The current Iraq war will be the focus
of an exhibit at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison in 2009.

Although the exhibit is still in the
planning stages, it is already posing the problem of how to depict an
ongoing conflict in a historical setting.

“For me, as a historian, the Iraq war
is not history, it is a current event,” said Richard Zeitlin, the
museum’s director.

The main problem the museum is facing,
Zeitlin said, is a lack of perspective. The Iraq war is still being
fought, and historians do not have the ability to fully analyze the
conflict until it is over.

Thus, the main focus of the exhibit is
going to be the men and women who have served in Iraq. Through their
stories and material items brought back with them from the war, the
museum staff hopes to show the soldiers’ points of view.

“It will be difficult to do something
that is still going on, but as long as we keep the stories of the
people who have been there in consideration, we will be in good
shape,” said Jeff Kollath, the museum’s curator of programs.

Another difficulty curators at the
museum are facing is dealing with the political controversy
associated with the Iraq war. Zeitlin said he knows politics cannot
be left out entirely, yet hopes these issues do not overshadow the
message of the exhibit.

“Our main focus is not going to be on
politics, but simply on the soldiers,” Zeitlin said.

The museum has previously displayed
smaller exhibits dealing with the Iraq war, such as a photo
exhibition and lectures from local veterans. Zeitlin said exhibits
like these help describe the war to people in America.

The new exhibit will be partially
funded by the state of Wisconsin, and the rest of the funds will come
from donations.