8:00 am
Registration continues
8:45 am
Welcoming remarks
Steve Suddaby, President WW1HA
Dana Lombardy, Vice President WW1HA
9:00 am
Scars Upon My Heart: Words to Wound,
Words to Heal
Karen Goodno
A look at Great War literature in general – focusing on meaning and intent – with a close examination of women’s literature, especially the work of Vera Brittain. Some of Paul Fussell’s ideas from his classic work The Great War and Modern Memory will be used to better appreciate women’s literature from the war.
10:00 am Coffee Break (refreshments provided)
10:30 am
Posters As Munitions in War
Doran L. Cart
Soon after the outset of World War One, the poster, previously the successful medium of commercial advertising, was recognized in almost every country as a means of spreading national propaganda that made posters a type of “munitions of war.” Using examples from the National World War I Museum’s extensive collection, this talk will focus on posters’ educational and stimulating influence in recruiting, industry, war loans, the Red Cross and other uses.
12:00 pm Break (lunch on your own).
There are many fine
restaurants nearby.
1:30 pm
The Influence of Air Reconnaissance
Terrence J. Finnegan
World War 1 aviation achieved prominence in most part to the role played by aerial reconnaissance. Key to understanding how battles were shaped was due to the information acquired through aeroplanes and observation balloons. This WW1 Influence is reflected today in the impressive legacy that exists through aerial photography, analyzing the intelligence, and disseminating to battlefield commanders in a very short time span. In addition to a brief overview of the art of aerial reconnaissance, the presentation will provide an explanation of the process taking the audience through a collection of missions accomplished by the French during the Meuse-Argonne offensive.
2:45 pm
The Art of World War I
Robert Denison
What was the significance of war art in the historiography of the Great War? This presentation will use a variety of images to review the various art forms and art “movements” and clarify how they reflected the culture of various nationalities. In addition, art’s vital role in describing events and emotions during and after the First World War will be explained.
4:00 pm Coffee Break (refreshments provided)
4:15 pm
Lost Battalions: 4 Forgotten American WWI Movies
Andrew Melomet
Marching past the American big five of early World War I movies, The Big Parade, What Price Glory, Wings, All Quiet on the Western Front and Hell’s Angels are scores of others lost in the poison gas-laden mists of time. This talk takes a look at four movies perhaps unfairly forgotten that may reveal some interesting aspects on how Hollywood viewed the Great War. The movies discussed include The Lost Battalion (1919), Ever In My Heart (1933), Ace of Aces (1933) and The Road Back (1937).
6:30 pm Wine reception (refreshments provided)
There are many fine restaurants in the area for dinner.
8:00 am
Registration continues
8:45 am
Seeing World War I through Photographs
George Thompson
What makes World War I different from previous wars was it was possible for its participants to see and read about it as it happened. It is also unique in that it is the first war to produce a large number of photographs, over 100,000. These primary source materials visualize for us the war and home fronts and reveal a deeper image, the ethos of the time. This presentation will examine what these photographs tell us by focusing on how the British press, military and government produced these images, why they did so and how they were used to support their war effort and what meaning they have for us today.
10:00 am Coffee Break (refreshments provided)
10:30 am
The Kaiser’s U-Boats
Dick Church
The development of German U-Boat forces from 1900-1918 was a paradigm shift in naval warfare. Although a few underwater vessels had been used in limited ways in previous wars, Germany’s large U-Boat fleet nearly canceled Great Britain’s superiority in surface vessels in World War One. This presentation will include: individual U-Boat classes; weapons (guns and torpedoes); antisubmarine efforts by the allies; yearly submarine operations; final defeat 1918.
12:00 pm Break (lunch on your own).
There are many fine restaurants nearby.
1:15 pm
Ancient History’s Impact on World War I
Dr. Jonathan Roth
The generals, politicians, and even many common soldiers of all combatants in the First World War were much more familiar with the history and culture of the ancient world than their counterparts today. This knowledge had an impact on the war itself, for example in von Schlieffen’s use of Hannibal’s victory at Cannae or Allenby’s reading of the Bible for topographical tips on Palestine. Ancient history also affected propaganda, such as in the Allies’ use of the term “Huns” to refer to the Germans. Understanding the importance of Greece, Rome and Jerusalem to the Europeans of the first part of the twentieth century leads us to a better understanding of the war.
2:30 pm
Tanks in World War I
Arthur Dyer
Tanks were just one of many weapon innovations introduced in the First World War, and tanks became even more famous in the blitzkrieg type of warfare of the Second World War. Speaking from his personal experience as a Marine armor officer, as well from his current position as Director of the U.S. Army’s Patton Museum of Cavalry & Armor at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Major Dyer will describe the different types of tanks and tank tactics used in the Great War.
3:45 pm Coffee Break (refreshments provided)
4:00 pm
The Art of Official Gratitude: Commemorations
of U.S. Humanitarian Aid, 1916-1922
Michael McGuire
During World War I, American citizens arrived in France by the hundreds of thousands. While most served in connection to the AEF, a smaller group of Americans formed non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and succored French civilians during and after the war. Like military service, officials in France and the U.S. commemorated this felicity. However, while French bureaucrats dispensed citations and medals to American aid workers, the NGOs endowed the people they aided with hospitals, community centers, and scholarships to assist their transition to normality.
6:00 pm Cocktails (cash bar), Banquet Buffet Dinner & Raffle
7:30 pm
From Old Lace to Absinthe: How Culture
and Fashion Changed During WWI
Anne Merritt and Anita (Jolie) Velazquez, assisted by Diane Rooney,
Marketing Director of The Great War Society
A multi-media presentation using costumes, photographs, film and video clips to talk about the social and cultural trends during the war years. Eras were ending, others were beginning. The trenches may have been static, but society was not. Jolie will explain how men’s and women’s clothing was influenced by WWI; the styles and trends that can be directly attributed to the effects of the war on the fashion world.
