R
robertrice@rogers.com
Guest
World's largest Sept. 11 exhibit to open in France
Museum out to show event's global impact
By Geraldine Baum | Tribune Newspapers
April 12, 2008
PARIS -- On the shores of Normandy where thousands of Americans died in
the cataclysm that was D-Day, a museum that aims to be more than a
collection of rusting relics is preparing to commemorate another day
that changed the world: Sept. 11, 2001.
More than 120 mementos, from building keys to a smashed vehicle, are
being shipped from New York to the French city of Caen for the first
such exhibition outside the United States--and the largest anywhere on
the attack, its roots and aftermath.
That France is playing host to the exhibit might surprise Americans
who remember the "freedom fries" uproar that greeted Paris' opposition
to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. But the director of the Caen
Memorial, a museum of conflict and peace, said the exhibit would have
neither an American nor French take on events surrounding Sept. 11 but
rather a global view.
"The people who died in those buildings were from 16 countries and
every religion," museum director Stephane Grimaldi said. "It was an
attack against America. It was an attack against democracy and human
rights. We want to tell that story."
The exhibit, titled "A Global Moment," is expected to open June 6 at
the museum, which was built to remember those who died on D-Day in
1944 and in the Battle of Normandy that followed.
Grimaldi said that although the relationship between the French and
Americans had been complicated in recent years by post-Sept. 11
politics, museums that try to explain the meaning of war are valuable
as a way to discuss peace and shared democratic values.
"The American troops' coming to Normandy to free Europe was a turning
point in World War II," he said during an interview in Paris. "While
we still don't know the historical significance of 9/11, we know it is
a turning point, and it is time to begin to understand and explore it
together."
Grimaldi said he chose the Sept. 11 exhibit to mark his museum's 20th
anniversary because the act of terrorism that day in 2001 was so
important to contemporary politics and everyday life.
"The world today is the world of 9/11," he said, "and our museum is
here not to be just another collection of things from the past, of old
tanks and helmets, but to understand the world of today that is so
marked by terrorism."
The show is being done in conjunction with the New York State Museum
in Albany, which has assembled a vast Sept. 11 collection for its
permanent exhibit and a traveling show that has visited cities across
the U.S.
Mark Schaming, the state museum's director for exhibitions and public
programs, said the French show was not only the largest in scale, with
7,000 square feet of displays and a catalog, but also in scope.
"What we decided to do in France is a much broader story than focusing
just on the events of Sept. 11," he said. "We decided to step back a
little and tell more about Al Qaeda itself and profile the 19
terrorists and look at the hours of the day with a timeline and with
people involved, all done in greater depth. ... It's a much more all-
encompassing narrative."
Profiles of 10 victims and people who helped in the rescue effort will
be illustrated by their possessions, either recovered from building
debris or donated later to the Albany museum, such as battered shoes
belonging to a woman who walked down more than 80 flights of stairs in
a tower before it collapsed.
Los Angeles Times
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-9-11_museum_12apr12,1,7047887.story
Museum out to show event's global impact
By Geraldine Baum | Tribune Newspapers
April 12, 2008
PARIS -- On the shores of Normandy where thousands of Americans died in
the cataclysm that was D-Day, a museum that aims to be more than a
collection of rusting relics is preparing to commemorate another day
that changed the world: Sept. 11, 2001.
More than 120 mementos, from building keys to a smashed vehicle, are
being shipped from New York to the French city of Caen for the first
such exhibition outside the United States--and the largest anywhere on
the attack, its roots and aftermath.
That France is playing host to the exhibit might surprise Americans
who remember the "freedom fries" uproar that greeted Paris' opposition
to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. But the director of the Caen
Memorial, a museum of conflict and peace, said the exhibit would have
neither an American nor French take on events surrounding Sept. 11 but
rather a global view.
"The people who died in those buildings were from 16 countries and
every religion," museum director Stephane Grimaldi said. "It was an
attack against America. It was an attack against democracy and human
rights. We want to tell that story."
The exhibit, titled "A Global Moment," is expected to open June 6 at
the museum, which was built to remember those who died on D-Day in
1944 and in the Battle of Normandy that followed.
Grimaldi said that although the relationship between the French and
Americans had been complicated in recent years by post-Sept. 11
politics, museums that try to explain the meaning of war are valuable
as a way to discuss peace and shared democratic values.
"The American troops' coming to Normandy to free Europe was a turning
point in World War II," he said during an interview in Paris. "While
we still don't know the historical significance of 9/11, we know it is
a turning point, and it is time to begin to understand and explore it
together."
Grimaldi said he chose the Sept. 11 exhibit to mark his museum's 20th
anniversary because the act of terrorism that day in 2001 was so
important to contemporary politics and everyday life.
"The world today is the world of 9/11," he said, "and our museum is
here not to be just another collection of things from the past, of old
tanks and helmets, but to understand the world of today that is so
marked by terrorism."
The show is being done in conjunction with the New York State Museum
in Albany, which has assembled a vast Sept. 11 collection for its
permanent exhibit and a traveling show that has visited cities across
the U.S.
Mark Schaming, the state museum's director for exhibitions and public
programs, said the French show was not only the largest in scale, with
7,000 square feet of displays and a catalog, but also in scope.
"What we decided to do in France is a much broader story than focusing
just on the events of Sept. 11," he said. "We decided to step back a
little and tell more about Al Qaeda itself and profile the 19
terrorists and look at the hours of the day with a timeline and with
people involved, all done in greater depth. ... It's a much more all-
encompassing narrative."
Profiles of 10 victims and people who helped in the rescue effort will
be illustrated by their possessions, either recovered from building
debris or donated later to the Albany museum, such as battered shoes
belonging to a woman who walked down more than 80 flights of stairs in
a tower before it collapsed.
Los Angeles Times
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-9-11_museum_12apr12,1,7047887.story