My guide also pointed out the Wasp flamethrower which could generate flames of 90 m in length. To give you an idea of the size of these flames: the Peace Tower of the Canadian Parliament Buidlings is 92 m high, so this was indeed amazing firepower.

Particularly interesting exhibits from this era include a battlefield surgery kit that illustrates how primitive medical equipment and techniques were at this time. Another highlight is the pigsuit, a full body suit for pigs that was intended to investigate the protective capabilities of uniforms under wartime conditions. Pigs were used for this purpose as they have very similar genetic makeup to human beings. This section of the Museum looks at the tenuous peace during the post-WWII Period where Canadian forces participated in a Cold War against the Soviet Bloc. During this era, Canada also took on a leading role as an international peacekeeping nation, a role from which Canada derives great pride.

The post-war era of the 1950s and 1960s was an era of great paranoia. A machine called an “electro-psychometer” (similar to a lie detector) was employed to determine the sexual orientation of civil servants. In this very conservative era homosexuality was a taboo and it was assumed knowledge of that fact could be used against an individual and force this person to collaborate with the enemy. The government intended to protect itself and subjected hundreds of civil servants to tests on this notoriously unreliable device, also referred to as the “fruit machine”. One of the exhibits also explains the origin of the notion of modern peacekeeping, brought to life in 1956 by Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, who received a Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions in 1957.

To me one of the most amazing exhibits in this area is a controversial painting depicting a Canadian soldier abusing and killing a civilian victim during a peacekeeping mission in Somalia. My guide indicated that many people in the Canadian military did not appreciate that this painting was being displayed, and in many countries this kind of unflattering depiction of a member of a national army would have been censored. It truly speaks to Canada’s openness and honesty that this picture was included in the exhibition as a testament to the devastating and dehumanizing effects of war.