In its effort to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War in the Pacific precipitated when the famed B-29 Superfortress aircraft, the Enola Gay, dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan., Although serious doubts were expressed at the outset by NASM staff, this purpose was combined with academic historical analysis of the decision to use this terrible weapon and the subsequent repercussions of doing so. Acknowledged as the most vehemently disputed episode ever witnessed in the world of museums, it stands as a fearsome cautionary tale that should be heeded by every museum attempting to survive in these increasingly politicised times.
The Enola Gay was the subject of a controversial exhibition planned for the Smithsonian Institution’s (SI) National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C., the world’s most visited museum. Linenthal and Tom Engelhardt (New York: Metropolitan Books, 1996), endnotes, 295 pages, ISBN: 0-8050-436-1 (hardcover), 0-8050-4378-X (paperback).Įnola Gay after Hiroshima mission, entering hardstand. HISTORY WARS: The Enola Gay and Other Battles for the American Past, edited by Edward T. AN EXHIBIT DENIED: Lobbying the History of the Enola Gay, by Martin Harwit (New York: Copernicus, An Imprint of Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 1996), list of principals, chronology of significant events, endnotes, index, 477 pages, ISBN 7-3 (hardcover).