World War II Reexamined
by: J.B. Potter ‘11Wilson Center hosts symposium on 65th anniversary of war’s end
The Wilson Center for Leadership held its annual symposium last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 15th through April 17th. This year’s symposium commemorated the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II. Over the course of the symposium, scholars, faculty, staff, and friends of the College combined their efforts to provide Hampden-Sydney with six interesting and informative sessions. The first session featured Dr. Gerhard L. Weinberg, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Dr. Weinberg is one of the most well renowned historians on the Second World War. His distinguished academic career spans five decades. During this time, he has published numerous books and articles, and meticulously researched and interpreted much of the history relating to World War II. This fact was apparent during the first session.
In giving the keynote address, Dr. Weinberg covered the entire history of the War in about an hour. He posited that the Second World War occupies a singular place in history; more than any other event, the war serves as a warning of mankind’s capacity to kill and destroy. The war saw the use of weapons that were unprecedented in their destructive power. However, with great power comes great responsibility. In Dr. Weinberg’s view, this responsibility entails avoiding another world war by realizing our common humanity and diligently working together with our fellow man to avoid catastrophe.
The second session was a viewing of the 1962 film Merrill’s Marauders. “Merrill’s Marauders” was a U.S. Army long-range penetration Special Forces unit that fought in the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theater of World War II. Lt. General Sam Wilson, H-SC President Emeritus and a highly decorated veteran of World War II, spent part of the war with this unit. When the film was made about the unit’s experiences, General Wilson not only served as the film’s technical advisor, but he also had a small acting part in the movie. During the Thursday evening viewing of Merrill’s Marauders, General Wilson provided the audience with ongoing film commentary. Having experienced the campaign and the film firsthand, General Wilson was able to give fascinating insights into the history of “Merrill’s Marauders,” and indeed, the history of World War II.
On Friday, the symposium continued with a lecture by Dr. Charles W. Sydnor, former President and CEO of Commonwealth Public Broadcasting in Richmond and President Emeritus of Emory and Henry College. In the late 70s and early 80s, Dr. Sydnor served as an assistant to H-SC President Josiah Bunting and Virginia Governor Charles Robb. In addition, he has taught History classes at Hampden-Sydney and Longwood University. As a specialist in European History, Dr. Sydnor has extensively researched and written about World War II, specifically the Holocaust. His talk was about Reinhard Heydrich, one of the chief architects of the Final Solution. Sydnor described Heydrich as an ambitious and calculating man with an indispensable work ethic. Arrogant and manipulative, Heydrich had an unrivaled organizational ability. Accordingly, he was instrumental in planning and executing the operations that sent millions of Jews to labor and death camps. Although Heydrich was assassinated in mid-1942, his nightmarish vision of extermination claimed the lives of some six million Jews.
The symposium’s fourth session was a USO Show orchestrated by Professor Jim Simms. Dr. Simms enlisted the help of some two dozen members of Hampden-Sydney’s faculty and staff to assist in the performance of World War II era songs and skits. By far the most fun and lighthearted of the symposium’s sessions, the USO Show had the audience in stitches. Simms and company’s antics and cornball jokes created quite the jovial atmosphere. The USO Show coincided with the Wilson Center’s awards banquet. Graduating seniors who are members of Wilson Center programs received their certificates. In addition, Will Pace and Tom Price won Wilson Center awards for their exemplary participation in the Public Service and Military Leadership Programs, respectively. Finally, Professor Simms was pleasantly surprised to discover that a Wilson Center award will henceforth bear his name.
Saturday marked the final day of the symposium and the final two sessions. That morning, a panel of three Hampden-Sydney professors— Dr. John Eastby, Dr. Caroline Emmons, and Dr. William Porterfield—discussed the broad impacts of the War. Dr. Eastby discussed the War’s effects on notions of human rights. Like Dr. Weinberg, he concluded that World War II has prompted humanity to reexamine the relationship between the spiritual and the material. Dr. Emmons examined how American society and culture changed after the war; in a similar vein, Dr. Porterfield spoke to the explosion of post-war scientific research and development, especially in the field of nuclear energy.
The final session of the symposium was a conversation between Dr. Weinberg and General Wilson. Dr. Sydnor and Prof. Simms moderated the discussion. Each man talked about various people and events that are indicative of the Second World War’s significance in history. In addition, each of the panelists offered his assessment of specific aspects of the War, and shared personal stories. For instance, General Wilson talked about one of his experiences in 1943, when he briefly met President Roosevelt at Fort Benning, Georgia. The talk ended with some poignant words from Dr. Weinberg about the importance of learning the lessons of World War II so that such an all-encompassing and inhuman conflict never happens again.
This year’s symposium was a fitting tribute to mark the 65th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Thanks to the high caliber of the speakers and the interesting topics of the sessions, the symposium provided the H-SC community with great opportunity to learn a lot about important part of the world’s history.
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