Nationalism and the First World War Centenary: Post 17

Steve Marti of the University of Delaware brings H-Nationalism another monthly update on nationalism and the commemoration of the First World War.  Please feel free to respond to this post. Interested in contributing to this series? Drop Steve a line at steve.marti.25@gmail.com.

Due to a summer hiatus, this post includes events from 15 April to 15 June.

Regular readers of this series will be familiar with the ongoing debate over the prominence of the First World War in the Australian national narrative. The annual commemoration of Anzac Day on April 25th prompted the publication of critical essays and editorials on the politics of the occasion. John Coyne, an Australian veteran of peacekeeping missions in the South Pacific, argues that Anzac Day has turned into a “carnival” that distracts the public from the needs of current veterans. Coyne’s frustration echoes a story from the previous post highlighting a conflict over the place of serving soldiers and the descendants of First World War soldiers in Melbourne’s Anzac Day parade. Carolyn Holbrook, a historian at Monash University, likewise discusses Anzac Day as a “circus,” but observes that embracing the rhetoric of these celebrations offers recent immigrants an opportunity to “join ‘Team Australia.’”  

In contrast to Coyne’s critique, the Anzac Day service organized by the Redfern Aboriginal community places a heavy emphasis on the continued service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander soldiers in the Australian Defence Force, as well as the “grandmothers, mothers, aunties and sistas” who care for the families and communities left behind. Elsewhere, Aboriginal commemorations also focus on the present. Twenty Aboriginal students from Ntaria, in the Northern Territory, rode to Alice Springs on horseback to develop pride in their community and gain horsemanship skills while commemorating the service of Aboriginal soldiers who served in the Light Horse.

This year’s Anzac Day also saw its share of minor scandals. The Australian government launched an investigation into Camp Gallipoli, the non-profit organization that arranged overnight Anzac Day campouts (mentioned in a previous post). Camp Gallipoli received millions of dollars in grants and donations but has yet to pass on any of their profits to veterans’ charities. Two local clubs sparked outrage among their members by announcing that they would raise beer prices on Anzac Day. Harbord Diggers, which usually hosts 5,000 people for the largest two-up tournament in Australia, and the Manly Bowling Club both announced the price increase to offset the additional costs of operating on this busy holiday.

Responding to a statement by Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles that condoned tourists climbing Urlu, a sacred Aboriginal site, Ben MacKleay wrote a satirical essay arguing that - by MacKleay’s logic - skateboarders should likewise be allowed “do sick olies” on Anzac war memorials.

Members of the New Zealand Defence Force observed Anzac Day on the Gallipoli peninsula with a haka. As mentioned in a previous post, the haka features a number of gestures considered to be offensive in Turkey. This year marked the first time a haka was performed at Gallipoli on Anzac Day. The New Zealand Anzac Day service in Belgium also included a haka performed at the Menin Gate at Ypres. A Washington Post article cited in H-Nationalism’s Weekly Readings discusses the haka as a national ritual in New Zealand and “the world’s most perfect act of nationalism.”

As in Australia, New Zealanders are calling for a more complicated Anzac Day narrative. The organization Peace Action Wellington unlawfully erected a statue of Archibald Baxter, a prominent conscientious objector during the First World War, in one of Wellington’s public parks on the morning of Anzac Day. Illustrator Toby Morris drew an animated comic about the relationship between Anzac Day and the New Zealand Wars in New Zealand’s national identity.

The French and German governments commemorated the centenary of the Battle of Verdun on May 29th. Attended by François Hollande and Angela Merkel, the official services also involved 4,000 youths from both nations and featured a message of hope and reconciliation for Europe. Essays in Le Monde and Le Figaro outline the tradition of commemorating the battle on May 29th and the historic shifts in the nationalist commemoration of Verdun in France since the end of the Second World War. While this year’s commemorations adopted a less nationalistic tone, a concert by French rapper Black M was cancelled after members of the Front National protested this addition to the program because of lyrics Black M performed in 2010, which referred to France a “pays Kouffar.”

Commemoration services marked the centenary of the naval battle of Jutland on May 31st. Official services took place outside St Magnus Cathedral, in Orkney, attended by British Prime Minister David Cameron and German President Joachim Gauck. A separate service held in Belfast commemorated the death of Irish sailors during the battle. Representatives of the Royal Navy and Ireland’s Naval Service attended the Belfast service.

The centenary of the Sykes-Picot Treaty prompted a few more essays on the legacy of the treaty on current events in the Middle East. James Gelvin, a historian at UCLA, wrote for The Conversation’s continuing series on the Treaty arguing that the agreement has little direct influence on contemporary boundaries in the Middle East. David Blair echoed Gelvin’s views in an editorial for the Independent. Coinciding with the centenary of the treaty, the Kingdom of Jordan marked the centenary of the Arab Revolt with street festivals and displays of military hardware.

The Hungarian government launched a competition to design a new national monument to the First World War. Hungarians will vote on the winning design.

The City of Montreal’s executive committee voted in favour of a request from the borough of Outremont requesting permission to rename Parc de Vimy, named after Canada’s most prominent battle of the First World War, in memory of former provincial premier and separatist leader Jacques Parizeau. The Royal Canadian Legion denounced the decision, while the controversy brought undue hardship to Parizeau’s family as they prepare to mark the first anniversary of his death.