London Transport Museum presents Under Attack: London Coventry Dresden, open through 31 March 2011.
The aerial bombing raids, known in Britain as the Blitz, defined the wartime experience of many European cities. This exhibition tells the story from the perspective of public transport in London, Coventry and Dresden, and illustrates the struggle to keep these cities moving during the Second World War.
The exhibition has been developed in partnership with Coventry Transport Museum and the Verkehrsmuseum Dresden, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the start of the Blitz in England and the 65th anniversary of the Dresden bombing.
The exhibition will focus on the role that public transport played in helping to create a sense of identity and normality. In particular, it will seek to explore the areas of commonality, as well as difference, and convey the shared experience of people from all walks of life – irrespective of nationality.
The exhibition will explore some of the myths and reality of the wartime experience and review the changing nature of popular memory in relation to the Blitz attacks in England and the Firestorm in Dresden. A series of unique displays will show how each city prepared for war and the contrasting role of their transport systems. In London and Coventry, public transport was used to evacuate children and others out of the city, whilst in Dresden, the city itself was regarded as a shelter with transport bringing refugees into the centre.
Visitors will be encouraged to consider the effect of the bombing campaigns and reflect on the part played by transport in keeping the cities moving and in bolstering public morale in the face of attack.
www.ltmuseum.co.uk