“The Volunteers” is the most extensive historical exhibition that will be presented to American audiences during the 2014-2018 centennial of World War I with innovative exhibition formats, seldom-seen artifacts, and cutting-edge humanities scholarship. The exhibition will begin with an opening at the National World War I Museum in the Spring of 2015, travel to several venues in Europe, then return to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. A smaller panel exhibition with interactive components will travel to domestic and international sites.

 

In four modules, “The Volunteers” explores the stories of Americans who chose to get involved in the First World War before the U.S. officially entered the conflict. The European war pushed some to don uniforms and fight, some to care for wounded soldiers and feed hungry refugees, and others to insist that the United States stay out of a devastating war across the Atlantic. This fresh and exciting story of World War I traces the little-known history of how small volunteer groups pioneered models for later international humanitarian organizations.