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The National WWii memorial in washington d.c
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Around the world, there are many different memorials for all kinds of things. A memorial is something that portrays the memory of something, whether it is a person, or even an event in history. The National World War II Memorial in Washington D.C honors all of the Americans who had fought or died in WWII, and even those who supported our troops from their homes. After several years of discussion and waiting the National World War II is dedicated to the many Americans whom served in WWII. As a newer monument to National Mall, it catches the public's attention because of the architecture and design, as some say it may have German ties.
During the Second World War, which consisted of over 30 countries, 16 million Americans went to battle; and more than 400,000 died, with 600,000 left wounded. Lasting from 1939 to 1945, it is the still the deadliest and largest war recorded in history with around 70 million people partaking in its glory (CNN). England and France had declared war on Germany after Germany had begun taking over and occupying territories including Poland and several others in a lightening war called Blitzkreig. All of this took place under the rule of Adolf Hitler, which led to the European war which would then turn into World War II. After Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor, destroying most of the U.S Army’s aircraft, the U.S declared war on Japan. The U.S retaliated by dropping bombs on Hiroshima and in Nagasaki killing at least 100,000 Japanese civilians. This caused Japan to surrender to the United States (National Geographic). It was an all-out global war where countries eventually split into two groups: the allies and the axis. The major players for the allies consisted of The United States, Great Britain, China, and The Soviet Union; while for the axis’ it was Germany, Japan, and Italy (CNN).
Pillars of States' and Territories'
Atlantic Pavillion
Baldacchino Sculpture
Freedom wall of fallen WWII veterans
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In 1996 there was a competition held for who would end up designing the memorial. Only 6 out of 400 designs entered were selected then judged by a jury. The winner, architect Friedrich St. Florian was selected to turn his design into a masterpiece no one would ever forget. The memorial was estimated at $175 million in order to be built. Surprisingly, donations had exceeded the cost by an extra $20 million. The floor is granite and around the border of the memorial lies 56 pillars, 17 feet tall, with the names’ of states and territories on them; all of which are arranged by date of when they came to the union. On these pillars, are wreaths made of bronze (Rosenberg). Also, there are two arches that reach 43 feet high in the air, labeled Atlantic and Pacific, with the Baldacchino sculpture inside. The Baldacchino sculpture consists of four eagles holding up a wreath. Towards the middle of the WWII memorial is the freedom wall which is made up of golden stars that show how many WWII vets died during the war with a quote of “here we mark the price of freedom” directly in front of the wall. Approximately 4,048 stars are on the freedom wall, each star representing 100 fallen vets. Construction of the WWII monument was at a halt because a Washington D.C. based architecture magazine compared the design to Nazi architecture and activists took their battle to court, making the monuments construction come to a halt (Dann).
Many have criticized the monument for years due to its Nazi style because of the towering stone structures and golden eagles. The D.C. based architecture magazine also compared the design to a Nazi architect named Albert Speer who honored Hitler’s regime, as he was his personal architect. It was said that the pillars were similar to the square columns used in Nazi Germany (Knight-Ridder). The eagles supposedly represent triumph and death as Speer had used them to celebrate all of Germany’s heroic dead in public areas. Although, the U.S General Services Administration had awarded $56 million in profit from the memorial to the Washington-based Chas. H. Tompkins Company, unaware that in the past the German corporation had in fact used slave labor of the Jews to build fighter planes for Nazi Germany (Honan). Between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument lies the 7.4 acre memorial at the Rainbow Pool location. The Rainbow Pool had also not been destroyed but just moved and sunken into the middle of the site where its waterfalls were restored to their original working state after several years of not working. This location was just one of seven options, and was chosen because of its central location. Many people had opposed this location due to the fact that it would ruin the perfect historic view from one memorial to another. Construction had finally begun in September of 2001 and took 3 years to finish fully. The site mainly consists of granite and bronze (Rosenberg). A man by the name of Roger Durbin (a WWII veteran) asked Representative Marcy Kaptur why there had not been a WWII memorial built. Kaptur then introduced to the legislation to build the WWII monument, it took six years for Congress to pass the bill authorizing it construction and funding. President Bill Clinton authorized the memorial to finally be built in 1993. The federal government later had 22 public hearings about the monument (Dann). |
After several years the veterans finally had something to represent the war and hardship they had gone through. This monument has impacted many people in different ways; whether they are remembering, or grieving. As a memorial it honors all of our fallen heroes that sacrificed their lives for our country, the millions of Americans’ at home during the time of the war rooting on our country, and the United States for their tremendous victory against all others who dare try and conquer our nation. Other than standing tall, I do not believe that the National World War II Memorial represents German architecture or has anything to do with Nazi’s in any way, shape, or form.
*Works Cited:
National WWII Memorial. wwii memorial.N.p, N.d., Web. 4 May 2014 Dann, Carrie. “No stranger to controversy, World War II
Memorial again at center of bickering”. N.p, NBC News. 2 Oct. 2013. Web. 4 May 2014 Honan, Daniel. “Is the New World War II
Monument Fascist?” History News Network. N.p., N.d., Web. 2 May 2014
CNN Library. “World War Two Fast Facts.” CNN. N.p. 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 4 May 2014
Rosenberg, Jennifer. “The World War II Memorial in Washington DC.” About. N.p., N.d., Web. 6 May 2014 National Geographic.
“World War II Timeline.” National Geographic. N.p., N.d., Web. 2 May 2014
*Pictures:
Anydate. “World war two major events newspaper set.” Anydate. N.p., N.d., Web. 2 May 2014
National WWII Memorial. wwii memorial.N.p, N.d., Web. 4 May 2014 Dann, Carrie. “No stranger to controversy, World War II
Memorial again at center of bickering”. N.p, NBC News. 2 Oct. 2013. Web. 4 May 2014 Honan, Daniel. “Is the New World War II
Monument Fascist?” History News Network. N.p., N.d., Web. 2 May 2014
CNN Library. “World War Two Fast Facts.” CNN. N.p. 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 4 May 2014
Rosenberg, Jennifer. “The World War II Memorial in Washington DC.” About. N.p., N.d., Web. 6 May 2014 National Geographic.
“World War II Timeline.” National Geographic. N.p., N.d., Web. 2 May 2014
*Pictures:
Anydate. “World war two major events newspaper set.” Anydate. N.p., N.d., Web. 2 May 2014