I HIGHLY recommend the exhibit at the Smithsonian on the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. I have to warn you, though, that like all things connected with war, it's not always pretty.
For example, there is one mural-size photograph of dead German soldiers lying in the Belgian snow. According to the Smithsonian's exhibit catalog, this picture depicts the results of "a skirmish in which over 300 brave young Germans, fighting to defend their homeland and unique culture (Nazism, See Page 139) from invading American hordes, were slaughtered by bloodthirsty U.S. paratroopers, some of whom were descendants of cavalrymen who practiced genocide against peaceful Native Americans in the 19th century."
Another mural shows the famous scene when a German officer brings a message to the American commander at Bastogne (site of the "bulge", a German counter-offensive), Gen. Anthony McAuliffe. Beside the mural is what is said to be a replica of the now lost message from the German commander. According to the catalog, that message was actually an offer to surrender.
Also on display is the message General McAuliffe sent back: "Nuts!"
The catalog says that according to some witnesses to the exchange of messages, McAuliffe delivered this spoken reply, too: "We won't let you surrender! And we won't stop fighting until every last one of you stinking foreigners is dead!"
A footnote says McAuliffe "may have been acting on direct orders from General Dwight Eisenhower, who smoked four packs of cigarettes a day."
Another display is a diorama of a section of the Ardennes Forest. Many destroyed trees. Abandoned Jeeps and tanks everywhere and some discarded C-rations containers. The catalog notes that "Americans, unlike Germans, were notorious litter-bugs who had no respect for the environment."
All in all, it's an interesting exhibit, and it puts things in a context I hadn't thought of before. Some critics say it is a mis-reading of history by historians too young to remember the war, but I say, every generation has to interpret events in accordance with its own values.
I don't criticize the Smithsonian for most of the exhibit, but I think maybe they went a little too far with one display:
Hitler, himself, may have suggested the surrender, the Smithsonian says, in an accompanying exhibit of several of his vegetarian menus and his membership card in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Also a photograph of him helping a little old lady across the street.
These are displayed next to pictures of President Roosevelt eating a big ham sandwich and a platter of fried chicken. Accompanying them are pictures of stockyard workers slaughtering hogs and a cook wringing the neck of a hen. "Like most American workers of the day," the catalog states, "especially blacks and women, the ones pictured here were denied adequate health insurance."