• Criminal Prisoners in the Nazi Camps

    In 1937 there was a dramatic increase in the numbers of petty criminals being arrested, re-arrested and taken into the Nazi camp system. There were deep seated economic reasons for this assault on Germany’s small time thieves and burglars, and precious little solidarity in the camps from other political inmates. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe

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  • John Lennon and Give Peace a Chance

    British song writers in the 1960s rarely ventured into the realm of politics and protest, unlike their American counterparts. The Who’s My Generation had little to say about politics and was simply a statement about the aspirations and interests of the baby boomers. John Lennon had gravitated towards politics from 1968’s Revolution onwards and in 1969, following his marriage to Yoko Ono, staged a ‘Bed-In’ in Amsterdam and then Montreal. It was during the latter that he recorded Give Peace A Chance, with LSD proponent Timothy Leary, a local group of Hare Krishnas and at least one Rabbi. John Lennon’s…

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  • John Lennon and Give Peace a Chance 1969

    The recording of the anti war protest song Give Peace a Chance in 1969 was part of a complex and often contradictory period of political journeying by John Lennon as he abandoned the Beatles and embraced different forms of political and psychoanalytical radicalism in the last decade of his life. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.▸ Supp

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  • Hero Culture in Stalin’s Russia 1928-41

    In the mid 1930s a celebration of the achievements of workers, aviators, explorers and peasants accompanied Stalin’s Five Year Plans. This championing of the ‘everyday’ hero was the product of Stalinist thinking and a utopian belief in the creation of a new egalitarian society. The myths, however, rarely corresponded to reality as most Soviet citizens experienced it. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the pas

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  • Talking about Europe – Interview with Jacob Field

    This week I was fortunate enough to interview Jacob Field, the author of A history of Europe in bite sized chunks. We discussed the future of the EU, the nature of medieval Christendom and the legacy of Churchill’s wartime diplomacy among other topics. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive ContentBecome a

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