Shell Shock – Legacy of the Trenches #WW1 | Judith Barrow

The First World War ended with the deaths of a generation of young men. But the devastation of the conflict didn’t end with that last blast of a howitzer. Thousands of soldiers went home still re-living their horrific experiences of the battlefields for many years. Their lives were damaged by shell shock, a condition many had suffered from during their military service. And, throughout Britain, doctors were baffled by this …

Source: Shell Shock – Legacy of the Trenches #WW1 | Judith Barrow

Happy 111th Birthday, Miep Gies

Today is the 111th birthday of Miep Gies, the woman who hid Anne Frank, her family and another family in her attic. Her inner moral compass knew what was right, it was right to help people. And she did…

Source: HAPPY 111TH BIRTHDAY MIEP GIES

Defending Wellington: The Home Guard at Makara – History Geek

Braithwaite, a young member of No. 12 Platoon, Makara Battalion, New Zealand Home Guard, 1942. Lemuel Lyes Collection.

These previously unpublished photographs of the Home Guard offer a rare candid view of an often-overlooked part of New Zealand’s experience during the Second World War. Far from being a safe sidesh…

Source: Defending Wellington: The Home Guard at Makara – History Geek

The Other Pearl Harbor Story – Kimmel and Short | Pacific Paratrooper

People around the nation, including some vocal congressmen, asked why America had been caught off guard at Pearl Harbor. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said he would appoint an investigatory commi…

Source: The Other Pearl Harbor Story – Kimmel and Short | Pacific Paratrooper

Censorship ~ Did you ever wonder who blacked out those letters? | Pacific Paratrooper

There was some censoring in the Civil War because letters sometimes had to cross enemy lines. Most of the censoring came from the prisoner-of-war camps. For example, if someone was writing a letter…

Source: Censorship ~ Did you ever wonder who blacked out those letters? | Pacific Paratrooper

Radical librarians – Lost and Found Books

[Dorothy] Reeder, who has the perfect name for a librarian, was the director of the American Library in Paris from 1937-1941. During the German occupation, the Nazi’s kept the library open but banned Jewish members from entering the building. This fearless librarian and her staff defied the occupying Nazis by creating an underground book-lending service to Jewish members. It was a dangerous activity, and one staff member was shot by the Gestapo. In 1941, Reeder and the rest of library staff were forced out of the city. After her departure, First Vice-President Countess Clara Longworth (standing in the doorway in the photo above) kept the library open throughout the war.

Source: Radical librarians – Lost and Found Books

On this day: the annexation of Latvia | In Times Gone By…

The Soviet Union annexed Latvia on the 5th of August, 1940, forcing them to join the USSR. Germany was the only Western nation to recognise the annexation.

Source: On this day: the annexation of Latvia | In Times Gone By…

How WWII is Taught Across Europe (and Japan).

A thread has recently blown up on Reddit which asked the question: Germans, Japanese, and Italians of Reddit, What did you learn about WW2 in School? The questioner was specific to the axis countri…

Source: How WWII is Taught Across Europe (and Japan).

DEADLIEST BLOGGER’S GREATEST QUOTES ON WAR 2 | The Deadliest Blogger: Military History Page

If you loved the first list, here is Deadliest Blogger’s list of favorite military quotes, part two:

“Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered) – Julius Caesar, on the …

Source: DEADLIEST BLOGGER’S GREATEST QUOTES ON WAR 2 | The Deadliest Blogger: Military History Page

25 Iconic Pictures Of The German Blitzkrieg 1940

In early spring 1940 Nazi Germany launched their offensives which, after a few months would lead to the capture of most of western Europe. Beginning…

Source: 25 Iconic Pictures Of The German Blitzkrieg 1940

On this day: a prisoner of war | In Times Gone By…

Treatment of prisoners of war in the United States during the Civil War was often harsh, with prisons on both sides overcrowded, and with very few resources available. Food was scarce and thousands…

Source: On this day: a prisoner of war | In Times Gone By…

Gandhi Writes Letters to Hitler: “We Have Found in Non-Violence a Force Which Can Match the Most Violent Forces in the World” (1939/40) | Open Culture

It must come up in every single argument, from sophisticated to sophomoric, about the practicability of non-violent pacifism. “Look what Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were able to achieve!” “Yes, but what about Hitler? What do you do about the Nazis?” The rebuttal implies future Nazi-like entities looming on the horizon, and though this reductio ad Hitlerum generally has the effect of nullifying any continued rational discussion, it’s difficult to imagine a satisfying pacifist answer to the problem of naked, implacable hatred and …

Source: Gandhi Writes Letters to Hitler: “We Have Found in Non-Violence a Force Which Can Match the Most Violent Forces in the World” (1939/40) | Open Culture

On this day: the executions of Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci | In Times Gone By…

Italy’s Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, and Clara Petacci, his mistress, were executed by partisans in the northern Italian village of Giulino di Mezzegra on the 28th of April, 1945. Belie…

Source: On this day: the executions of Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci | In Times Gone By…

The Pros and Cons of Ancient War Elephants

Elephants are generally peaceful and majestic creatures but throughout history their size and power were used with devastating results on the battlefield. With the adoption of gunpowder elephants faded from the front lines (though they were used in vital logistical roles as late as WWII). In the ancient period with spears and arrows, however, war elephants were a fearsome force to be reckoned with, though not without some serious disadvantages. First, a look at some of the pros of utilizing elephants in battle:

Elephants were absolutely huge compared to anything else in the known world. Considering that the average height of people in the ancient period was several inches shorter than today and horses were not especially large by this time, elephants were quite simply towering imposing figures akin to…

Source: The Pros and Cons of Ancient War Elephants

He Has Seen War [Documentary]

‘He Has Seen War is a documentary featuring surviving veterans of Easy Company and the 1st Marine Division, whose stories are told in Band of Brothers and The Pacific. From their initial steps at reintegrating into civilian life to the lasting impact the war had on each of their lives, He Has Seen War features veterans and their families relaying their own unique stories. Complemented by renowned historian and author Donald L. Miller, as well as rarely seen archival and documentary footage, it captures the struggle and ultimate triumph of a generation who, after helping rescue the world from unprecedented calamity, reclaimed their lives and re-forged a country.’