The End of World War One

Part III in a three-part series.

As we enter the last weeks of our exhibit “Victoria Crosses of Valour Road”, which ends on Sunday, November 16, I want to give some attention to how the First World War ended and some of its implications. My blog entry is illustrated with WWI postcards from the Museum’s collections.

In the summer of 1918 the Germans and their allies had made their final push against the west, and they had failed. Their troops, finances, and population were exhausted and there was serious unrest at home. The counter attack by the Allied forces, strengthened by a major influx of Americans, stormed over western Germany in the fall of 1918. On the eastern front, Bulgaria had decided to leave the German alliance, opening a route for attack as well. Austria-Hungary, which had started the war, was being torn apart by military desertion based on multiple ethnic-nationalist movements. By the end of September, the highest levels of German command were recommending an armistice of some sort, but not “surrender”. They felt a treaty could be negotiated, but in fact they had no position of strength from which to negotiate. By the end of October, revolutions were breaking out around Germany, led initially by the German navy. Wilhelm’s authority was broken, and he was “informed” that he had abdicated on November 9.

At 11 am on November 11, the guns on the Western front were at long last silent. Unfortunately the greatest killer, the Influenza Pandemic of 1918, which would claim at least 20 million lives worldwide, was just getting underway…

What was accomplished by the Great War? On the surface, nothing. Germany retreated to its former borders, with a few small areas controlled by the allies, and their army and navy were decimated. But the allies suffered even more human losses.

To make it all “worth it”, the allies concocted the Treaty of Versailles, a punitive arrangement in which Germany and its allies, though not believing they had “lost”, were forced to pay massive amounts in reparations to the French and Belgians in particular. Regular Germans were furious, since it was their government, not they themselves, who were responsible for the war. These reparations, which Germany could never afford, led in part to a collapse of the German monetary system and widespread poverty, and helped to fuel the rise of the Nazis less than 20 years later. Remember that Hitler enlisted in the First World War, and used Germany’s treatment at the hands of the Allies as justification for many of his later actions.

Back in Canada, tales of heroism and sacrifice, along with the thousands of dead and missing family members lost in the war, seem to have provided Canadians with a new sense of national identity that, while not divorced from the British Empire, was perhaps more robustly independent. On a more practical side, tens of thousands of soldiers returned home looking for work, to find that women had entered the workplace. In a bid for “fairness”, many women were laid off to make room for men. The Communist Revolution in Russia had also inspired workers worldwide to feel that labour could make social change. In Winnipeg, many of the strikers in the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 were returned soldiers.

The political and social ramifications of the First World War seem endless, but certainly “old” Europe, with its aristocracy and its entrenched class systems, was severely tested and in some cases swept away.

Now the common man was seen as the suffering hero. Seventy-one Victoria Cross medals were awarded to Canadians for their service in WWI. Memorials were built by the thousands to commemorate the soldiers who lost their lives with an emphasis on names, dates of death, and ranks. To the best of its ability, society attempted to remember the individual. Governments around the world encouraged this trend, seeing it as conservative and socially integrative – and a far cry from the radical social movements they feared, like Communism (or the Winnipeg General Strike). These memorials can be seen all over Manitoba, from Memorial Boulevard in Winnipeg to many rural town parks (like Wawanesa). These memorials became the focal points of public mourning, such as Armistice Day, which was largely observed by families and friends of the deceased at Thanksgiving. It was not until 1931 that Remembrance Day as we know it was created by the federal government on the annual date of November 11.

What’s old is new again! The Urban Gallery at The Manitoba Museum has just received a bit of a face lift. Many of our visitors enjoy the immersive experience of this gallery, where they can explore the nooks and crannies of different buildings, stroll along the streets or watch a silent film in the theatre. As curators, we’re always looking for ways to improve that experience.

The Urban Gallery represents Winnipeg in the early 1920s. It was a bustling, modern city with hundreds of thousands of citizens – it was in no way a little town. To get this across, we wanted to populate the gallery with pictures of real people of the period. Three large spaces allowed us to introduce historical photographs of people of different backgrounds and occupations. Hours of research at the Archives of Manitoba sifting through hundreds of photographs led me to choose three, two of which relate to the railway tracks, with the third placed beside the movie theatre. All three photographic reproductions are courtesy of the Archives of Manitoba.

Come to The Manitoba Museum and experience the “all new, all old” Urban Gallery photomurals, and get a feel for Winnipeg in the 1920s, a city of contrasts.

Part II in a three-part series.

The Manitoba Museum is currently hosting “The Victoria Crosses of Valour Road”, a new exhibit in our foyer in which all three of the famous Victoria Crosses presented to WWI military servicemen Hall, Clark and Shankland are on display for the public. To put this exhibit of such important artifacts into a larger perspective I am providing three blog entries about the war’s beginnings, drastic developments, and the effects of the war after it ended in 1918. This entry, Part II, explores the effects of industrialization on the war, Canada’s role, and some of the massive geo-political and combat developments that took place during the war.

At the same time horses, swords, bayonets, and trench clubs were reminiscent of an earlier period of war. What most characterized the conflict, however, were the vast trench systems that became like cities to the men involved. Trenches were so important because defending was much more successful than attacking. Defending from a trench with machine guns was extremely effective against a group of men with rifles running across an open field and then trying to wade through barbed wire. While the forward “creeping barrage” of artillery was meant to dislodge trench defenders and protect advancing forces, it was even more effective at creating a landscape of mucky craters that slowed things down even more.

But casualties continued to grow. During the four-day battle for Vimy Ridge in 1917, Canadians experienced 10,000 casualties (including over 3,500 dead), with the Germans suffering perhaps 20,000 casualties as they defended and then retreated. It is difficult to imagine the sheer number of families back home that experienced profound loss during WWI.

Canada became involved on August 5, 1914, the day after the United Kingdom declared war, and eventually over 600,000 Canadians volunteered, of which 458,000 were sent abroad, with about 61,000 killed in the war. Among British Empire colonies, only India provided more volunteers (1,440,000).

Over 18,000 Manitobans volunteered for the war effort, spurred on by patriotism and in many cases lack of work in a province that was beginning to experience an economic downturn. Camp Hughes became a major training ground for Canada’s army, including the construction and use of trenches (which can still be seen today). Manitobans were involved in many of the major Canadian battles in Europe, including Ypres and Vimy Ridge.

The battle for Vimy Ridge was symbolic for Canadians because for the first time all four Canadian divisions fought together and were immensely successful. However, it should be remembered that this was one flank in a much larger operation at Arras that eventually cost the British 150,000 soldiers, compared to the defending German losses of 100,000.  Arras, in turn, was used to support the major attack by the Allies at Chemin des Dames, which stalled and ended in mutiny. In a recent 729-page history of WWI, Vimy Ridge receives mention in one sentence and doesn’t even show up in the index (David Stevenson 2012, “1914-1918”). As important as Canadian battles were to Canadians, their contributions were dwarfed by the giant scale of the war itself.

The war was particularly devastating for Czar Nicholas’ Russia, with the number of war dead reaching over 1,800,000, a staggering number, and twice that of the entire British Empire. By 1917 Russians had lost faith in their leadership, soldiers had lost faith in their commanders, and the economy was collapsing. The people of Russia wanted peace and bread. This opened the way for new leaders such as Lenin, who helped usher in the Communist Revolution. This event would affect world history to the present day, as the establishment of the Soviet Union, the Eastern Bloc, the Berlin Wall, and the Cold War led to a nuclear arms race and Communist movements all over the world (including in China). The collapse of the USSR continues to have consequences to this day.

What finally tipped the balance in favour of the French and British was the turmoil within Germany combined with the late involvement of the United States of America on the side of the Allies. The USA entered the war on April 6, 1917, almost 3 years after Canada. The new troops, supplies and funding were crucial to the Allies partially because they helped to replace an exhausted Russia. As American support continued to grow over the next year, Germany attempted one last massive offensive in the summer of 1918…which failed.

Even during the war it was obvious that the world would never be the same. Economies were collapsing and political uprisings surfaced in many nations. Too many husbands and brothers and sons were missing or forever maimed. And yet, when the war did end, the borders of Germany, France, and Great Britain survived in largely the same manner as before. Which would later raise the question: What did ten million soldiers die for?

Coming up in Part III: How the war ended and what it accomplished.

Part I in a three-part series.

On August 6, 1:30 pm, the public is welcome to attend the opening of the exhibit “The Victoria Crosses of Valour Road” in the foyer of The Manitoba Museum. Many know the story of the three men from the 700 block of humble Pine Street: Corporal Leo Beaumaurice Clarke, Sergeant-Major Frederick William Hall, and Lieutenant Robert Shankland were each awarded a Victoria Cross during World War I for acts of valour.

Pine Street was renamed Valour Road and has become one of those talismans of Canadian memory that reminds us of the men and women that took part in the Great War, in which nearly 10 million soldiers died and about 20 million were wounded world-wide.

The Great War, the “War to End All Wars”, began on July 28, 1914 with a declaration of war on Serbia by Austria-Hungary. This was 100 years ago, and to many folks the reasons for the war are hazy at best. The world of 1914 seems so remote from today’s realities and some of the countries that participated no longer even exist. Yet that war continues to reverberate in geo-politics and even in our daily lives.

With the arrival of the Victoria Cross medals from the Canadian War Museum, I felt it was important to outline what the war was about. In Part I I’ll talk about what started the war and which countries got involved and why. In Part II we’ll explore how WWI unfolded and what part Canada played. Finally, in Part III I’ll talk about how it ended and what the war actually accomplished.

There were two main powerful alliances in Europe in 1914. Austria-Hungary was allied with Germany, and France was allied with Russia (and loosely with Great Britain).

And speaking of countries that no longer exist, the first real belligerent in this series of events was the Austro-Hungarian Empire/Dual Monarchy (a strange bi-national combination). On June 28, 1914, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, which was part of Austria-Hungary. Princip was a Bosnian Serb and a citizen of the Empire, but he attacked Ferdinand as a terrorist in the name of Bosnian-Serbian independence. Austria-Hungary accused Serbia of assisting the killer (which in fact it did, with an organization called “The Black Hand”). Germany was Austria-Hungary’s main ally and with their backing war was declared on Serbia on July 28.

Why would Germany agree to this? The Germans felt they were threatened by various developments on the continent, something they called “encirclement”. They knew they were the most war-ready and powerful nation in Europe, but they were worried their advantage was slipping away. Basically they wanted a controlled zone of buffer states as protection against Russia and France. Austria-Hungary and Germany knew that an attack on Serbia might draw in the Russians. The Russians indeed mobilized, and Germany declared war on Russia and its ally France on August 1 and 3. The Germans then demanded that Belgium allow free transport of German troops, and this helped to draw in the British, who declared war on Germany on August 4. And of course Great Britain had a vast global colonial network from which to draw troops. Canada (which declared war on August 5), Australia, India, South Africa, and others all contributed to making the conflict a true world war. Meanwhile Italy joined the “Allies” and the Ottoman Empire joined the Germans.

“I was in Winnipeg! The Immigration Department took group photographs, and I posed with about two dozen bachelors like myself. Then I was free. Free, at the end of my journey. Free in the very middle of the great, wide West. I couldn’t speak a word of English, and I was on my own. Now I had to be a man!”

These are Klaas de Jong’s memories of arriving in Winnipeg in 1893. Only 21 years old, he left the life of his little town Leeuwarden in the Netherlands to strike out in search of a new future in western Canada. After working for a few years on farms, lumber camps, tunnel projects and on railways as far west as Fort McLeod, he was able to bring his parents and siblings to Canada. His experience as a recent immigrant to Canada was similar to that of many thousands of others who flooded into the west from Europe and eastern Canada.

Klaas de Jong (1872-1959) wrote an autobiography that was arranged by Martha Knapp and published in 1973 with the title “Cauliflower King”.  De Jong won numerous prizes for his giant vegetables, including the title “Cauliflower King of North America” in 1926, from a competition held in Cleveland, Ohio.

A large collection of photographs of the de Jong family is stored at the Archives of Manitoba (Martha Knapp collection). Thank you to Bill Zwiep for the translation of our gallery copy into Dutch!

The Sutherland Violin. The strings have been loosened to relieve tension on the fragile front of the instrument. Copyright The Manitoba Museum.

Firstly, the violin has been played quite a bit. Looking at the pegs, we see the holes were worn out with tuning. They were filled and then re-drilled to produce a tighter fit. The pegs themselves are mismatched: two are ebony, one is pear wood, and the other is rosewood.

Secondly, the violin was at some point crushed. The top, a single piece of pine, was badly damaged and a repair was attempted but not well executed. The back of the violin was made with maple and is in excellent condition, nicely figured with “flames” or “curls” (the streaks of contrasting wood hues on the surface). Violins are all made with a combination of soft wood fronts and hard wood backs for the best combination of resonance and structural strength.

Finally, there are design elements of the violin that may help identify the original maker. The eye of the scroll, the length of the corners, and some asymmetry in the body and sound holes are all distinctive.

The violin was “remodelled” in 1935 by John Smith of 617 Furby St., Winnipeg, who was a well respected luthier in his own right. His 100+ violins can today still be found in Europe and North America.

Our plan at this time is to introduce the violin in the Log Cabin Exhibit in our Grasslands Gallery. The Log Cabin provides a window into the conditions of daily life at Red River in the mid-19^th century, and includes a number of original pieces. For instance, Catherine McPherson’s spinning wheel, evidently also brought from Scotland, is in the cabin. Wouldn’t it be entirely appropriate if her spinning wheel was reunited with her husband Alexander’s violin in the same home once again?

The Manitoba Museum is in possession of a wonderfully decorated Norwegian pine cabinet dated to the late 18^th century. This cabinet will be on exhibit in our foyer from May 5 to November 2, 2014.

The cabinet has two sections: an upper cupboard and lower hutch, with a total of 3 doors. On these doors and around them the artist created a series of 10 panels to present us with a narrative of heroic deeds and haughty boasting. This story may represent a local folk tale or clan legend. After spending some time looking at these images I believe there may be two ways to view the story.

A cabinet of this size and with such high-quality painted details was likely the property of a landowning Norwegian family. The written reference to a married couple and their farm (or village) at the top of the cabinet suggests that it was built for their home, and possibly for the occasion of their marriage.

“Halvord Gulliksen og Marit Arnes Datter Lundem”

Norwegians of the 18^th century were identified by their first names and patronymic (father’s name). Sometimes they also added the name of their village or farm. Surnames as we know them were only introduced in 1923. The script written at the top of the cupboard would translate as: “Halvord Gulliksen (son of Gullik) and Marit Arnes Datter (daughter of Arnes), at Lundem.” Halvord and Marit were probably the original owners of the cupboard.

This rare and splendid example of European folk furniture was donated by George and Tannis Richardson, generous supporters of The Manitoba Museum. Mr. Richardson is a Founding Member of the Museum.

The C. Kelekis Restaurant, a Winnipeg icon renowned as one of the finest diners on the prairies, closed in 2013 after 81 years of service. Located on Main St., it was an eatery that provided more than just good fries: there was always a chance you would meet a friend. The founder of the restaurant was Chris Kelekis (1886-1957). He immigrated from Triglia, a Greek settlement in Turkey, in 1913 following his beloved Magdeline Alaglou, who came with her brother and sister-in-law. After first living in Montreal, Chris and Magdeline moved to Winnipeg in 1918 and eventually had eight children, all of whom were involved in the restaurant in one way or another.

Thank you to the Kelekis family for the good food, the memories and the donation of artifacts.

The Manitoba Museum was built in the late 1960s, occupying the site of the former Strathcona Hotel, built in 1905 on the south-east corner of Main St. and Rupert Ave. This intersection featured a hotel on three corners, all built in the first decade of the 1900s to house a massive influx of settlers, new urban workers and would-be entrepreneurs. The Strathcona was also the scene of labour resistance during the 1919 Winnipeg Strike.

Jacob and Rachael Rosenthal and their infant son moved to Canada from Russia in 1891. They settled in Manitoba and took part in the life of the local Jewish community. By 1898 Jacob was running a small general store in the North End. Eventually he also sold cattle, and started a clothing store. Jacob must have done fairly well, because he was able to build and own the 6-storey, 100 room Strathcona Hotel, which opened on November 9, 1905. In the next eight years the population of Winnipeg doubled to 150,000, and business was booming. This changed abruptly in 1916 with the passing of prohibition: the bar was the most profitable part of the hotel, and Jacob also ran a wholesale liquor sales business.

One of the most notable events to take place in the hotel was the occupation by the Labour Café during the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. Women were a driving force in the strike movement. Lacking wages and with the city paralyzed, it was difficult to find food for all the female strikers, who at the best of times were eating cheap meals at small cafés and restaurants. The Women’s Labour League organized the Labour Café in the Strathcona Hotel, which the Rosenthals allowed and supported. For twenty-two days, over 1200 free meals a day were given to women and a discount was provided for rooms. Men were also welcome to eat at the Labour Café, either by payment or with a ticket provided by the Relief Committee. After this period the Rosenthals politely asked the Labour Café to leave the premises, probably due to the new presence of “Special Constables” (riot police) in the Police Station next door, which would have increased tensions and the potential for violence.

While The Manitoba Museum currently occupies the site of the former Strathcona Hotel, it also stands on the site where strikers occupied the hotel in an act of organized resistance.

Thanks to David Watson for his research into the Rosenthal family and the hotel. Special thanks also to the descendants of the Rosenthal family, now living in New York, who visited The Manitoba Museum last spring.

A museum exists to share artifacts, not hide them. Artifact loans are therefore a crucial part of any museum’s activities. The Manitoba Museum and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) have recently agreed to work together when it makes sense to join forces.

Our first “handshake” was the loan of some of our artifacts related to the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 to the CMHR. Some of you may have seen this on television recently: there were speeches, photo-ops, and the media’s flare for cool optics. But behind the scenes, there were some serious discussions about which objects were best suited to tell the story of labour rights in Canada, not to mention the safety of display conditions (could the artifacts be harmed by too much light or moisture?) , the period of the loan (two years), and so on.

The forces were not made up of actual Winnipeg police however, since they in fact supported the strike and were relieved of their duties by the Police Commission. The forces involved in Bloody Saturday were made up of “Special Constables” (citizens deputized by the mayor), and the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. The “Specials”, as they were known, were mostly young men identified by badges and armbands. They wielded clubs, like the one pictured above, for crowd control. The Special Constables were paid three times more than police officers from funds provided by the Citizens Committee of One Thousand, a group of Winnipeg elite who opposed the strike.