topic4-turmoil&tragedy:1933-1945
The world suffers the economic disaster of the Great Depression, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Soviet Union experience the terrors of totalitarian rule, and the world moves inexorably into another world war. Millions die in the conflict and yet more millions are killed in the Holocaust. Once again, the victors are left with the job of reconstructing a horribly mangled world.
Handouts & Assignments:
Rewriting History - Photo-Retouching in Salin's USSR
Useful Resources:
The History Guide lecture The Age of Totalitarianism; Stalin & Hitler
SchoolHistory.co.uk International Relations (1919-1939) - GCSE study material, including interactive diagrams.
Appeasement:
Spartacus Schoolnet's Appeasement page
Neville Chamberlain on Appeasement - from the History Guide
The Spanish Civil War:
Begin any research with Spartacus Schoolnet's Spanish Civil War links page.
The Spanish Civil War from World History at KMLA. A good links page.
The Soviet Union:
Seventeen Moments in Soviet History has excellent material, including multimedia resources.
Paul Vysny's site The Soviet Union; 1919-1991
World War II:
BBC's World War II Pages (Includes multimedia files).
The History Guide lecture Hitler & World War II
The University of Washington Libraries have an excellent links page for World War II.
The Holocaust:
The Holocaust Website Page from History in Focus (University of London, UK)
Professor S.D. Stein's Web Genocide Documentation; World War II Resources
Frontline's Memories of the Camps video.
Lectures:
The Leagueof Nations & International Security
The Stalin Revolution; Industrialisation & Collectivisation
US Foreign Policy Between the Wars
World War II (This material covers several days)
Total War; The British Experience
PowerPoint Resources:
Masters:
The Jews of Interwar Poland,Romania & Hungary
Everyday Life in the Warsaw Ghetto
Others:
Pojer - World War II
Online Video Material
PBS Commanding Heights video clips on the Soviet Union
Benoy's Directory of Googlevideo & Youtube Songs of and about the Spanish Civil War.
Benoy's Directory of Googlevideo & Youtube videos of or about Nazi Germany.
Benoy's Directory of Googlevideo & Youtube World War II Documentaries.
Inside the Mind of Adolf Hitler
Leni Riefenstahl; Triumph of the Will
Frontline's Memories of the Camps video.- Outstanding footage of liberated SS concentration camps.
Tora! Tora! Tora! - the best film about Pearl Harbour
Listen to some of the music of the era (expect a delay as the file downloads):
From the Great Depression:
From the Spanish Civil War:
Soviet:
Soviet National Anthem (1943 version) Sung by Paul Robeson, in English
UK & USA in World War II:
Boogie Woogie Bugleboy (Andrews Sisters)
There Will Always be an England
German:
Movie Suggestions:
Before the War:
The Inner Circle (1991)
The story of Ivan Sanchin, who was Stalin's personal movie projectionist from 1939 until Stalin died. A chilling look at life close to Stalin.
Stalin (1992 made for TV)
Robert Duvall stars in this excellent account of the life of the Soviet leader. I would use it in class -- except for the length of time it would take to show it.
Tea With Mussolini (1999)
Somewhat based on the early life of Franco Zeffirelli, this excellent film, starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Lily Tomlin and Cher, details the lives of British and American expatriates living in Italy in the 1920's to 1940's.
Mephisto (1981)
Klaus Maria Brandaur plays an actor who makes a pact with the Devil -- actually with the Nazis -- in order to further his career. The film is a telling portrayal of how individuals are coopted in totalitarian societies.
The White Rose (1982)
Some are coopted, while others resist. This is the true story of anti-Nazi resistance at a Munich university.
Cabaret (1972)
What a musical! Lisa Minelli, Michael York and Joel Grey star in this film about entertainers caught up in the political whirlwind of inter-war Germany. Life in the Kit Kat Club changes as the Nazis rise to power.
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Don't expect historical events to shape this Agatha Christie murder mystery. However, it does portray upper class life rather well.
Brideshead Revisited (1982 mini-series)
Jeremy Irons stars in this telling of the Evelyn Waugh literary classic. Upper class life between the wars in Britain is portrayed exquisitively.
Remains of the Day (1993)
Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson star in this tale of a butler's wasted life in the service of a seriously misguided upper class political leader.
Gosford park (2001)
Class differences in interwar Britain are outlined in the lives of the (upstairs) aristocrats and (downstairs) servants in inter-war Britain.
Angela's Ashes (1999)
Frank McCourt's autobiographical story of growing up in poverty in inter-war Ireland. This is actually what lower working class life was like in Britain too.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They (1969)
In the height of the US Great Depression, dance marathon contestants struggle to escape their problems.
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
John Ford's classic telling of Steinbeck's novel of life in America during the dirty 30's. Stars Henry Fonda.
The Last Emperor (1987)
The life of Henry Pu-Yi, who's life took him from childhood ruler of China to Japanese puppet ruler of Manchukuo, to political prisoner of Stalin and Mao to Beijing gardiner. The scope of the film is tremendous.
The Sand Pebbles (1966)
An American gunboat patrols Chinese rivers between the wars, when Japan was expanding its empire. Steve McQueen stars.
Land and Freedom (1995)
A British volunteer in the POUM militia experiences the Spanish Civil War. Watch this and also read George Orwell's autobiographical work Homage to Catalonia. Orwell was a member of this militia.
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman star in this Hemingway story of life and love during trhe Spanish Civil War. Just don't expect an exact retelling of the novel.
Triumph of the Will (1934)
OK, I know I am not supposed to be listing documentaries here, but for this one I make an exception. Leni Riefenstahl's revolutionary docuumentary of the 1934 Nazi Nuremburg Rally. See the power of propeganda.
Water (2005)
Deepa Mehta's wonderful film depicting the plight of widows in 1938 India. Misery here relates not to imperial rule, but to cultural traditions.
World War II
The Battle of Britain (1969)
This is the story of the "few" that was owed "so much" by "so many." Stars Michael Caine and Trevor Howard. The combat footage is fabulous, as most of the surviving planes of the era were pressed into service. This is a must-see.
Hope and Glory (1987)
Life in England during the Blitz is outlined in this wonderful film from Director John Boorman. How much more fun can life be for a young boy than when a German bomber blows up his school?
Mrs. Minever (1942)
Won the academy award for best picture of the year for its portrayal of a courageous British family during the war. Life goes on, even with the world exploding around one.
The Dam Busters (1955)
Film about the 1943 attack by special British bomber crews on the Ruhr dams. Special effects are primitive, but the movie is stirring, nonetheless.
Enigma (2001)
Few people realize the importance of code-breaking on the outcome of World War II. This film looks at the struggle to keep up with changes made in the German military codes. Fictionalized, this is, nonetheless, infinitely more accurate than the more famous film U-571, which also deals with the Enigma topic but which inexplicably changes the nationality of sailors who captured a U-Boat code book from British to American.
Casablanca (1942)
One of Hollywood's most enduring films. Stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The film is set in Vichy French Casablanca, early in World War II -- a city of intrigue and espionage. This is a classic.
Bataan (1943)
Long considered one of America's best war films, it describes America's desperate attempt to halt the Japanese invasion of the US occupied Philippines in 1941-42. To those used to modern special effects, the film will probably look quite dated.
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Don't bother watching "Pearl Harbour," which is Hollywood's butchering of actual events, Tora! Tora! Tora! is a masterpiece that tells of the attack from both the American and Japanese perspectives. This is an amazing film that must be seen.
The Longest Day (1962)
Epic treatment of D-Day. This is considered one of the greatest war movies ever. Few movies successfuly capture events from the perspective of both sides; this one, like Tora! Tora! Tora!, does so.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Stars Tom Hanks. Set during the Normandy landings, the film describes attempts to find and ensure the survival of the one surviving brother from a family where three death notices are being sent home on the same day. The combat scene of the actual landing is spectacular.
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Richard Attenborough's film about Operation Market Garden, which failed to take and hold several strategic bridges across the Rhine in 1944. The caste includes: Sean Connery, Lawrence Olivier, Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford and a host of other A-list actors.
PT-109 (1963)
The film that helped mythologize President Kennedy, telling of his experiences on a patrol boat in the South Pacific during World War II.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
American troops fight the Japanese in the Pacific at Guadalcanal.
Patton (1970)
George C. Scott's most famous role as he played the controversial American general. An excellent film.
Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
Stars Paul Newman. The story of the Manhattan Project, which brought about the atomic age.
Das Boot (The Boat, 1981)
Life aboard a U-Boat, from the heady days of the early war to the terrifying times when the Allies came to master the Atlantic. Director Wolfgang Petersen captures the stifling claustrophobic world of World War II submariners. This is one of the greatest war films ever made. Jurgen Prochnow, as the Captain, is tremendous.
Stalingrad (1995)
Epic story of the battle that turned the tide of World War II in Europe.
Enemy at the Gates (2001)
Vasily Zaitsev is a Soviet sniper during the Battle of Stalingrad. With the bigger war swirling around him, Zaitsev does his job and attempts to survive, while his government uses him for political purposes and the Germans respond by singling him out for special attention. This is an outstanding film.
Judgement at Nuremburg (1961)
The Nuremburg trials following World War II are brought to the screen by a caste of greats: Maximillian Schell, Spencer Tracey, Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich and Montgomery Clift.
The Great Escape (1963)
Though not of great help in studying History 12, this is a tremendously entertaining movie about a real mass escape from a German prisoner of war camp set up specially for chronic Allied escape artist prisoners.
Empire of the Sun (1987)
When Shanghai falls to the Japanese, a young boy is separated from his parents and must live by his wits to survive the occupation.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
I'm including this film, not so much because of its historical veracity, but because it treats an often neglected topic -- the Italian and Greek experiences in World War II.
The Holocaust and its Antecedents
The Diary of Ann Frank (1963)
Taken from a play of the same name and based on the diary of a young Dutch Jewish girl who spent much of the war hidden from the Nazis by sympathizers, but who was ultimately found and killed at Auschwitz.
Schindler's List (1993)
The most outstanding depiction of the Holocaust. Oskar Schindler changes from greedy capitalist to righteous gentile as he subverts the Nazi system to save the lives of thousands of Jews. The film stars Liam Neeson, but also has a tremendous supporting caste that includes Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.
Life is Beautiful (La Vita e Bella, 1997)
The Holocaust with an Italian flavour as an Italian Jew lives throught he 1930's and is sent, with his family, to a death camp after Germany occupies much of Italy after the Italian surrender to the Allies.
Jacob the Liar (1999)
Almost an American version of Life is Beautiful. I'm not convinced that Robin Williams and the Holocaust work together, but this is an entertaining film about a vry dark subject.
Voyage of the Damned (1976)
This film traces the voyage of the St. Louis, a ship that sailed from Germany in 1939 with Jewish refugees, only to have most of its passengers refused entry in Cuba, the USA and Canada. Britain ultimately accepted some of its passengers, but most were taken in by Holland, Belgium and France -- only to find themselves once again under Nazi control after these countries fell. Most died in Hitler's Final Solution.
The Grey Zone (2001)
This is based on the real experiences of Hungarian Jewish doctor Miklos Nyiszli, who assisted the infamous Doctor Mengele at Auschwitz. The film deals with the doctor and the Jewish Sonderkommando -- those who worked for the SS in order to prolong their lives. The "grey zone" is the morality of their action. Action in the film surrounds a very real insurrection launched by prison inmates. This is not a film for the feint-hearted. The horrors of the camp are not glossed over. Language is crude, there is some gross nudity, and, above all, the bestiality of the SS reminds us of what man is capable of.
The Pianist (2002)
Roman Polanski's film of how a Polish Jewish pianist, Wladislaw Szpilman, survives the Holocaust. This is a must-see film.
Conspiracy (2001 made for TV)
Kenneth Branaugh stars in this TV movie about the Wansee Conference, where megadeath was planned by Nazi leaders and industrialists -- often over dinner and drinks.
The Wansee Conference (1984)
Another excellent treatment of the momentous 1942 conference.