WW2 Anniversary

|   11 December 2011

Declaring war on America

Seventy years ago today Germany declared war on America. Many people are mystified by Hitler’s decision to take on the most powerful economic power in the world – especially since the German army was mired in a conflict with the Soviet Union at the time, and Hitler had no real way of ever conquering America. […]

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WW2 Competitions

|   1 December 2011

Autumn Competition Result

Congratulations to Jemma Mortimer of the Midlands who was the first subscriber to WW2History.com picked from all those who gave the correct answer to our Autumn Competition. The question we posed was: Which Nazi Gauleiter – one of the hardest of hard liners who had previously ruled with an iron hand over the Ukraine – […]

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WW2 Anniversary

|   27 November 2011

Causes of great events

Pearl Harbour – 70 years ago today the Japanese fleet were on their way to Hawaii. Historians often focus their attention on great events – the Battle for Berlin or Stalingrad or the German invasion of the Soviet Union. And we commemorate these and other anniversaries, marking the date when something of vital importance happened. […]

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WW2 Relevance

|   19 November 2011

What are you here for?

Churchill – he certainly knew what he was here for. I was talking to some American university students a few weeks ago about – not surprisingly – the Second World War, when, much to my surprise, one of them asked this question: ‘is there anything useful you have learnt from all this that might help […]

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WW2 Relevance

|   13 November 2011

Remembering the right history

Today, on Remembrance Sunday, two days after Remembrance Day, it’s important to remember the right thing – which is, of course, the bravery and sacrifice of our warriors. But let’s also remember the right way of looking at the history that is the reason we have Remembrance Day at 11 o’clock on the 11th day […]

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WW2 Relevance

|   3 November 2011

Duty, honour, sacrifice.

Allied POWs celebrate their liberation after imprisonment in Japan. One of the great challenges for any historian is to imagine what it was like to live in the past. Not so much coming to terms with the obvious changes, like living with no internet and no Greek debt crisis, but trying to understand the different […]

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WW2 Controversies

|   29 October 2011

Germans, Greeks and Nazis

Athens today This morning I was interviewed on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 about something I think is very important. As has been recently reported in the British press, cartoons and street posters have appeared in Greece comparing the current German regime with the Nazis. Clearly, many in Greece are angry about the […]

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WW2 Controversies

|   22 October 2011

In honour I gained them and in honour I will die with them

Dealing with a difficult past… I’ve just got back from filming in Germany for my next TV series, and was reminded by my cameraman of an incident a few years ago when we were filming an interview with a distinguished former German soldier. He had retired as a General in the Bundeswehr, the post-war German […]

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WW2 Anniversary

|   11 October 2011

One of the most important days in history

Moscow in the snow First, I want to ask forgiveness from the few of you who are already aware of my views on this – but, I’m sorry, I can’t let this anniversary go by without mentioning the immense importance of a decision that was taken seventy years ago, on 16 October 1941. In October […]

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WW2 Reviews

|   3 October 2011

All Hell Let Loose

Max Hastings’ new book ‘All Hell Let Loose’ is a one volume history of the Second World War. It is also, for a variety of reasons, a tremendous achievement. Anyone seriously interested in WW2 is already familiar with Hastings’ work. From ‘Bomber Command’ to ‘Overlord: D Day and the Battle for Normandy’, from ‘Armageddon: The […]

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