The stories we know and the truth in between
Some stories live on in people’s memory from generation to generation. Wars and rebellions can be seen very differently by different groups in society. The difference can also be big between a civil war and a war with another country.
Just after Finland had regain independence in 1918, a bloody civil war broke out. The war lasted 4 months, but the stories live on still today. Both the winner’s and loser’s history have been highlighted during the 94 years Finland have been independent, but there are still a lot of stories untold, from both sides. Some stories are considered too painful, meaningless or trivial too be told, others can be hard to understand as time goes by. Today there are very few left who experienced the war. The older generation often has a certain picture of the war, while the younger generation doesn’t know much about it. When these two mix in a Time Travel, it can be very interesting to see what happens.
Meanwhile, the picture of what happened when Finland was at war with Russia in the 1940s is very different. You have a clear enemy and the actions seem straightforward. Or is it not that simple?
The Ostrobothnian children’s culture network BARK has worked with Historic Environment Education and Time Travels on both the civil war and the Second World War events. How do you do Time Travels on difficult historical topics? What happens if people participating have very different pictures of what happened?
Annina Ylikoski
Museum educator and coordinator for The Ostrobothnian children’s culture network BARK, Finland
