After the swift capitulation of Denmark and Norway, it was assumed by the Wehrmacht that the low countries would be easy to defeat. Whilst Belgium and the Netherlands stood no chance of victory in the long run, the Dutch Army showed surprising resiliance against the German invaders and fought tenaciously. It was this resistance thatContinue reading “The bombing of Rotterdam”
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Lebensraum, Genocide and Nazi Racial Colonial Utopianism
Hitler, a cautious dictator for the first couple of years of his rule, had become reckless by 1941, and had gambled everything on a swift victory in the USSR. If Stalin’s regime could be crushed and thirty million Russians starved to death as a result, then there would be enough living space for Aryan GermanContinue reading “Lebensraum, Genocide and Nazi Racial Colonial Utopianism”
Putting dictators to shame
One key aspect of British imperial nostalgia is the argument that most former colonies from the 1950s onwards were mired in corruption. Whilst countries like Kenya and Uganda saw wealth from natural resources and loans from western banks syphoned off into the accounts of presidents and generals, the purpose of this article isn’t to offerContinue reading “Putting dictators to shame”
Problematic Histories: Teaching Civil Rights in the UK and the BLM moment
How we’ve accidentally taught a generation of UK students that black struggles in the USA are over
The Eighth Airforce Over Germany: In Conversation with David Dean Barrett
Last year, David came on the Explaining History Podcast to discuss the last days of the Pacific War and the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tonight, David was kind enough to return to the show to share his expertise with me on the American air war over Europe. We discussedContinue reading “The Eighth Airforce Over Germany: In Conversation with David Dean Barrett”
Conspiracy theories old and new
One of the defining features of American political discourse in the 21st Century is the almost unstoppable rise of political lying. Throughout the Obama presidency an ecosystem of right wing think tanks, commentators and of course Fox News has propagated everything from willful distortions of events and selective readings of policy to outright fabrication. DonaldContinue reading “Conspiracy theories old and new”
The concentration of media ownership in Britain and the resulting corruption of British politics.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing journalist Mic Wright, whose newsletter Conquest of the Useless critiques the British media landscape. We explored the accumulation of media power by a tiny coterie of oligarchs and the broken state of British politics.
This Week’s Podcasts
Hi everyone, as I might have mentioned on the podcast, I’ve now got the time and the long covid recovery to start blogging again. Here’s a rundown of everything I’ve podcasted this week: Poverty, Caste and recruitment to the Indian Army during the Second World War: https://play.acast.com/s/explaininghistory/poverty-casteandrecruitmenttotheindianarmyduringworldwartwo France, Britain and the Road to Suez 1952-56:Continue reading “This Week’s Podcasts”
Brexit cannot break the Iron Triangle
A short introduction to Confucianism by Michael O’Sullivan
Explaining History’s reporter at large, Michael O’Sullivan write from China, where he is currently based, on the precepts of Confucian thought. A figure deeply associated with China in popular consciousness, there is no denying the influence that Confucius has had on China. From the Second century BCE until 1911, the body of this teachings ConfucianismContinue reading “A short introduction to Confucianism by Michael O’Sullivan”
Explaining History Podcast 