AU professors plan protest of Smithsonian
Several national and international groups, including AU professors, are planning to protest an upcoming exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. Museum Director, Gen. John Dailey said that the Smithsonian will display the B-29 airplane "in all of its glory as a magnificent technological achievement," a phrase that many find objectionable. The exhibit is expected for Dec. 15 and will be presented in the museum's new annex at the Dulles International Airport. The Enola Gay will be displayed with other World War II aircraft. AU history professor Peter Kuznick said he doesn't oppose an exhibition of the Enola Gay, but what he finds to be inappropriate is the manner in which the plane will be displayed. "Clearly, the Enola Gay is more than a magnificent technological achievement," Kuznick said. "If [the Smithsonian] wanted to celebrate World War II military technology they could choose any B-29. The Enola Gay is the most symbolically significant plane there is for one reason - it dropped the first atomic bomb and wiped out most of the population of the city of Hiroshima."
