defence. In 1958, management of the Canadian War Museum was assumed by the National Museum of Canada (predecessor to the Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian Museum of Nature). The museum relocated to the original Dominion Archives building, adjacent to the War Trophies building in June 1967; after the Public Archives of Canada moved its operations to a new facility. However, the museum continued to use the War Trophies building as a storage facility. In the same year, management of the war museum was assumed by the National Museums of Canada Corporation; a crown corporation which managed several national institutions, including the war museum. In 1983 the museum relocated its storage facilities from the War Trophies building to Vimy House; with the former building demolished to make way for the National Gallery of Canada's new building. In 1990, the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (later renamed the Canadian Museum of History Corporation) was formed through The Museum Act, and assumed management of several national museums of Canada, including the war museum. By the 1990s, museum's staff had voiced the space in the building was inadequate, with some areas of the building deemed environmentally hazardous for the exhibition of certain artifacts. In 1991, the government established the Task Force on Military History Museum Collections in Canada, whose final report called for more resources to be given to the museum, referring to its shape in the original Dominion Archives building as "embarrassing," and a "national disgrace." Although the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation invested C$1.7 million for new exhibit designs as a result of the report; funds remained limited for expansion, with the federal government implementing a number of austerity measures during the mid 1990s. A museum supporter's group, the "Friends of the Canadian War Museum" was established in 1995 to assist the museum in fundraising efforts. Between 1996 and 1997, the museum considered opening a large Holocaust exhibition within the museum. In addition to the exhibition, the architectural expansion plans released in November 1997 included enhanced exhibit spaces, a theatre, and a memorial chamber. However, the proposed exhibit was opposed by Canadian veterans, who felt a sense of neglect by the museum, and believed an exhibition on the Holocaust would further marginalize them; in addition to some historians who believed the museum was an inappropriate space for such an exhibition. Following events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War passed, public debate over the museum's future intensified; with the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs convening a hearing in February 1998 to determine the future of the exhibition and the museum itself. Following the Senate Subcommittee hearings, the chair of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, Adrienne Clarkson announced the museum would abandon its plans for a Holocaust exhibition, although proceed with its plans to expand the museum. Barney Danson was appointed to the board of trustees and the war museum advisory committee in 1998. This led to an increase in the museum's research capacity and towards the establkishment of the Centre of Military History. Danson later secured for the museum the acquisition of property near CFB Rockcliffe.

In March 2000, the Government of Canada formally announced plans to build a new museum building at CFB Rockcliffe. However, in 2001, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien intervened to have the proposed location changed to LeBreton Flats, a formerly industrial area of the city. In 2001, a design submitted by Moriyama & Teshima Architects and Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects was selected for the design of the new building. Groundbreaking for the new building took place in November 2002, followed by a major decontamination effort of the property by the National Capital Commission. The total cost to build a new building for the museum, and the exhibitions was approximately C$135 million. Shortly after its opening of the new building, the museum became the centre of controversy over its interpretation of the Combined Bomber Offensive during World War II, in which some 20,000 Canadians participated. Much of the controversy stemmed from two assertions made on a museum label, that the bombing offensive was largely ineffective until later in the war, and that its morality and value of strategic bombings remained contested. Complaints from Canadian veterans prompted another Senate Subcommittee to be launched. Museum staff eventually removed the offending museum label, replacing it with another label with text three times in length that "glossed over the salient facts;" although the offending images remained.

The property is situated within LeBreton Flats, a neighbourhood within Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. The property is situated southwest of Parliament Hill and the National War Memorial. The property is bounded by roadways to the east and south, by the Capital Pathway, and the southern banks of the Ottawa River to the west and north. Water from the Ottawa River is drawn into the building for mechanical cooling, and ground irrigation of the larger property. with Raymond Moriyama and Alex Rankin as the principal architect. and nature's ability to regrow and "regenerate" from war. Tilted and jagged planes, along with roughhewn materials are used throughout the building in a form of "controlled imperfection", intended to create the impression of trauma and disequilibrium. The building's massing largely remains low to the ground, with only the building's eastern portions only rising high above. A significant portion of the building is made out of concrete, with of cast in place concrete used throughout the building;

A self seeding green roof, which connects to the surrounding parkland and riverfront, is also situated on the rooftop of the building. The green roof also provides the building with some sustainability benefits; being an economical and efficient solution for stormwater management in the area, providing energy savings, and providing air pollution remediation. The building also includes a dedicated group entrance; and a sunlit cafeteria along the riverfront portion of the building, with a seasonal terrace; dedicated climate controlled vaults; and laboratories for on site repairs of artifacts. The Canadian Experience Galleries are a series of four Canadian military history galleries arranged chronologically. Many of the exhibits showcase how early conflicts in Canada were shaped by geography, and centred around lakes, streams, and rivers. Conflicts covered in this exhibit include the Beaver Wars, Anglo French conflicts to the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and the North West Rebellion. The South African and the First World War gallery explores Canadian participation in the Second Boer War and the First World War. The South African and the First World War gallery is styled to resemble Canada during Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee in 1897; intended to mimic the imperialistic fervour that existed during that period. In 2015, the museum opened a new portion of the gallery on the homefront during the First World War, highlighting the Conscription Crisis of 1917, the suffragette movement, and stories from individuals during the war. The Second World War gallery explores the causes of the Second World War, as well as Canada's participation during the conflict. Most of the Second World War exhibit focuses on Canada's role in the Battle of the Atlantic, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the European theatre, the homefront and the internment of Japanese Canadians. Small portions of the exhibit are also dedicated to Canadian participation in the Asian and Pacific theatre, and the Holocaust. Objects from the museum's collection exhibited in the Second World War portion of the Canadian Experience galleries includes a Mercedes Benz 770K previously owned by Adolf Hitler, entitled Hitler's Car: A Symbol of Evil at the exhibit. The museum acquired the Mercedes Benz 770K in 1970, under the assumption that the car formerly belonged to Hermann Göring; although a research report published in 1982 revealed that the vehicle belonged to Hitler. The gallery also houses an M4 Sherman tank named Forceful III, and is dedicated to the members of the Governor General's Foot Guards killed during the Second World War. A memorial plaque to Captain Thomas G. Fuller of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve is also present in the gallery. The final gallery, From the Cold War to the Present, explored Canada's role during the Cold War, and the threat of nuclear war in the public eye. In 2017, the concluding portion of the fourth gallery was updated to include post Cold War conflicts involving members of the Canadian Armed Forces. The final portion of the gallery was designed to confront visitors with the problematic nature of warfare; and features an interactive space for visitors to leave their own reflections on war, peace, and remembrance. Situated along the eastern portion of the museum, its eastern walls are made of glass, allowing natural sunlight to illuminate the gallery.

Situated within the lobby of the museum, Memorial Hall serves as a place for sombre reflection and remembrance.

Regeneration Hall is an exhibition located at the highest point of the museum building serving as a "physical representation of hope for a better tomorrow". The walls of Regeneration Hall are angled in a manner similar to the buildings on Parliament Hill, with the Peace Tower visible through the eastern glass façade of the exhibition. The exhibition holds several artworks, including the original models for the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, and the painting Sacrifice by Charles Sims.

The Royal Canadian Legion Hall of Honour is a oval shaped exhibit which explores how Canadian military history has been commemorated and honoured throughout recorded history. Floor to ceiling display cases containing certificates of service, letters, medals, models, paintings, photographs, rolls of honour, scrapbooks, and souvenirs are situated along the walls of the exhibit. On average, the museum receives 700 offers for donations a year, including individual items or large collections; although, the museum only accepts 100 to 150 of these offers annually. However, Canadian service medals and medals of valour are accepted by the museum unconditionally, as an "act of honouring". In 2019, 39 of the 99 original Victoria Crosses that were awarded to Canadians are held in the collections of the Canadian War Museum. Original Victoria Crosses refer to Victoria Crosses issued to Canadians prior to the creation of the Canadian Victoria Cross in 1993.

As of 2015, the museum's Beaverbrook Collection of War Art contained over 13,000 pieces of military art. The museum has been invested in several Canadian war art programs since 1971, after the National Gallery of Canada handed over management of the Canadian War Memorial Fund, and over 5,000 works from its Canadian War Records Collections to the war museum; including all of its war art from the Second World War. The museum's military art collection takes its name from Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, who established the art collection that later became the Canadian War Records. Although the museum's war art collection included over 13,000 works, only 64 of these pieces depicted a dead body as of 2017. The museum's collection of war art includes over 400 works by Alex Colville. The collection also includes several models and statues, including the plaster model by Vernon March that was later selected as the design for the National War Memorial. In 2007, the Canadian War Museum highlighted contemporary women's perspectives on war in the exhibitions War Brides: Portraits of an Era (an installation by Calgary artist Bev Tosh) and Stitches in Time (the work of London, Ontario artist Johnnene Maddison). The map is one of a number of cartographical materials held in the museum's archives.]] Although the War Trophies Review Board initially planned for the museum to include an archive, the museum did little archival work until 1967. The archiving of war related documents was primarily undertaken by the Public Archives of Canada up until that point; although the Public Archives voluntarily turned over war materials sent to the archives to the war museum. After the closure of the Public Archive's history museum in 1967, materials and documents from the museum were split between the National Museum of Man (now the Canadian Museum of History), and the Canadian War Museum. As a result of the closure of the Public Archive's history museum, the Public Archives began to regularly transfer archival documents to the war museum. In 1982, the museum's archival collection was reorganized into several categories, souvenirs, museum, manuscripts, maps, plans and blueprints, and Canadian War Museum records. The Military History Research Centre's oral history archive contained nearly 400 interviews in 2007. The oral history collection was started by the museum in 1999. The program devised topic lists to guide interviews toward certain areas of interest; although the framing of the topics is designed to allow for in depth conversation, one free of bias. Interviews were either conducted by the museum's research team, or ex military officers and averaged 90 minutes in length. Subjects of interviews include service members who served in the Second World War, United Nations Emergency Force, Canadian Forces Europe, Yugoslav Wars, and the War in Afghanistan. Specific subjects interviewed include Airborne Intercept Navigators in NATO and NORAD, deputy commanders of NORAD, and all former Canadian commanders of STANAVFORLANT. In 2000, the museum's photographic archives contained over 600 photograph collections or fonds; holding more than 17,000 individual photographs, and more than 250 photo albums. The collection was largely obtained through private sources, most of whom had taken the photo as participants in these conflicts.