Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.11.2018, Page 1

LÖGBERG
HEIMSKRINGLA
The Icelandic Community Newspaper • 15 November 2018 • Number 22 / Númer 22 • 15. nóvember 2018
Publication Mail Agreement No. 40012014 ISSN: 0047-4967
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The second Beck Lecture /
page 5
Giants and trolls
everywhere!
PHOTO: WD VALGARDSON
Consul General Þórður Bjarni Guðjónsson and Jórunn Kristinsdóttir with Joe Martin (third from right), members of the
Eaton family, and officials of the Manitoba Museum.
Johanna Wilson, whose mother was the first regent of the Jon Sigurdsson Chapter IODE, arrives to view the exhibit. John
Craig Eaton and Fredrik S. Eaton were among the many people attending the opening of Vikings of the First World War.
PHOTOS: BILL ACHESON / MANITOBA MUSEUM
INSIDE
Stefan Jonasson
An enthusiastic crowd filled the foyer of the Manitoba
Museum for the official opening and preview of Vikings
of the First World War: Icelandic Canadians in Service,
a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of that
war through an exhibition of medals, photographs, letters, and
other artifacts from two Winnipeg battalions that were heavily
populated by Icelandic Canadian soldiers, accompanied by a
video installation from the National Museum of Iceland and the
University of Iceland.
Dr. Roland Sawatzky, Curator of History at the Manitoba
Museum, provided an overview of the exhibit and its historical
context. “As a curator of history in the museum, I’m a generalist,”
he admitted. “Everything comes my way – all of Manitoba history
comes to me so I’m always learning. I’ve learned a lot from this
exhibit and I’d like to thank everyone who was involved.”
Dr. Sawatzky observed that while it’s commonly believed
that “Canadians reacted with enthusiasm and a generalized war
fever” following the declaration of war in 1914, this enthusiasm
was “tempered by many newspaper reporters who tried to get a
clear view of what a world war was going to look like.” It was
estimated that 20 million soldiers might be mobilized and that
millions would die, which turned out to be a reasonably accurate
prediction. “Manitobans had an idea, at least in numbers, of
what they were in for and that the world was about to change.
Nevertheless, enthusiasm did win the day. Tens of thousands
immediately volunteered to join the military from around the
nation and eventually more than 18,000 Manitobans would
enlist.” Many of those who served came from the province’s
Indigenous communities and ethnic communities.
Continued on page 2
Vikings of the First World War – inspired by loyalty
Icelandic Canadian
Perspectives / pages 6-7
The First
World War
PHOTO: NEW ICELAND HERITAGE MUSEUM
How the exhibit came to be /
page 11
Vikings of the
First World War
PHOTO: BILL ACHESON / MANITOBA MUSEUM