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By the early 1970s a perfect storm of inflation and mounting industrial unrest brought the government of Edward Heath to its knees. His plans to introduce free market economics and politics to Britain were abandoned and he was outmanoeuvred by the National Union of Mineworkers, resulting in the 1974 three day week.This podcast explores the crises that beset Heath and their origins in the Wilson years of the late 1960s. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical con
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From the 1840s onwards China endured over half a century of an unprecedented onslaught from Britain and other western powers. She was defeated, humiliated and forced to sign treaties that drained her of her wealth, Japan quickly reformed her economy and military to prevent the same process from occurring. This podcast explores the relationship between the west’s ‘Scramble For China’ and the downfall of the Qing Dynasty. You can also download the companion ebook here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sun-
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Why did West Germany suffer a decade of terrorism from 1967-77? During the height of Vietnam War protests, a generation of radical West German students saw a relationship between the West German Government’s support for America’s war and their own unresolved Nazi past. Their decision to wage an urban war against what they saw as a barely concealed Nazism would culminate in the bloody summer of 1977. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and exper
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In 1933 Hitler established a state run mass leisure organisation in Germany to help develop his vision of a socially unified, racially homogenous society. The extent to which it was successful has been an area of debate by historians of Nazi Germany and is explored in this podcast. 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 &
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Between 1936 and 1938 nearly 2,000 British men and women travelled in secret to Spain to fight on the side of the Spanish Republic against a nationalist military rebellion. Motivated by fears of a fascist Europe and by the intervention on Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy on the side of the rebels, the men and women of the international brigade suffered appalling hardship and losses in an ultimately doomed struggle. Here is a short introduction exploring the context of their idealistic fight.Also c
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When the Italian Socialist Giacomo Matteotti was assassinated in 1924, parts of the nation were united in outrage, strongly suspecting that their Prime Minister Mussolini was behind the killing. How did Mussolini manage to turn the situation to his advantage and emerge as the dictator of Italy a year later? 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
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Why did the British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour give an assurance to Britain’s Zionists that there would be a Jewish homeland in Palestine in 1917? This podcast gives a brief outline of the politics of the Balfour Declaration and Britain’s deals with the Arabs, French and Jews. 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
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How did Benito Mussolini manage to be appointed Prime Minister in 1922? This podcast explores the details of his rise to power from relative obscurity and his March on Rome. 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 Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conve
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What are the origins of Italian Fascism? In order to understand Fascism as a concept we have to delve into the 19th Century history of the country. The manner in which Italy was unified as a nation state led to a fundamentally divided country that was chaotic and unstable – an authoritarian idea like Fascism seemed to many on the right to be the solution to Italy’s weaknesses. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connec
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A general overview of the development of the trade union movement from the 1830s to the eve of the First World War. What factors led to the radicalisation of the movement and how did the two main parties, Liberal and Tory adapt to the ‘threat’ of mass democracy and the working class vote? 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