War and the Mind

Thoughtful exhibition at the Imperial War Museum looking at the psychology of war.

The show was cleverly sectioned into why we go to war, how to get soldiers to fight, how to support them when they are fighting and the aftereffects on soldiers and civilian populations.

It used a good array of artefacts as well as excellent av presentations of recent and ongoing research on the topics. It was a shame that a lot of the graphic material was reproductions rather than original works but I guess they are a lot easier to display.

Highlights for me included a doll made by the British agent Odette Sansom in prison, soldiers’ care packages from Afghanistan and the First World War, a German war crimes calendar also from the First World War and one of the first commemorative poppies.

Closed 27 April 2025


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