March 31, 2017 Library Offers Events and Initiatives to Commemorate World War I

The Library of Congress continues its array of programming to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I.  The events and initiatives include exhibitions, lectures, symposia, blogs, publications, digitized collections, War Gardens, veterans’ stories, educational tools, film programs and research guides.

The Library is uniquely prepared to tell the story of U.S. participation in World War I, because it holds the largest multi-format collection of materials on the American experience in the Great War.  The “war to end all wars” began for this country on April 6, 1917, when the U.S. Congress formally declared war on the German Empire.  The fighting concluded on Nov. 11, 1918, with the armistice agreement.

Events are free and open to the public.  Tickets are required or suggested for certain lectures.  The programs will take place at the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., or at its James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., both in Washington, D.C. The Library’s programming will include:

World War I on loc.gov

The Library has launched a World War I web portal, providing comprehensive access to the Library’s World War I resources and programming.  Featured content includes digitized collections, such as World War I Posters; Maps of Military Battles and Campaigns; World War I Sheet Music; The Stars and Stripes Newspaper; and the Veterans History Project.  Resources for K-12 teachers, blog posts, guidance for researchers, exhibitions, lectures, symposia and other events are listed.  Please visit loc.gov/wwi/.

Exhibitions

“World War I: American Artists View the Great War”
May 7, 2016 – August 19, 2017
Graphic Arts Galleries, Ground Floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
This exhibition focuses on the American artistic response to World War I, featuring posters, political cartoons, illustrations, fine prints, popular prints, documentary photographs and fine-art photographs.

“Echoes of the Great War:  American Experiences of World War I”
April 4, 2017 – January 2019
Southwest Gallery, Second Floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
This major exhibition will mark the United States’ involvement in the Great War, from April 6, 1917, to Nov. 11, 1918.  The exhibition will examine the upheaval caused by this first world war, as Americans experienced it—domestically and overseas.  Initially, it will feature 200 items, but during its 21-month run, numerous other artifacts will be rotated into the display.

Lectures, Gallery Talks and Book Talks

Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Noon, Whittall Pavilion, Ground Level, Jefferson Building
“World War I Sheet Music at the Library of Congress: America’s War, as Viewed by Publishers and the Public”
By Paul Fraunfelter, Music Division, Library of Congress
Free, tickets available, visit loc.gov/concerts for more information

Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Noon, Southwest Gallery, Second Floor, Jefferson Building
Introduction to “Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I”
By exhibition curators Sahr Conway-Lanz and Ryan Reft, Manuscript Division, and exhibition director Cheryl Regan, Interpretive Programs Office, Library of Congress

Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Noon, Southwest Gallery, Second Floor, Jefferson Building
About “Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I” exhibition
“Women on the Warfront – Highlights from the Veterans History Project”
By Candace Milburn, Veterans History Project, Library of Congress

Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Noon, Southwest Gallery, Second Floor, Jefferson Building
About “Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I” exhibition
“Woodrow Wilson Chooses War”
By exhibition curator Sahr Conway-Lanz, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Thursday, May 4, 2017
3 p.m., Rosenwald Room, Second Level, Jefferson Building
“Rudyard Kipling and the Great War: Highlights from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division Kipling Collections”
By Debra Wynn, a rare materials cataloger at the Library of Congress
Wynn will discuss Rudyard Kipling’s life and work influenced by the events of the Great War.  On display will be unique World-War-I-related items from the Library’s Kipling Collections.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017
12:30 p.m., West Dining Room, Sixth Floor, Madison Building
“African-American Doctors of World War I:  The Lives of 104 Volunteers”
By W. Douglas Fisher and Joann H. Buckley, historians
Fisher and Buckley will discuss their book, telling stories of the doctors who cared for the 40,000 men of the 92nd and 93rd Divisions, the Army’s only black combat units. World War I artifacts collected by the authors will be on display.  A book signing follows, with copies of the book for sale.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Noon, Southwest Gallery, Second Floor, Jefferson Building
About “Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I” exhibition
“Over Here, Over There: Immigrant Veterans of World War I”
By Owen Rogers, Veterans History Project, Library of Congress

Thursday, May 18, 2017
7 p.m., Montpelier Room, Sixth Floor, Madison Building
“Johnnies, Tommies and Sammies: Music and the WWI Alliance”
An American Musicological Society lecture by Christina Bashford, William Brooks, Gayle Sherwood Magee, Laurie Matheson, Justin Vickers
Free, tickets available, visit loc.gov/concerts for more information

Thursday, May 25, 2017
Noon, Mumford Room, Madison Building
“Mapping the Great War”
Two lectures presented by Library and the Philip Lee Phillips Map Society
“The Maps of World War I” by Ryan Moore, Library’s Geography and Map Division
“Terrain, Maps and Failure at the Dardanelles” by Peter Doyle, military historian

Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Noon, Southwest Gallery, Second Floor, Jefferson Building
About “Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of WWI” exhibition
“Remembering World War I”
By William Elsbury, Humanities and Social Sciences Division, Library of Congress

Thursday, June 8, 2017
Noon, Mumford Room, Madison Building
Books and Beyond Author Program
“America and the Great War: A Library of Congress Illustrated History”
By Margaret Wagner, the book’s author

Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Noon, Southwest Gallery, Second Floor, Jefferson Building
About “Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I”
“Joseph Pennell and World War I”
By Katherine Blood, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Noon, Southwest Gallery, Second Floor, Jefferson Building
About “Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of WWI” exhibition
“Charles Hamilton Houston and World War I”
By Ryan Reft, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017
Noon to 1:30 p.m., Mumford Room, Madison Building
“Literature of WWI: Yusef Komunyakaa”
Poet Komunyakaa will discuss favorite World War I authors and discuss his own work

Films at Packard Campus

The following films will be screened at the Library’s Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Virginia.  All Packard-campus programs are free and open to the public, but children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.  Seating at the screenings is on a first-come, first-served basis.  For more information, call (540) 827-1079 ext. 79994 or (202) 707-9994.

Thursday, April 6, 7:30 p.m.
“The Fighting 69th” (Warner Bros., 1940)
Two years after they appeared together in “Angels with Dirty Faces” (1938), James Cagney and Pat O’Brien were again cast, respectively, as a cocky troublemaker and the clergyman who tries to bring him back into the fold.  In “The Fighting 69th,” directed by William Keighley, the two go head to head on the battlefields of France during World War I.  Cagney’s character, Jerry Plunkett, is an arrogant braggart who refuses to follow orders and is court-martialed when his cowardice in battle causes the deaths of his fellow soldiers.

Friday, April 7, 7:30 p.m.
“Sergeant York” (Warner Bros., 1941)
Gary Cooper won his first Oscar for his portrayal of Tennessee pacifist Sgt. Alvin York, who in World War I Meuse-Argonne Campaign single-handedly captured more than 130 German soldiers.  A stirring bit of Americana, which appeared six months before America entered World War II, the film inspired Americans in the early ‘40s.  The film was added to The National Film Registry in 2008.

Saturday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.
“What Price Glory?” (20th Century-Fox, 1952)
James Cagney stars as Capt. Flagg alongside Dan Dailey as his nemesis, Sgt. Quirt.  They are American doughboys in France who both fall in love with the innkeeper's daughter (Corinne Calvet).  John Ford directed this Technicolor World War I comedy-drama based on the Broadway play by Maxwell Anderson and World War I veteran Laurence Stallings. The supporting cast includes William Demarest and Robert Wagner.

Films at Pickford Theater

As a complement to the American perspective on World War I, the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division at the Library presents a summer series of international films, featuring European perspectives on the Great War.  These films represent common human bonds and the costs of war that transcend national origin.  All films will be screened in the Mary Pickford Theater, James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The films are free and no tickets are required.

Saturday, June 10, 2:30 p.m.
FRANCE – “La Grande Illusion” (Grand Illusion, 1937, 114 minutes)
Jean Renoir’s classic about French officers plotting to escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp.

Saturday, July 8, 2:30 p.m.
GERMANY – “The Good Soldier Schweik” (1960, 98 minutes)
Based on the popular satirical novel by Jaroslav Hašek, this film about the adventures of a Czech soldier during World War I suggests the absurdity of war.

Saturday, August 12, 2:30 p.m.
UNITED KINGDOM – “Testament of Youth” (2014, 129 minutes)
A young woman leaves Oxford University to become a war nurse. Based on the 1933 memoir of the same name by Vera Brittain, the film stars Alicia Vikander and Kit Harington.

 Symposium

Thursday, June 8, 2017
2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Montpelier Room, Madison Building
“Resistance and Rights: Civil Liberties and World War I”
Hosted by the Law Library of Congress and Manuscript Division
A panel of distinguished legal scholars will delve into WWI issues of civil liberties, citizenship and wartime resistance and the resulting long-term ramifications.

 Publications

“America and the Great War: A Library of Congress Illustrated History”
This major book, published by Bloomsbury Press in association with the Library of Congress, presents personal stories, political and military battles, tragedies and epic achievements that marked the U.S. involvement in the first modern war.  The book goes on sale in May.

“Maps of the First World War:  An Illustrated Essay and List of Select Maps in the Library of Congress”
Series No. 12 of “The Occasional Papers,” a Philip Lee Phillips Map Society Publication
By Ryan J. Moore, Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress
Available online at www.loc.gov/phillips

“The Story of A World War I Mapmaker: The War Diary of Willard B. Prince, Fifth Division Headquarters AEF, Written and Compiled at the Front”
Series No. 13 of “The Occasional Papers,” a Philip Lee Phillips Map Society Publication
By Ryan J. Moore, Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress
Available online in the summer at www.loc.gov/phillips

 War Gardens

The Architect of the Capitol will plant WWI-style War Gardens in three beds around the Jefferson Building along Independence Avenue and First Street, for the duration of the exhibition.

Educational Tools

“WWI: What Are We Fighting for Over There?”
Lesson plans for teachers that let students explore the debate about entering the war using Library of Congress primary sources.

World Digital Library

The Library’s World Digital Library project, a national and international collaboration of library partners in more than 80 countries, will feature digitized versions of rare maps, photographs, prints, books and manuscripts about World War I contributed by these partners, highlighting the global nature of the conflict.

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