Underwater Munitions: Dr. Alex Souchen speaks at Guelph Museum for Liberation and Remembrance Symposium

On Saturday, Nov. 15, at 3pm Dr. Alex Souchen will speak at the Liberation and Remembrance Symposium at the Guelph Museum

“Underwater Munitions and the Environmental Legacies of the Second World War”

When the Second World War ended in 1945 the Allied powers encountered an enormous problem: how to destroy the immense stockpiles of surplus and captured weapons and munitions leftover in Europe and around the world. This presentation will explore that history by examining how and why millions of tons of conventional and chemical munitions ended up underwater, dumped there by Allied forces to expedite demobilization. The presentation will also discuss the role of historians and historical research in addressing the environmental legacies of the Second World War and especially these dangerous weapons corroding away at the bottom of the world’s oceans and lakes

Dr. Alex Souchen is an Associate Professor at the University of Guelph, cross-appointed between the Department of History and the Bachelor of Arts and Sciences Program. His interdisciplinary research explores the history of science and technology and the environmental legacies of warfare in the 20th century. He is the author of “War Junk: Munitions Disposal and Postwar Reconstruction in Canada,” (published by UBC Press in 2020), and co-editor of “Silent Partners: The Origins and Influence of Canada’s Military-Industrial Complex,” (published by UBC Press in 2023). He has also published many articles on military pollution and the ocean dumping of munitions after the World Wars in North America and Europe. His next book will examine the history of Canada’s industrial front during the Second World War and the environmental and health risks of explosives production.

For more about the symposium and registration: https://guelphmuseums.ca/event/liberation-and-remembrance-symposium/