Careers
July 22, 2015
Page 11
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
World at War: A State Transformed
Exhibit tells
of shipyards,
internment and
other impacts
“World War II: A World at War,
A State Transformed,” a new ma-
jor exhibition at the Oregon His-
torical Society, 1200 S.W. Park
Ave., features rare documents
and artifacts from world and mil-
itary leaders including Franklin
Roosevelt, Winston Churchill,
and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and
also shares stories of the impacts
of the war on Oregonians.
The exhibit brings artifacts
and manuscripts on loan from
the Portland-based Mark Family
Collection, including a very rare
Nazi Enigma machine, the mil-
itary uniforms of Gen. George
Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhow-
er, the only copy of the Atlantic
Charter personally signed by
Winston Churchill and Franklin
Roosevelt, and a life preserver
from the U.S.S. West Virginia,
which was damaged at Pearl Har-
bor.
Letters and manuscripts pro-
vide a lens onto the many events
of World War II, from prominent
battles to critical political deci-
sions. Notable documents include
handwritten letters from General
Americans, and the only World
War II casualties to occur in the
continental U.S.—the result of a
Japanese balloon bomb.
Continuing in the museum’s
North Wing Gallery is a visual-
ly stunning exhibition of propa-
ganda posters, which opened this
past February. Also on loan from
the Mark Family Collection,
these posters provide a unique
glimpse into an era before tele-
vision and internet when artists
and marketers were challenged
to communicate to the general
public in a way that would sim-
ply and enduringly convey im-
portant messages.
The Oregon Historical Society
is open seven days a week, Mon-
days through Saturdays from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from
12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is
$11 but free to OHS members
and Multnomah County resi-
dents thanks to a generous dona-
tion from Columbia Sportswear.
All United States military veter-
World at War, A State Transformed, puts a lens on many events of World War II, including the incarcer- ans will receive free admission
ation of Japanese Americans from West Coast cities, including Portland, as shown in the photo from
throughout the run of the exhibit.
Heart Mountain, Wyoming.
Eisenhower to his wife Mamie
and letters from Senator Mark
Hatfield, a Naval Lieutenant
during the war, to his parents.
The exhibit also focuses on
Oregon, a state transformed
during the mid 20th century.
Items drawn from the Oregon
Historical Society’s archives and
from collections across the state
tell of events that dramatically
changed Oregon, including the
social impact of the Kaiser ship-
yards, the internment of Japanese
A welding mask from the Kaiser Shipyards and a life vest from the military ship Star of Oregon are
among the artifacts from ‘World War II: A World at War, a State Transformed,’ a major new exhibit at
the Oregon Historical Society.