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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Paul Daley

An Australian War Memorial sponsored by weapons dealers is no place for quiet reflection on Anzac Day

General view of the Stone of Remembrance at the Australian War Memorial, which is inscribed 'Their name liveth for evermore'
‘It often seems as if the war memorial … is determinedly culturally retrograde when it comes to questions of historical truth-telling and fundraising.’ Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA

Checking in on Anzac Day commemorations at the Australian War Memorial today? If so, besides paying appropriate respect to our service personnel, perhaps consider just how contorted the official memorialisation of war has become in this country.

This should be a day of quiet reflection. It should be one to reflect not only on the experiences of the Australians and New Zealanders who, disastrously, helped invade Gallipoli 107 years ago (to retreat before Christmas), but more broadly on war’s impact on humankind – which is what Anzac Day has evolved into.

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