One hundred years ago today, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the world took a big sigh of relief as the First World War ended with an armistice between the Allies and Germany. After four world-changing years, what had become known as the “Great War” the “war to end all wars” was finally over. And so with some sadness but also a little relief, the Kansas WW1 Centennial Committee has chosen this centennial Armistice Day to officially bring its commemoration to a close with the Tolling of the Bells (event details) at the Kansas Museum of History.
Author: Adrienne Landry (Page 1 of 2)
Adrienne Landry Dunavin is a member of the Kansas WWI Centennial Commemoration Committee and is the primary administrator of KansasWW1.org. She worked at the KU Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies as their Outreach Coordinator from 2010-2016. During that time she served on the KU WWI Centennial Commemoration Working Group. She continues to volunteer as a representative for CREES and KU WWI on this blog.
KansasWW1.org has a new email address! If you would like to get in touch with us, please email us at: kansasww1@kshistory.org
The Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections is accepting applications for an Archival Fellowship, in conjunction with the closing year of University of Kansas’ World War I Commemoration.
The Archival Fellow will work with Dole Archives staff to evaluate relevant archival holdings and develop a topic guide and online teaching module based on Senator Bob Dole’s career advocacy on behalf of Armenia. The final product will be used as an introduction to this topic for K-12, university, and general public audiences.
The U.S. World War I Centennial Commission has launched its nationwide “WW1 Poppy Program” to enable groups across the country to support construction of the new National World War One Memorial at Pershing Park in Washington, DC, while also raising funds for their own organization.
The minutes from the Kansas WW1 Centennial Commemoration Committee’s meeting on March 8, 2017 are now posted to the website. Our next meeting is scheduled for June 14, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. — location TBA.
If you have any questions, please write to: kansasww1@kshs.org
Premiere: PBS Documentary The Great War
The Minority Experience
Wednesday, April 5, 7:00-8:30 pm | The Commons, Spooner Hall
Join KU for a sneak peek of this PBS documentary’s exploration of race and ethnicity during WWI. The 40-minute film, excerpts from The Great War, a 6-hour PBS series airing April 10-12, documents the minority experience, particularly that of African-American soldiers and Native-American code talkers, whose participation in the war to “make the world safe for democracy” has been largely forgotten. The film will be followed by an interdisciplinary panel discussion moderated by Clarence Lang, Professor and Chair, Dept. of African & African-American Studies. Panelists include:
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of America’s entry into WWI, Fort Scott Community College (FSCC), in Fort Scott, will be presenting a preview screening of the upcoming AMERICAN EXPERIENCE film “The Great War” along with a panel discussion. The topic will be “The War for Democracy: America’s New Foreign Policy”. This will explore how President Woodrow Wilson steered the nation through almost three years of neutrality, only to reluctantly lead America into the bloodiest conflict the world had ever seen, thereby transforming the United States into a dominant player on the international stage. Members of the panel will be Pastor James Collins (Fort Scott), retired Army Chaplain; Jan Elder (Baldwin), immigrant to America from England whose grandfather fought in The Great War, and Roger Leaming (Fort Scott), a history faculty member of FSCC. WWI artifacts will be on display.
The National World War I Museum and Memorial is organizing a symposium in October. Remembering Muted Voices: Conscience, Dissent, Resistance, and Civil Liberties in World War I through Today will take place October 19-22, 2017 at the National World War I Museum and Memorial, KC, MO.
Interested in the work of the Kansas WW1 Centennial Committee? Check out the meeting minutes from our last meeting! Meeting Minutes from the December 7, 2016, committee meeting have been posted to the website. Click here to read them.
Our next meeting is scheduled for March 8th at 1:30 p.m. at the Kansas Historical Society.
On October 27 & 28, 2016, the Ohio State University Department of History, in partnership with the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission, hosted a symposium marking the 100th anniversary of the war. The symposium included presentations on:
- The Military History of World War I, 1914-1918
- Financing the First World War
- War, Death, and Remembrance in 1914-1918
- WWI and the Emerging Laws of War
- Shell Shock: Core Insights of the Recent Historiography
- KEYNOTE: The Redefinition of Battle: Verdun and the Somme, 1916
Prior to each presentation, Ohio State students in theatre and the arts departments recited selections of World War I poetry and even shared a period song. Their participation offered a poignant and powerful combination of “cleansing the mental palate” and preparation for diving into an hour-long perspective on various aspects of the war.