The County Line
One hundred years ago this spring World War I was raging, and 116,516 Americans were dying in what was called The Great War. Unfortunately, the war was overshadowed by the even more costly World War II only 23 years later.
Nevertheless, the war which was erroneously called the ‘war to end all wars’ had a great impact not only on the U.S., but worldwide even to the present day.
In commemoration of the war which ended in 1918, an exhibit of World War I photos and archives is set open April 13 at the Carmel Clay Historical Society’s Monon Depot. It will be open to the public on weekends for the following month. Of local interest are the 31 Hamilton County servicemen who died in the war. Their names are also found on the Courthouse Square war memorial.
The Indiana Historical Society’s traveling exhibit, entitled ‘From Ration Lines to Front Lines,’ will be featured at the Monon Depot Museum along with some items of local interest from the period. Visitors will be able to learn some interesting facts about the Great War both on the battlefront and on the homefront. For example, here in central Indiana an anti-German hysteria resulted in discrimination toward citizens and institutions with a German background.
Little known today is the effect of the highly inflammatory Zimmerman Communique sent by Germany to Mexico. It offered to see that Mexico would get Texas, New Mexico and Arizona if Mexico would enter the war on the side of Germany. Mexico had lost this American territory about 70 years earlier in the Mexican-American War.
This communique backfired and was one of the causes of the U.S. entering the war. Mexico did not agree to the offer. Copies of this and other archives from the war are part of the exhibit.
The display explores the causes and effects of the war, shortages experienced by average Hoosiers, the introduction of new weapons such as air combat, land mines and poison gas, and even the reason behind choosing Indianapolis as national headquarters for the American Legion.
The exhibit is open to the public at no charges on weekends through May 12.