The Doolittle Raid is just a little bombing raid over Tokyo that doesn’t do that much physical damage. It does, however, have big repercussions — partly in terms of future offensive plans for the Japanese fleet, and partly in terms of the thousands of Chinese lives taken in reprisals for allowing the US bombers to land in China. There is small scattered action on the Eastern Front, more Japanese advances in Burma, and a French VIP escapes captivity in Germany and heads for Switzerland and freedom.
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: Maria Kyhle
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)
Britain’s campaign to firebomb the old towns of Germany where civilians reside begins in earnest this week. The British also destroy the port at St. Nazaire in commando action. In the Indian Ocean, however, they are avoiding contact with the Japanese, even while on land the Japanese advance in both Burma and New Guinea.
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: Maria Kyhle
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)
A report on the effect of strategic bombing called the “Dehousing Paper” is spread to justify the targeting of the civilian population of Germany. In Poland, one by one, extermination camps are starting construction. This month, a new one is finished, named Belzec. Here, Jews and other minority undesirables from Poland are gassed.
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: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Joram Appel
Edited by: Miki Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Miki Cackowski, Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)
Colorizations by:
Mikołaj Uchman
Daniel Weiss
Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
Sources:
Yad Vashem 1935/15, 3016/2, 1137/217, 10094/1, A4613/1116, 3518/7,1554/1
IWM ART 15747 12, HU 56848, MH 24747, CL 2377, ME(RAF) 3703, HU 107752, C 2364, C 4748, C 4743, HU 74904
Bundesarchiv
Graphic of Vickers Wellington bomber, courtesy of Emoscopes https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…
Graphic of Short Stirling bomber, courtesy of Emoscopes https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…
www.auschwitz.org
www.deathcamps.org
USHMM
Picture of scratches on a wall of a gas chamber at Auschwitz, courtesy of Lasy https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…
from the Noun Project: Watchtower by Eliricon
Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
Wendel Scherer – “Growing Doubt”
Peter Sandberg – “Document This 1”
Jon Bjork – “Disposal”
Philip Ayers – “Trapped in a Maze”
Fabien Tell – “Never Forget”
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
2 days ago
On the horrors of crafting this, on age restriction, and on covering Allied war crimes – by Spartacus
All episodes of War Against Humanity are difficult to make, but this was an especially harrowing episode to host. When I wrote the conclusion based on Joram’s initial draft, I was composed — it was an intellectual exercise still. That changed once I started giving the words a voice, and as you can see at the end of the episode I had difficulties keeping my composure — when I was done I cried bitterly. But that is how it is supposed to be — the totality of our creation is what brings it home, together with Joram I compile the knowledge, Miki or Karo put it into images under Wieke’s direction, and within all of that it is my job to express it in spoken language as best as I can.
Yes, it is difficult to make and it is difficult to watch — but we sincerely believe that none of us should look away lest we forget. We take upon ourselves to spend hours every week to sift through the minutiae of these events so that we can compress it into 15 minutes every two weeks. We do it not for money, not for fame, and not out of pleasure, but because it needs to be done so that others can spend less time on it than us and still see this time for what it was. It needs to be done by neither glossing over any events, nor the images as horrible as they are. This has two important purposes:
1. driving home that this really happened and
2. defeating any claims towards that we’re just making this up, or exaggerating.
Within that responsibility it is also our duty to report, without prejudice, on what the Allies did that was against human values and rights in this war. We don’t do that because there is an equivalence between events, or to create such an equivalence — we do it for the exact opposite purpose — to show the complete picture and preempt any calls for “what about the bombing of Germany and Hiroshima!?” We do it because we are dedicated to the facts, and the events must be permitted to speak for themselves.
We’re doing all of this in a time when the horrors of WW2 are ever further away in the rearview mirror, when survey after survey shows that the younger generation have little or no knowledge of how earth-shattering this war was. An indication of a growing educational gap, and in many of the countries where you are watching it has long been decided that reporting on these atrocities is of especial importance. That includes decisions to also expose younger people to the reality of it despite the graphic nature of the content. In most places these images are purposefully excepted from age restrictions that befall content made for entertainment, that is to say they do not fall under an 18+ restriction. They are regulated as PG 16 or the equivalent, in some places even PG13.
It then troubles us deeply that YouTube chooses to go against the decisions made by democratically elected bodies and restrict this content to over 18 only. It troubles us even more when this leads to the inevitable result that our viewership has dropped by 50% since they started doing that. That is a drop far above the share of our viewers that are under age, because with the restriction comes a reduction in recommendation to view — users that are not logged in and age verified don’t get notified — the content can no longer be embedded on external sites — in some countries it is blocked entirely, regardless of your age — and all of that further decreases the value of the video in YouTube’s algorithms. The result is that the War Against Humanity videos are now an echo chamber where we only reach those that already know the content.
We have spoken to YouTube to remedy this fault, but we have had no success thus far. As a result we have decided to start making a censored version of the videos that we will upload if or when they get age restricted. We already upload all of our content to https://odysee.com/@WorldWarTwo:6 but that is not a place where anyone will find our content by chance. On that note we should point out that the videos only get age-restricted because they are reported to YouTube by the community as inappropriate, offensive, or false. We take umbrage at that, because in effect this means that YouTube is helping those who would like these events to be forgotten, or even deny that they ever happened. It’s a pity; even morally wrong in my viewpoint. It leaves me despondent and the last weeks have been extraordinarily difficult for me — I have questioned my purposes and wondered why I put myself and our team through all of this, if all we’re doing is preaching to the choir. At first it left me sad, but after YouTube’s glib, bureaucratic responses I got depressed. I considered throwing in the towel, but then I would be nothing else than a coward refusing to stand for those who no longer have a voice. So, I will continue, I will resist, and we will fight against anyone that tries to silence us and the dead — because we must not look away, we must never forget.
As the winter of 1942 continues, many Soviet civilians suffer under the German Siege of Leningrad. Meanwhile, the British are shifting their bombing strategy from targeting factories to targeting homes.
Sources:
USHMM
Bundesarchiv
Yad Vashem 2695/7, 5761/12
IWM MH 24747
RIA Novosti archive, image #762, #244
from the Noun Project:
Skull by Muhamad Ulum
Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
Farrell Wooten – “Blunt Object”
Jo Wandrini – “Dawn Of Civilization”
Wendel Scherer – “Defeated”
Jon Bjork – “Icicles”
Gunnar Johnsen – “Not Safe Yet”
Peter Sandberg – “Document This 1”
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
4 hours ago
We are covering the RAF’s bombing campaigns in the War Against Humanity series because it concerns warfare against the civilian population. On previous occasions, we have been accused of relativizing Nazi’s war-crimes by covering Allied atrocities in the same space, but we argue that for a fact-based reporting on how WW2 impacted the civilian population we need to be complete and unbiased.
The facts speak for themselves, and we document those facts that by providing an exhaustive record with equal coverage of all events and parties. Covering one event doesn’t relativize or justify the other and vice versa. We will not tolerate any whataboutism in the comments.
We will also not tolerate a justification of these crimes based on pragmatism, or equal proportionality — on an absolute moral level the goal never justifies the means. In this case we look at our comment section from a 21st century perspective and hold ourselves and anyone using our forums to the modern standards laid down in the laws of war. Explaining, analyzing and discussing war crimes and crimes against humanity is fine, even desired — celebrating, hailing, or justifying them is not.
Comments Off on Britain Chooses War Crimes – RAF Strategic Bombing – WAH 028 – February 1942, Pt. 1
At the end of July 1943, Hamburg burned. A fleet of British heavy bombers had dropped thousands of incendiaries over the city, turning it into a hearth of unprecedented dimensions. Numerous major fires merged together into a single storm of fire. Structures combusted under the immense heat, as strong winds drove the inferno through the streets at rapid speed. Craving for more oxygen, the firestorm sucked human bodies into the flames and immediately incinerated or mummified them. Thousands of others died slowly of carbon monoxide poisoning in their shelters. By the end of the raid, 60% of Hamburg had been burned out and more than 35,000 of its inhabitants were dead. But while the Germans were shocked to disbelief, for the British the firestorm has worked as intended. And this was just the beginning.
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: Maria Kyhle
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Brodén, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Community Manager: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Editor: Karolina Dołęga
Sound Editor: Marek Kamiński
Maps by: Eastory – https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory
Archive: Reuters/Screenocean – https://www.screenocean.com
Sources:
Imperial War Museums: C3677,HU 63075, HU 63089, MH 27517, CL3400, MH 24747,CL3395, MH 24764, CH 6386, CH 6386, CH 6275, CH 15879, C 3371, CH 18371, C 3918, C2367, HU44269, C 4748, PST 14359, C 4973,
Bundesarchiv
National Archives NARA
Icons from the Noun Project: Arrow by 4B Icons, Bomb by P Thanga Vignesh, fire building by dDara, Skull by Muhamad Ulum
All music by: Sabaton
An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.
At 0815 on 6 August 1945, the first atomic bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy”, was dropped out of the B-29 Enola Gay and descended towards the Japanese city of Hiroshima. 43 seconds later, the city was engulfed in a flashing bright light and a shockwave of unimaginable heat and deadly pressure. From the hypocenter of the resulting mushroom-cloud, a blue-green fireball burned and blinded the city and its inhabitants with unprecedented power. 140,000 people were killed in the first few moments. Tens of thousands would die from wounds and radiation. The age of atomic warfare had begun.
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
Sources:
– U.S. Department of Energy
– Bomb icon by P Thanga Vignesh from the Noun Project
– bockelsound from freesound.org
– Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum
An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.
August 6, 1945. On this fateful Monday morning our world changed forever.
Nuclear weapons were now a reality, destruction on a whole new level a possibility. International power dynamics, foreign politics and conflict handling would never be the same once this new kind of weapon of mass destruction had entered the scene. The threat of potentially world-ending nuclear war, the fear that the men in power would push “the red button”, would hang over people like a dark cloud from this day on. The Nuclear Age had begun.
If you’re interested in how politics developed during The Nuclear Age, you can explore that in the day-by-day coverage of The Cuban Missile Crisis over on TimeGhost History. The first introduction, “USA Starts the Atomic Arms Race”, is already up and you can watch it right here: https://youtu.be/zEXjoBe5ZdI
Comments Off on “Nuclear Attack” – Atomic Bombings – Sabaton History 074 [Official]
Strategic bombing was used to destroy the popular support for their governments war effort, and the British boosted that their resistance to bombing was an unique trait. But both are false, based on lies and propaganda.
Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Written by: Joram Appel and Francis van Berkel
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Francis van Berkel and Joram Appel
Edited by: Karolina Dołega
Sources:
– Imperial War Museum: D2168, D1623, D2956, 36206, D1587, D2154, D2157, HU36143, HU 36199
– Deutsche Fotothek, 0000436
– Noun Project: Natural Disasters 1674928 By Claudia Revalina, ID
noun_prisoner 63221 By carlotta zampini, IT, Bomb by P Thanga Vignesh
– Toni Frissell, Abandoned boy, London, 1945
– Battle of Britain, film from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
7 hours ago (edited)
Having spoken to many British people while researching this episode, I realised that many in the United Kingdom still grow up with the idea that the perseverance in the face of constant bombing was something uniquely British, and that the so-called “Blitz Spirit” caused people to proudly face Hitlers bombs and transcend class-differences, and that bombing actually boosted their morale. However, research – half of which was done by Francis who is from Britain as well, shows that this idea is mainly based on propaganda. Furthermore, it is still considered controversial to doubt Churchill’s war cabinet’s policy of mass bombing German cities to force them out of the war. However, the effectiveness of this too has been proven to be based on falsehoods and lies. The true effectiveness of strategic bombing was already known to Churchill’s advisors during the war. Feel free to enter discussion about this in the comment section, but keep it civil and back up your arguments with examples and sources wherever possible.
Cheers,
Joram
Comments Off on The British Blitz Spirit is a Myth – WW2 – War Against Humanity 005
The Blitz continues while Chinese Communists are fighting Chinese Nationalist in China. But the mass bombing of civilian targets does not really do what it is supposed to.
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory
Sound design: Marek Kaminski
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
2 days ago
Indy mentioned our Instagram page, where we make a daily post about what happened in the war on that day. This might be something completely different from what’s covered in these videos, or might add some more details. You can follow it by searching @world_war_two_realtime or by clicking here: https://www.instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime/. See you there!
Cheers,
Joram
Comments Off on It’s raining bombs, keep calm and carry on… – WW2 – 059 – October 12 1940
This week, the battle in the skies of Britain enters a new, even deadlier phase, as the crowded streets of London turn into a war zone. It is the start of the Blitz.
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory
This week, the communists attack the Japanese in the Battle of 100 Regiments. Meanwhile in Europe, the Battle of Britain enters phase three with the Luftwaffe actively targeting British airfields.
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory
Sources:
IWM: H7019, H005772, Q 7928
Color of Trotsky and Soviet leaders by Klimbim
Mercader picture from a public mural by Grahame Miller Ware, Wikimedia Commons
Icons by Sergey Tikhonov, Ely Wahib and Ivan Boyko from iconfinder.com
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two 2 days ago
Last Sunday, we had our one year anniversary livestream in which we talked about the last year, our current challenges and the plans for the road ahead, and answered a lot of your questions. We explained how we want to increase our Patreon income to be able to travel to the known and unknown locations of World War Two. To do so, you can help us by supporting us on https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory or https://timeghost.tv. Literally every dollar counts. If you’d like to see the livestream I mentioned, you can check that out right here -> https://youtu.be/EKws1jNIAmE
Cheers,
Joram
Comments Off on The Battle of Britain is a Bitch – WW2 – 052 – August 24 1940
As the Kanalkampf comes to a close, the Battle of Britain heats up. Hitler wants Britain out of the war. But before the Germans can invade Britain, it will have to deal with the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy.
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory
Sources:
Colored portrait of Hugo Sperrle by Ruffneck88
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
IWM: HU 93055, CH 1535, CH 1533, A 18881, HU 76020
301 squadron insignia by Jakub Mikita
303 squadron insignia by Mrozo
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
Comments Off on The Hippo vs. the Bulldog, Göring’s War – WW2 – 049 – August 3 1940
With thousands of planes left over from World War One, hobby pilots and entrepreneurs set out to create the modern airline industry. Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and many more set record after record, while airplane manufacturers start the creation of passenger, freight planes, and a new generation of aerial weapons.
Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Joram Appel and Spartacus Olsson
Directed and Produced by: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer : Joram Appel
Post Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Joram Appel
Edited by: Daniel Weiss
When WW2 breaks out, the belligerents promise to not bomb civilians. The promise is broken, literally within minutes by the Nazis and within weeks by the Soviets. Now, nine months later the Allies are about to follow suite.
Written and Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Spartacus Olsson
Edited by: Wieke Kapteijns
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two 16 hours ago
Strategic Bombing is what it’s called, but in reality the strategic part is just theory – the simple reality is that people not involved in the fighting are going to die. This is a hot topic to this day. Who started? Was it justified to retaliate? Is it an acceptable method because the end justifies the means, that it might help win the war by breaking an enemy country? Does one strategic bombing of civilians make another murder of a thousand innocent victims less atrocious? Pretty absurd questions when you think about it. No matter who did it, no matter why they did it, no matter who started it, it’s really hard to justify the murder of children and unarmed adults – individuals that could not have any real influence on the outcome of the war.
Comments Off on Bomb the Children – WW2 – WaH 003 – May 1940
In the 200th week of the war, the total nature of modern warfare is truly showing its face. The warring nations escalate their bombing campaigns and the German troops in the Caucasus are so thirsty for Caucasian oil, that they are considering to double cross their own allies.
Comments Off on Bombs Away – German Thirst For Caucasian Oil I THE GREAT WAR Week 200
Indy’s back in his Chair of Wisdom, and ready to answer more of your questions. This week we discuss Allied bombings on Germany and the influence of WW1 on Metal, including on the power-metal band Sabaton.
Comments Off on Dropping Bombs on Germany – WW1 in Heavy Metal I OUT OF THE TRENCHES
