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Lambeth Road London SE1 6HZ United Kingdom.
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 Imperial War Museum - Entrance
with marine guns. by breughel, 3 more photos
As soon as one enters the museum, by the "Large Exhibits Gallery", he is facing tanks, heavy artillery guns, and hanging from the ceiling, a number of planes from WW I and WW II.
Among the tanks are the widespread M4 Sherman tank which equipped I think nearly all allied armies (in the west) and the Soviet T34 who equipped all countries under Soviet influence.
Interesting is a M3A3 Grant tank, painted in desert yellow, which was used by Montgomery for observation on the battlefields of North Africa in 1942-43 (photo 2). This American medium tank gave British forces a chance to resist their German counter parts. Particular is the fact that the main 75 mm gun is mounted in the hull and not the turret so that the whole tank had to be aimed at the target when firing. On Monty's tank the 37 mm gun in the turret was a wooden dummy to make extra room inside for communication equipment.
Montgomery wanted this tank to be kept by his old regiment Royal Warwickshire as souvenir so that the tank ended at the museum.
On the German side is shown an imposing (44 tons) Jagdpanther tank destroyer from 1944 of which 382 were built and mainly used in the Ardennes offensive from December 1944.
This particular command version (photo 3) did not reach the Ardennes but was immobilized in September near Hechtel, Belgium by three armour piercing rounds from a Cromwell tank of the Welsh Guards who had liberated Brussels (ref. my intro page on Belgium).
Among the planes are shown the widespread Spitfire, P-51 Mustang, Focke Wulf 190, Heinkel 162 and a V2 rocket (photo 4).
The so called "Large Exhibits Gallery" is in fact rather small and to see more tanks or planes one has to visit other museums in the UK like the Tank museum of Bovington, Dorset or the Aviation museum at Duxford, Cambridgeshire.
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 Imperial War Museum - Trench
command post. by breughel
There are three main parts: First World War, Second World War and Conflicts since 1945.
The presentation is excellent and for me the best from the World War museums I have seen.
WW I has following rooms: Origin and outbreak, Recruitment in Britain, Western Front, War at Sea and in the Air, War in the Balkans, Turkey, and East Front. Most spectacular is the "Trench Experience" of a fight at night in trenches; only missing is the mud. Terrible documentary films are shown.
WW II starts with the Blitzkrieg. Documentary films show the invasion of Belgium and France by the German Panzer troops. Follow the Battle of Britain, the Home Front, Bomber Offensive, the War at Sea, Mediterranean and Middle East, Europe under the Nazis, Eastern front, War in the Far East and the final North West Europe Offensive.
Spectacular is the "Blitz Experience". There is also a special room dedicated to Montgomery.
The last part is that with various conflicts since 1945 like Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, etc.
It is a very complete survey, well documented and always keeping in mind the didactic side. The Imperial War Museum is widely visited by children. Only the "Holocaust Exhibition" on floor 3 and the "Crimes against humanity" on floor 4 are closed for children under the age of 11.
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 IWM - Eagle from Reichs
Chancellery, Berlin 1945 by breughel, 1 more photos
I have seen documentary films on the assault of the Reichs Chancellery by the Soviet troops (April 1945) and the removal of the Nazi emblems of the building by soldiers who climbed at the top, but I could not imagine that this eagle had been given in 1946 by a Russian officer to a member of the British occupying force in Berlin!
Bullets holes from the battle of Berlin can be seen in the wings of the eagle.
The Soviet tank T34/85 in the "large exhibits gallery" intrigued me; it was so freshly painted!
Documentation at the Imperial War Museum is always excellent so that I got the explanation. This example was not from WW II when about 40000 T34 - the best medium battle tank of the war - were built in the Soviet Union, but was produced in Czechoslovakia in 1955 and captured from the Arabs by Israeli forces who gave it to the museum in 1977! It was repainted at the colours of a Soviet Tank brigade from 1945.
Two very different ways of acquiring objects by the museum!
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I spent years putting off going to the Imperial War Museum. I had no interest in what I thought was a museum dedicated to "militaria". But one day I read an article about this place... and I went. It was a very moving experience. One particular exhibition - the permanent Holocaust exhibition, I was barely able to continue viewing... I could only see and read so much. Yes there are old tanks, guns, weapons and great collection of planes but there really is so much more.... (and I never expected to find a piece of the Berlin wall in the beautiful grounds!) There is a lovely (small) restaurant there too.
There are a lot of hands on, interactive displays geared towards children and a very realistic (I'm guessing of course - I wasn't actually there) reconstruction of a WW1 trench and a WWII Blitz experience.
Definitely well worth visiting. Leave a Comment
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 Imperial War Museum at Dusk by bthon
The collections are extensive with possibly days worth of text and hours of visual displays. The museum tries to also include an interactive section on each floor, which sometimes come across a bit fake, but children really appreciate these sections. The main entrance also has a large display of tanks, rockets, and planes.
The museum is free except for special exhibits, which is very convenient if you have the time for multiple visits. I have visited five times now and there is still more for me to see and read. The holocaust exhibit alone is quite extensive, as are the World War rooms.
The top floor contains a new section on human rights violations that should not be missed. A large screen video is used instead of the usual boards of text and does a great job holding the visitors attention as well as provoking a deep emotional sense of the historical events. Many of the events documented were hardly reported or are routinely excluded from history. Some of the scenes are graphic or at the very least emotional, as the film focuses on the genocide in Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
This should be taken into consideration if you are visiting with children. I think the sign on the door even suggests an age limit. But with so many child-oriented displays on other floors, the museum has done a fabulous job catering to multiple age groups.
Information concerning special exhibits and opening hours can be found on their extensive web page listed below, but I believe they are open daily from ten am to 6.
I believe one of the more convenient ways of getting there is to take a bus or the tube to Elephant and Castle. From elephant and castle, you can either catch an additional bus, grab a quick taxi, or just walk and follow the signs (cant exactly remember the walking distance...)
Check out my travelogue page on the Imperial War Museum for more pictures and info. Leave a Comment Phone: +44 (0)20 7416 5320Directions: Tube: Lambeth North (Bakerloo Line) Waterloo (Bakerloo, Northern, Jubilee Line) Southwark (Jubilee Line) Buses: 1, 3, 12, 45, 53, 59, 63, 68, 100, 159, 168, 171, 172, 176,188, 344, C10Website: http://www.iwm.org.uk/
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 Imperial War Museum by Dabs
I had wanted to see the special D-day exhibit that is running through May 2005 but we ended up staying for several hours until closing time and there were still sections we hadn't seen.
As you enter the museum there is a fine collection of airplanes, tanks, submarines, bombs, etc. on the ground floor and hanging from the ceiling.
Like many of the fine museums in London, this one is free every day. Leave a Comment
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My favourite is The Childrens War section. It shows the propoganda of the time, children's artwork, how a classroom looked, it even has a full-size 1940s home model.
The Holocaust section is not for children. Even as an adult it is upsetting, with the live broadasts od Auschwitz survivors, to a model of the camp, to actual black and white footage of the terror that went on during the war.
This exhibit is so good, it was commended at the European Museum of the Year Award 2003.
It is deeply moving (can be upsetting, as anything that pertains to war would be), and leaves a lot of room for thought about what human beings do to one another! Leave a Comment Phone: +44 (0)20 7416 5320Directions: Closest tube station is Lambeth North tube station (Bakerloo line)Website: http://www.iwm.org.uk/ Other Contact: mail@iwm.org.uk
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I am not a sensitive person at all, but this exhibit totally made me tear up. We visited many other similar museums while in Europe, but this one is in a league of its own.
“Six million deaths, including 1.5 million children” the placard reads at the entrance of the Holocaust exhibit here. Videos, photos, and timelines briefly summarize the impact WWI had on the Germans. After WWI, German morale was at an all time low. Not only did the Germans withstand the instability that resulted from having 21 governments b/t 1919 and 1932, but they also suffered through the Great Depression in the same time period. Grand dreams of imperialism were shattered and replaced by the harsh reality of bankruptcy and defeat. The German spirit was broken, national pride was injured, and fierce resentment permeated the German society. The vulnerability of the people set the stage for Hitler’s rise to power.
The Holocaust exhibit proceeds to a display on the history of anti-Semitism. Jews have been discriminated against since 1st century AD. On the television monitors that are scattered throughout the exhibit, personal stories of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust can be heard. A Jewish woman recollects the cruelty of the storm troopers as they harassed and sometimes killed Jewish children on the streets. A Jewish man recalls the betrayal of a good childhood friend.
Further into the exhibit is a model of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Behind the model is a glass case full of prisoner belongings; numerous children’s shoes fill the case. The most chilling part of the exhibit was seeing the smiles on the Nazi soldiers faces as they sent millions of Jews to their deaths. One employed at a concentration camp callously boasted of the valuable gold teeth that were gathered daily from the mouths of murdered Jews.
This exhibit serves as a reminder of the danger of blind patriotism when mixed with blind obedience. It is a person’s duty to question leaders, to question public policy, and to actively resist unethical policy. Leave a Comment
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I have been to this museum three times.
It is housed over 6 floors, and is an incredibly indepth and informative museum, for adults and kids alike.
The museum covers a wealth of information, from WWII from a child's perspective, to Crimes against Humanity exhibit, to a 'live' trench warfare enactment, to various tanks and fighter aeroplanes, to the Holocaust.
It covers most wars that the Commonwealth and Britain have been involved in.
It has a comprehensive shop where you can buy all kinds of DVDs and music pertaining to these war times, as well as posters and other memorabelia.
I especially like the posters, maybe because I am a graphic designer.. and how they were used as propoganda and used to lure poeple into fighting for their country in the war.
Definately worth a visit - if not two or three! Leave a Comment Phone: +44 (0)20 7416 5320Directions: Closest tube station is Lambeth North tube station (Bakerloo line)Website: http://www.iwm.org.uk/ Other Contact: mail@iwm.org.uk
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 Imperial War Museum by vivalasteph
Kid's will love the Blitz Experience, and the Trench, bringing the days of WW2 to life. Phone: 020 7416 5320Directions: Lambeth North or Southwark tubeWebsite: www.iwm.org.uk
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