Quotulatiousness

June 29, 2020

Operation Gunnerside: The Mission to Stop Germany’s Atomic Bomb

Filed under: Europe, Germany, History, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Historigraph
Published 21 Mar 2020

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#OperationGunnerside #Historigraph #Historigraph #CuriosityStream

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Sources:

Richard Petrow, The Bitter Years

David Greentree, Heroes of Telemark: Sabotaging Hitler’s Atomic Bomb

Clips:

1948 film Kampen om tungtvannet

Clips from contemporary documentary; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3jSW…

Music:

“Crypto” by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…

“Rynos Theme”, Incompetech https://incompetech.com

“Hitman” by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…

June 28, 2020

Operation Barbarossa – End of the Nazi-Soviet Alliance – WW2 – 096b – June 27 1941

World War Two
Published 27 Jun 2020

Operation Barbarossa kicks off this week with action all along the front as German panzers pierce deep into the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Claude Auchinleck becomes Commander of the Allied forces in the Middle East that capture Damascus.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)
Map consultants: Rabih Rached and Patrick Adaimy

Colorizations by:
– Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…
– Olga Shirnina, a.k.a. Klimbim – https://klimbim2014.wordpress.com/
– Cassowary Colorizations
– Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
– Daniel Weiss
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/

Sources:
– Imperial War Museum: E 3833, TR 841, E 1549, E 5448
– Bundesarchiv, CC-BY-SA 3.0: Bild 146-1990-044-13, Bild_183-B24575, Bild_101I-265-0048A-03, Bild_101I-208-0031-03, Bild_169-0443, Bild_101I-020-1262-35, Bild_101I-020-1272-21, Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-209-0056-06
– Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
– FDR Presidential Library & Museum

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

June 27, 2020

Tank Chats #74 Panzer I | The Tank Museum

Filed under: Germany, History, Military, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

The Tank Museum
Published 10 May 2019

Panzer I was the first tank mass produced by Germany, as part of their drive to re-arm in the 1930’s before the Second World War.

The Tank Museum’s Panzer IB tank is the only known commander’s model of the Panzer I.
Cradit @10:25 Panzer I from The Arsenalen Museum, Sweden.

Support the work of The Tank Museum on Patreon: ► https://www.patreon.com/tankmuseum

Visit The Tank Museum SHOP: ► https://tankmuseumshop.org/
Twitter: ► https://twitter.com/TankMuseum
Tiger Tank Blog: ► http://blog.tiger-tank.com/
Tank 100 First World War Centenary Blog: ► http://tank100.com/ #tankmuseum #tanks #tankchats

June 26, 2020

The Holocaust Begins in Lithuania – War Against Humanity 013 – June 1941 Part 01

Filed under: Europe, Germany, History, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

World War Two
Published 25 Jun 2020

The German Fallschirmjäger target the Cretan civilian population as they take the island with big losses. But the War Against Humanity intensifies dramatically as Operation Barbarossa is launched on 22nd June, 1941.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Written by: Spartacus Olsson and Joram Appel
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Joram Appel and Valantis Athanasiou
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations – https://www.instagram.com/blaucoloriz…
Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/2215569…
Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/

Sources:
Detail of Mural Depicting 1919 Amritsar Massacre – Jallianwala Bagh – Amritsar – Punjab – India, courtesy Adam Jones https://flic.kr/p/kj6riR
RIA Novosti archive, image #965
Bundesarchiv
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
IWM E 3064E
Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum
from the Noun Project: Policeman by karina, suit by Gabriel Ciccariello, manufacturer by priyanka, land investment by Gan Khoon Lay, soldier by Andi Nur Abdillah, classroom by Gan Khoon Lay, prisoner by carlotta zampini, interrogation by Gan Khoon Lay, Tortured Man by Gan Khoon Lay, sitting at desk by IYIKON

Bibliography:
“NKVD and Central Committee of the Soviet communication” as documented in: The great west Ukrainian prison massacre of 1941, a sourcebook – Ksenya Kiebuzinski, Alexander Motyl
Alexander Statiev, The Soviet Counterinsurgency in the Western Borderlands 167-168
“Lithuania in March 1941: An American Diplomat’s Report”, In: Journal of Baltic Studies 26:2 (1995) 161-158.
Herman Kruk, The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania: Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939-1944 (2002)
Stephan D. Yada-Mc Neal, Places of Shame – German and Bulgarian war crimes in Greece 1941-1945, Books on Demand, 2018
Antony Beevor, Crete 1941: The Battle and the Resistance, Greek edition, Athens, 2004.
Fleischer, Hagen, “Battle of Crete”, in Crete, History and Civilization, vol. 2 (Greek), Cretan TEDK, Heraklion, 1988.
Sanoudaki-Sanoudou Antonis, May 2011, German reprisals in the Battle of Crete (Greek), 70 Years from the Battle of Crete, pp. 89-112

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Skrya – “First Responders”
Flouw – “Endlessness”
Jon Bjork – “For the Many”
Johannes Bornlof – “Deviation In Time”
Andreas Jamsheree – “Guilty Shadows 4”
Cobby Costa – “From the Past”
Farell Wooten – “Blunt Object”
Philip Ayers – “Trapped In A Maze”
Johannes Bornlof – “The Inspector 4”
Gunnar Johnsen – “Not Safe Yet”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

World War Two
2 hours ago (edited)
We apologize deeply for the mess up with the listing of countries at the opening – somehow the errors in the list of invaders slipped through the fact check. To be clear: neither Bulgaria, nor Slovenia (obviously) invaded the USSR in June 1941. We’re working on fixing it in some way with YouTube’s help.

At the end of June 1941 the civilian population in what is today Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are facing two lethal enemies. The political police of the USSR – the NKVD, and the invading German Army accompanied by the Nazi killing squads of the SS. That’s simply how it is. That it will get even worse than it is during the last week of June, especially through horrors committed by one of these sides does not change that fact. Because of the importance of these events to humanity, and the difficulty we all face to not equivocate who did what, we would like to remind you that we use a chronological format, that we do not make analytical commentary that looks to what will happen, but let you discover the events as they evolve.

“Ghost Division” – Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division – Sabaton History 073 [Official]

Filed under: France, Germany, History, Media, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Sabaton History
Published 25 Jun 2020

In the night of 17 May 1940, confusing reports were reaching French High Command. They spoke of what was thought impossible: The German Army had broken through the Maginot Line in the north. Scattered and panicked soldiers spoke of a “Division Fantôme” – a Ghost Division! It was Generalmajor Erwin Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division that was wreaking havoc in the French rear. In an unauthorized push, Rommel had seized the opportunity to rush the French fortress garrisons by a surprise armor attack straight from the move. Now in open space and with the night sky illuminated by burning French tanks and trucks, it was crucial for the Ghost Division to exploit its tactical victory. Alone and cut off like an island in a sea of enemies, this was easier said than done.

Support Sabaton History on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory

Listen to “Ghost Division” on the album The Art of War:
CD: http://bit.ly/TheArtOfWarStore
Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheArtOfWarSpotify
Apple Music: http://bit.ly/TheArtOfWarAppleMusic
iTunes: http://bit.ly/TheArtOfWariTunes
Amazon: http://bit.ly/TheArtOfWarAmz
Google Play: http://bit.ly/TheArtOfWarGooglePlay

Watch the Official Lyric Video of “Ghost Division” here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FkYx…

Listen to Sabaton on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/SabatonSpotify
Official Sabaton Merchandise Shop: http://bit.ly/SabatonOfficialShop

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Markus Linke and Indy Neidell
Directed by: Astrid Deinhard and Wieke Kapteijns
Produced by: Pär Sundström, Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Community Manager: Maria Kyhle
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Broden, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound Editing by: Marek Kaminski
Maps by: Eastory – https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory

Archive by: Reuters/Screenocean https://www.screenocean.com
Music by Sabaton.

Colorizations:
– Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/

Sources:
– Bundesarchiv, CC-BY-SA 3.0: Bild 146-1977-018-13A/Otto, Bild 101I-124-0219-20/Hinz, Bild 146-1972-045-02
– Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
– chieftanruncrush from Freesound.org
– Food vector created by freepik – www.freepik.com

An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.

© Raging Beaver Publishing AB, 2019 – all rights reserved.

June 25, 2020

USA Starts the Atomic Arms Race | The Cuban Missile Crisis I Prelude 1

TimeGhost History
Published 24 Jun 2020

When WW2 ends the former Allies find themselves at odds with each other over ideological and economic world domination. In an atmosphere of increasing escalation, the US pulls ahead in the nuclear arms race. While the Soviet Union tries to catch up, they are far behind, and yet humanity soon faces potential destruction many times over.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Spartacus Olsson
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Spartacus Olsson
Edited by: Daniel Weiss
Sound design: Marek Kaminski

Colorizations:
– Daniel Weiss

Sources:
– Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-30562-0001,
– Color by Klimbim

Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
– “Cold Eyes” – Elliot Holmes
– “Juvenile Delinquent” – Elliot Holmes
– “Nightclub Standoff” – Elliot Holmes
– “Scope” – Got Happy
– “Zoot Suit” – Elliot Holmes
– “Car Chase in Virginia” – White Bones
– “When They Fell” – Wendel Scherer
– “Kissed by Thunder” – Elliot Holmes

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

TimeGhost History
1 day ago
This is the first of two preludes before we will cover the Cuban Missile Crisis day-by-day in 13 episodes. Our hardcore fans might recognise this series, as these are a remake of the very first series that we ever did on this YouTube channel. Not only did we improve the set and the audio and video quality, also did we gain access to a lot more unique archive material. These episodes were also edited by dedicated editors (back then Spartacus had to edit them) and we have the help of Ryan who makes graphics and our coloriziation squad who bring history to life. We have come a long way since the old version of this was first published. We thank everyone for sticking around but especially those who joined the TimeGhost Army at www.patreon.com/timeghosthistory or https://timeghost.tv. We wouldn’t be here without them!
Cheers,
Joram

June 23, 2020

Operation Barbarossa – Biggest Land Invasion in History – WW2 – 096a – June 22 1941

Filed under: Germany, History, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 22 Jun 2020

June 22 1941. The first day of Operation Barbarossa begins as Adolf Hitler’s German armies invade Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union with the largest force on the longest front ever seen in human history…

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Links Indy mentioned:
Special episode on the tanks of Barbarossa – https://youtu.be/gh7mt2OS770
Special episode on trucks and Barbarossa logistics – https://youtu.be/4lSCnOltYdY
Special episode about Blitzkrieg tactics – https://youtu.be/qej9DX28-xw

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
– Olga Shirnina, a.k.a. Klimbim – https://klimbim2014.wordpress.com/
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
– Jaris Almazani (Artistic Man), https://instagram.com/artistic.man?ig…
– Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/

Sources:
– Mil.ru
– Bundesarchiv, CC-BY-SA 3.0: Bild_146II-277,
– RIA Novosti archive, CC-BY-SA 3.0: image 613694, Shagin
– F l a n k e r from Wikimedia
– The Al Goldstein collection in the Pandora Music repository at ibiblio.org.
– Les Préludes, Poema sinfonico n°, Franz List and Herbert von Karajan (dir), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Via Marco Calvo, http://www.marcocalvo.it/

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

June 21, 2020

French Killing French in Syria – WW2 – 095 – June 20, 1941

World War Two
Published 20 Jun 2020

The Allies continue advancing into Vichy French Syria, but they are halted and pushed back by Erwin Rommel at the Halfaya Pass in Libya. Meanwhile, the last preparations are being made for Operation Barbarossa. It will begin in two days.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Check out our TimeGhost History YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/timeghost?s…

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
– Olga Shirnina, a.k.a. Klimbim – https://klimbim2014.wordpress.com/
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
– Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…

Sources:
– Imperial War Museum: E 6022, CM 923
– Bundesarchiv, CC-BY-SA 3.0: Bild_101I-443-1599-20
– Hawker Hurricane shape by Martin Čížek from Wikimedia
– Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
– SA-Kuva
– Bundesarchiv, CC-BY-SA 3.0: Bild 101III-Wiegand-119-12 / Wiegand

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

June 20, 2020

Two books on WW2 – which is the memoir and which the novel?

Filed under: Books, Britain, Germany, History, Military, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Lindybeige
Published 4 Mar 2018

Two books I have read recently. When is a book a memoir and when is it a novel? WW2 from two different perspectives.

Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige

The books:
From the City, From the Plough by Alexander Baron (Bernstein)
The Last Panther by Wolfgang Faust (Chris Ziedler)

Buy the music – the music played at the end of my videos is now available here: https://lindybeige.bandcamp.com/track…

Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.

▼ Follow me…

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lindybeige I may have some drivel to contribute to the Twittersphere, plus you get notice of uploads.

website: http://www.LloydianAspects.co.uk

June 19, 2020

What Actually Is Blitzkrieg? – WW2 Special

Filed under: Germany, History, Military, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

World War Two
Published 18 Jun 2020

When the Nazi war machines tears through Poland, France, and the Soviet Union, people will call it Blitzkrieg. But what is Blitzkrieg and is it anything that unique?

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Francis van Berkel
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Adam Adkins
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
Jaris Almazani (Artistic Man) – https://instagram.com/artistic.man?ig… (edited)
Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations – https://www.instagram.com/blaucoloriz…
Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
Musvage https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…
Klimbim https://www.flickr.com/photos/2215569…

Sources:
Portrait of Basil Liddell-Hart, courtesy National Portrait Gallery
Portrait of Douglas McGarel Hogg, courtesy National Portrait Gallery
IWM H 20697, Q 6337, D 1966
Bundesarchiv
from the Noun Project: Target by RITASYA, documents by DinosoftLab, Tank by mbok sumirna, Armored Car by Martin, Plane by Graphic Enginer, transceiver by Eucalyp
Breaking A Wall Down (With A Hammer) by scampsie https://freesound.org/people/scampsie…

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Johannes Bornlof – “Last Man Standing 3”
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
Hakan Eriksson – “Epic Adventure Theme 4”
Johannes Bornlof – “The Inspector 4”
Johannes Bornlof – “Death And Glory”
Bonnie Grace – “The Dominion”
Bonnie Grace – “Imperious”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

June 18, 2020

The origins of Antifa

Filed under: Germany, History, Politics, USA — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

Kyle Shideler outlines the history of Antifa from the Weimar Republic to the streets of cities all over the western world:

“antifa 8973ag” by cantfightthetendies is licensed under CC BY 2.0

With riots and civil unrest metastasizing across the United States, the president declared he intends to designate Antifa as a terrorist group. Predictably, the talking heads rushed out to declare that Antifa doesn’t really exist, and even if it did the president couldn’t possibly target it using that legal designation. They argue Antifa is an amorphous blob of discontents, not a functioning organization, and certainly not one which could be designated and targeted for concentrated counterterrorism enforcement.

As usual, the Twitterati don’t know what they are talking about. Reality is both simpler and more complex.

To begin at the beginning: Antifa — real name: Antifaschisitsche Aktion — was born during the street-fights of the 1932 Weimar Republic. It was founded by the Stalinist Communist Party of Germany (KPD), although various Communist “anti-fascist defense” units were associated with the KPD much earlier.

Anti-fascist Action’s sole purpose was to help the KPD combat other political parties for control of the streets in the revolutionary politics of the rapidly failing Weimar Republic.

And yes, they fought the Nazis.

But they also fought liberal parties, conservative parties, and anyone and everyone who got in their way. While these early antecedents were short-lived, it is useful to view Antifa in this context. More than anything, Antifa exists to serve as a tool of revolutionary politics in a failed (or failing) state.

Antifa would reestablish itself in the early 1980s, also in Germany, out of Autonomism. Autonomism is an anti-authoritarian anarcho-Marxist ideology associated with the Communist urban guerilla organizations of 1970s and ’80s Europe like Red Army Faction and the Red Brigade. Autonomism would find a home among the young punks of Germany’s squatters’ rights movement. Around this time, Antifa tactics like the “black block,” where large numbers of rioters dress in black and move together in formation as part of a larger protest, were developed.

H/T to Rafe Champion for the link.

June 17, 2020

Alcibiades, the first recorded iconoclast, but far from the last

James Heartfield on the modern day resurgence of iconoclasm:

“Drunken Alcibiades interrupting the Symposium”, an engraving from 1648 by Pietro Testa (1611-1650)
Via Wikimedia Commons.

… far more often, the attacks on public symbols are indicative of a breakdown in social solidarity — often with alarming consequences. For activists seeking to win popular support, knocking down statues is a high-risk strategy that can provoke the opposite sentiments to those hoped for. The futurist Marinetti’s proposal to fill in the canals of Venice with concrete to make modern roads is a witty way to make a point, but not a sound policy.

Alcibiades was perhaps the first recorded statue vandal. One night in 415 BC he knocked all the stone cocks off the statues of Hermes in Athens. In 1497, the friar Girolamo Savonarola launched a Bonfire of the Vanities in which artworks, books and statues were destroyed out of a fear they would tempt people away from God. As any lover of old English churches knows, the furies of the Puritan revolution led to the destruction and defacing of Catholic saints’ statues and paintings.

In the modern era, the temptation to destroy monuments has been strong. In the First World War, Britain’s local authorities changed German-sounding names of streets like Bismarck Road — now Waterlow Road — while bully boys attacked German-owned shops. In 1933, Nazi students in Germany organised bonfires of subversive books, while the Reich organised an exhibition of “degenerate” modernist art. The burning of books only served as a trial run for the extermination of people, as the symbolic slaughter failed to yield the results of a “cleansed” Germany.

People often make the point that there are no statues of Hitler in Germany — though those were not taken down by Germans, but by the Allied occupiers. You can still see Albert Speer’s Zeppelinfeld and grandstand in Nuremberg, where many of Hitler’s rallies took place, though not much else of his Nazi architecture survives. Mussolini’s architects, Giuseppe Terragni and Marcello Piacentini, did better — much of their absurdly grandiose work survives. The model of an Allied-led “denazification” was in the minds of the US-led forces that overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003. The destruction of his statue in Baghdad was largely staged by the allies.

Under the Maoist regimes in China and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, some of the worst atrocities after the Nazis were carried out. Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” against the “four olds” led to the destruction of books and artworks. Later, there were showtrials and the politically incorrect were battered by the mob. In the wreckage of Cambodia, Pol Pot led a terrifying war on alleged capitalist-roaders and even intellectuals — who could be handily identified by the fact they wore glasses — that led to millions being killed. Pol Pot declared a “year zero” — that all civilisation before the Khmer Rouge took power would be cancelled. Tragically, the wholesale wiping out of Cambodian culture was only a prelude to the extermination of much of its population. The sentiment of wiping out the wrong history was repeated in the war that al-Qaeda-inspired regimes in Afghanistan and Mali conducted against books and statues that did not match their own Islamist views.

In Soviet Russia, when the communist-allied artists of the Proletkult organisation argued that all Tsarist culture should be expunged, the Bolshevik leader Lenin took them to task for “rejecting the most valuable achievements of the bourgeois epoch”. Instead, he said, they should assimilate and re-work “everything of value in the more than 2,000 years of the development of human thought and culture”. Sadly, Lenin’s wise advice was lost on the Stalinist regimes that followed, during which the policy oscillated between futurist iconoclasm and maudlin Russian sentimentality. History got its revenge in eastern Europe when most of the ubiquitous Lenin and Marx statues came down in the 1990s.

The Tanks of Operation Barbarossa – WW2 Special

Filed under: Germany, History, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 16 Jun 2020

We take a look at the types and numbers of tanks available to the German and Soviet armies on the eve of Barbarossa.

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Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/

Sources:
RIA Novosti archive, image #2567 / Samaryi Guraryi / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Picture of Soviet KV-1 tanks on parade at the Palace Square in Leningrad, Russia, 1 May 1942, courtesy Boris Kudoyarov, Russian International News Agency
IWM HU 81216
Bundesarchiv
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
RIA Novosti archive, image #669663
from the Noun Project: Shield by Nikita Kozin, Game by Ecem Afacan
Pz.Kpfw. 35(t) of 6th Panzer Division Russian front, courtesy ConnorMac12 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Phoenix Tail – “At the Front”
Reynard Deidel – “Deflection”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
Philip Ayers – “Trapped in a Maze”
Johannes Bornlof – “The Inspector 4”
Rannar Sillard – “March Of The Brave 4”
Max Anson – “Ancient Saga”
Johannes Bornlof – “Deviation In Time”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

World War Two
23 minutes ago (edited)
This video is one of a number of specials we’re doing on the military context to Operation Barbarossa. You can check out Indy’s video about transport vehicles and logistics here: https://youtu.be/4lSCnOltYdY. If you want to help us make a complete documentary series on World War Two through more specials just like this one, you can join the TimeGhost Army on www.patreon.com/timeghosthistory or https://timeghost.tv.
Take care,
Joram

June 15, 2020

The Battle that Saved an Army | Arras 1940 | The Tank Museum

Filed under: Britain, Economics, France, Germany, History, Military, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

The Tank Museum
Published 17 May 2020

Encircled by the Germans in North-West France, the Battle of Arras, 21st May 1940, was a successful Allied counter-attack which allowed French and British troops to be evacuated at Dunkirk. Curator David Willey, presents his talk on the WW2 Battle of Arras from home.

For more on the Blitzkrieg see David’s Tank Story Hall tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eysQa…

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QotD: The very first “road trip”

Filed under: Germany, History, Quotations, Technology — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

Germany’s love for the automobile began with a road trip from nearby Mannheim to the town of Pforzheim, less than 30 miles from Stuttgart. In 1885, Karl Benz had invented his first Motorwagen, a three-wheeled vehicle with a gas-powered engine of his own design. One of the first times he managed to get it started, he drove it straight into his laboratory wall.

By 1888, he had a working prototype, which had successfully driven down a road. The now-patented Motorwagen had no gears and could not go up hills, but it worked. One morning, Benz’s wife Bertha decided to take the car on its first extended road trip. With her two sons, she pushed the car out of the garage, until it was far enough from the house that they could get it started without waking her husband.

Bertha Benz had a destination in mind — her parents’ house in Pforzheim, about 65 miles from her home. Following roads meant for wagons, she and her sons started the drive — the first recorded road trip in a car.

There were challenges. A pipe clogged; Benz cleaned it with her hat pin. A wire shorted; she insulated it with her garter. They needed more fuel; she convinced a pharmacist to sell her an unusually large amount of the gas the car used. When the brakes started wearing out, she had them shod with leather at a cobbler. When she reached a hill, she had the boys push (along with local help).

By the end of the day, the Benzes had reached Pforzheim, where Bertha telegraphed her husband that they were safe. After a few days’ visit, they drove back home to Mannheim.

Ten years ago, Germany created an official Bertha Benz Memorial Route, marking her historic road trip. Part of Bertha Benz’s motivation was to sell potential customers on the advantage of automobiles; although it took another decade or so, people eventually bought into this transportation revolution.

Sarah Laskow, “An 1888 Road Trip Sparked Germany’s Romance With Cars”, Atlas Obscura, 2018-02-28.

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