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Nick Shepley
The Explaining History Podcast has been exploring the 20th Century in weekly chapters for the past 10 years, helping students and enthusiasts engage with the past. With the help of expert guests, your host Nick Shepley navigates competing debates around the key events and processes of the past century.
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The Eighth Airforce over Germany - Explaining History in conversation with David Dean Barrett
In early 1942 the American Eighth Air Force existed on paper only. Within twelve months it was a formidable fighting force in daylight raids over Germany and by 1945 was mounting the first two thousand bomber raids. In this episode of the Explaining History podcast, we hear from military historian David Dean Barrett about the 'Mighty Eighth' and the strategic bombing of Germany. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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31:2515/02/2021
Britain, France and the Mandate System 191-19
During the First World War, much of the fighting occurred in colonial Africa, which in 1918, the victorious powers believed could not rule itself. President Woodrow Wilson of the USA and Britain were able to collude on a neo colonial mandate system that mainly benefited them at the expense of France. All three had agreed that it was unthinkable that former German and Ottoman colonies be returned. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:4913/02/2021
Germany and Austria-Hungary's 'war fever' re-examined: 1914
A popular view of the July crisis that led to the start of the First World War was the excitement and enthusiasm across Europe for war. Examining Alexander Watson's Ring of Steel, we discuss the validity of this view and the motivations of the crowds that filled the streets of Berlin and Vienna in July 1914. This podcast also explores the motivations and loyalties of Germany's largest party the Social Democrats. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:0610/02/2021
Korea, McCarthy and anti communism
For the Republican Party in the 1940s and 1950s, the only means of attacking the Democrats was by inflating the fear of communism and accusing their rivals of treason. In 1951, following the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur for challenging the authority of President Truman, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin used the end of MacArthur's career to boost his own, and to suggest that it was the result of 'treason'. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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27:0109/02/2021
Postwar planning, centralisation and its enemies: 1945
In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the belief that anything was now possible in the reshape and redesign of societies was widespread in the liberal capitalist and communist worlds. The role that planning had played in the victory over fascism was beyond doubt and politicians, intellectuals, planners and citizens in Europe, Asia, America and Africa saw the post war era as an opportunity to harness the power of the state to transform society. A fringe group of economists and thinkers saw this as creeping totalitarianism, but it would take three decades for their arguments to gain traction and to form the core of neoliberal orthodoxy. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:1606/02/2021
Australia Japan and the Kokoda Trail Campaign
The invasion of Australian ruled Papua New Guinea in 1942 by the Japanese presented a direct threat to Australia and to Supreme Commander in the South West Pacific Douglas MacArthur's plans to retake the Japanese held Pacific. The tenuous fighting across the Owen Stanley mountain range by the retreating Australian 'diggers' was one of the most desperate and savage campaigns of the war in rain drenched jungle conditions. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:0403/02/2021
The Tory Right from Enoch Powell to Margaret Thatcher: 1957-1979
In the years following the Conservative Party's defeat in the 1945 general election, the Tories were forced to accept significant parts of Labour's programme, recognising their un-electability otherwise. A right wing fringe of the party rejected this centre ground compromise and demanded an extreme brand of supply side economics known as monetarism. The opportunity to impose this on the party and later the country emerged in the crisis years of the 1970s. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:0002/02/2021
Communal kitchens and Mao's Great Famine 1958-61
In 1958 as part of Mao's attempts to improve productivity and create a socialist economic miracle in China, Mao waged war against private property and family life during the disastrous 'Great Leap Forward'. He removed from families the ability to privately farm vegetables and rice, own livestock and prepare food in their own homes. Following the communalisation of entire provinces, families were forced to each at communal kitchen, where food was often withheld for party members and visiting dignitaries, and instead the peasants forced to eat between exhausting work shifts would be fed thin watery gruel. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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27:5901/02/2021
Stalinist terror and Soviet society: Part One
In the mid 1930s, successive waves of state terror devastated not only Soviet society, but also coopted Soviet citizens into the processes of state violence. A deep fatalism was commonplace throughout much of the country, as Soviet citizens struggled to avoid becoming victims, and many became the denouncers and informants of the state. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:0730/01/2021
Britain's media power and broken politics: In conversation with Mic Wright
In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, I speak with journalist and media critic Mic Wright about the power of Britain's media and its distorting effect on British politics Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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36:3427/01/2021
The origins of the Iran Contra Scandal 1979-82
In the last years of Jimmy Carter's presidency, the ruthless Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua was overthrown by the Sandinista revolutionaries, a coalition of the moderate and revolutionary left. The incoming Reagan administration in 1981 immediately froze aid to the Nicaragua and began to arm the anti Sandinista rebels, the Contras. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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27:1426/01/2021
British Anti Fascism 192936
By the mid 1930s a widespread working class anti fascist movement was established in Britain, in response to the development of the British Union of Fascists, and the growth of fascist movements in Europe. When the Spanish government was attacked by the country's fascist generals, many from Britain's anti fascist movement took up arms to defend the Spanish Republic in the British battalion of the International Brigade. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:3225/01/2021
Austria, Germany and the July Crisis 1914
In 191, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Belgrade, the Austrian government sent a list of demands to Serbia, who they alleged was behind the plot. The final demand, a partial surrender of sovereignty in order for Austria to apprehend the culprits was rejected, presenting Austria with a case for war. This enflamed nationalist passions which had been ignited as a result of the crisis, leading to scenes in Austrian and German cities of mass outbursts of spontaneous jubilation and excitement. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:0623/01/2021
Poverty, caste and recruitment to the Indian Army during World War Two
During the Second World War the imperial government of India, ruled by Lord Linlithgow, the Viceroy of India, was desperate for manpower and the traditional 'martial classes' that the British had relied on were to small in number to supply all the troops needed. The vast scope of the conflict meant that millions of men not normally considered for military service would be enticed to volunteer. This would have a radical effect on Indian nationalism and the movement for independence after the conflict. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:0521/01/2021
France, Britain and the road to Suez 1952-56
In the mid 1950s, Anthony Eden and Guy Mollet, Britain and France's respective prime ministers initially showed little determination to overthrow Colonel Nasser of Egypt. However, mounting French problems in Algeria and Britain's dependence on 'holding out' in Egypt against further imperial decline, and the small and conspiratorial groups of ministers, intelligence chiefs and senior military figures that surrounded both governments began to shift thinking towards war. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:5220/01/2021
The ethnic cleansing of German civilians in Eastern Europe: 1945
At the allied wartime conferences it was agreed by the big three that the Poles, Czechs and Hungarians could remove German civilians who had occupied lands now in newly recognised nation states, in some cases for generations. This decision was taken in large part because national governments and vigilante bands had already started the expulsions. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:2719/01/2021
Anti Communism in Europe 1917-21
In the immediate aftermath of the October Revolution, European governments looked nervously at the poor and dispossessed, the peasants, workers and soldiers whose conditions were frequently intolerable. The spectre of communism, both real and imagined hung over Europe, but in Spain, France and Britain, strikes and protests had more to do with the harsh economic realities that the poor felt, than the desire for a Bolshevik style uprising. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:0518/01/2021
Britain's miners and the causes of the General Strike 1918-26
In the half decade after the end of the First World War, the size and the militancy of the trade union movement was at its height and the largest union was the Miner's Federation of Great Britain. The appalling treatment of miners by pit owners was exacerbated by the decline in the industry's fortunes after the war, leading to strike action by the 900,000 miners in Britain. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:5812/01/2021
France and the Syrian uprising 1925
When Britain, France and Russia secretly planned to carve up the Ottoman Empire in 1915, France made a claim on Ottoman Syria and acquired it as a mandate during the Paris Peace Conference. Brutality, colonial mendacity and a refusal to acknowledge the demands of Druze leaders and Syrian nationalists led to an explosion of anti colonial violence in 1925, along with an equally brutal response from the French occupiers. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:4904/01/2021
The origins of the Soviet camps 1917-21
Following the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917, class based terror and repression of social and political enemies became central to the party's attempts to establish itself. In addition to this, the savagery of the civil war and Lenin's belief that a parallel class war needed to be waged saw the earliest improvised camps, of which there were 107 by 1920. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:3928/12/2020
Britain, France, Israel and the Suez conspiracy 1956
In 1956 the British Government, led by Anthony Eden, embarked on a disastrous military adventure with France and Israel that divided the country, split both political parties and was conducted despite the misgivings of the navy and air force. The agreement to attack Egypt was decided by the three main powers at a villa at Sevres weeks before the invasion. Britain wished to removed an irritant in the form of Colonel Nasser, the nationalist leader of Egypt who had nationalised the Suez Canal, the vital waterway between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the French wished to destroy him because of his pan Arabist support for the Algerian independence movement, and Israel saw an opportunity to cripple is most deadly neighbour. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:3422/12/2020
Anti Slav hysteria in the Austro-Hungarian Empire - July 1914
Following the shock of the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Vienna, Sarajevo, and other parts of the German and non German speaking empire saw outbreaks of public anger and mourning. However, it was the popular press that falsely presented the assassination as part of a wider conspiracy and created fear and anxiety among German Austrians, leading to police raids and persecution of Serb and non Serb Slavs across the empire. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:5820/12/2020
Poison gas and its long term impact on the 20th Century
By the end of the First World War, the British, French and American Armies were using gas more effectively than Germany, and the German Army's ability to resist gas attacks was crumbling. After the war, the view in Britain that gas had been a uniquely German crime persisted, as did the fear of gas use in future conflicts, particularly against civilians. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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24:2517/12/2020
Margaret Thatcher, Tony Benn and Great Britain: 1973 - 1983
In the 1970s and 1980s two political figures came to define the polarisation of British politics and society and the end of political consensus between the Conservative and Labour Parties. This podcast explores the ideological worlds of Thatcher and Benn and their impact on the trajectory of both parties. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:1807/12/2020
Rumours, letters and humour in Stalinist Russia 1928-38
In all totalitarian societies, individuals instinctively find ways of navigating and interacting with a repressive state. In the USSR, rumours, jokes and anonymous letters to the authorities, were often ways of expressing deep seated anger with the Stalinist state, whilst trying to avoid the most severe punishments. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:5014/11/2020
The Sino Soviet Split - In conversation with Larry Auton Leaf
In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, we hear from history teacher and writer Larry Auton Leaf about Mao, Stalin, Khrushchev and Sino Soviet Split Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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41:3528/10/2020
Lyndon Johnson and the legacy of JFK - 1963
Following the assassination of John F Kennedy, his vice president, Lyndon Johnson, was unexpectedly propelled into the White House, but faced a staff of Kennedy loyalists, including the president's brother Bobby, who he could not trust. Johnson was also faced with the myth of JFK, a public perception of a great and now martyred president. Johnson saw this as an opportunity, rather than a threat, and used the memory of Kennedy for his own ends. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:4125/10/2020
The Battle of Guadalcanal: Part Two
The long battle of attrition by the Japanese Army against the resilient US Marine Corps on Guadalcanal began with serious miscalculations by Japan. Both sides saw the island as a linchpin in the Pacific War and Japan's over confidence and their imperial over stretch led to their eventual defeat, but not before inflicting immense losses on America, on land and at sea. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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27:0109/10/2020
Aspects of working class life in Britain during the 1930s
Working class life in Britain during the 1930s was shaped and reshaped by economic forces. In the first part of the decade, a devastating economic slump in the staple industries of coal, cotton, ships and steel saw the migration of working people to more prosperous parts of the country. In the later 1930s, rising living standards and wages gave some working class households living standards and opportunities they had never experienced before. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:5226/09/2020
Sachsenhausen, Soviet POWs and the origins of the Final Solution
In 1941 Sachsenhausen concentration camp became the first of the existing pre war concentration camps to become a site of mass killings as 9,000 Soviet POWs were murdered there by gas or shooting. Heinrich Himmler, anxious to find more efficient methods of mass murder, was kept informed by his henchman Theodore Eicke and took a keen interest in the killings, knowing that the methods used at Sachsenhausen would be later employed in the mass murder of the Jews. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:0915/09/2020
The British Communist Party, Popular Fronts and Spain 1932-36
After the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor in 1933, Stalin began to privately regret his decision to prevent a popular front of communist and social democratic forces emerge in Germany. Across Europe communist parties found themselves in uneasy alliances with social democrats and in Britain the threat of the British Union of Fascists galvanised this process. The popular front government in Spain that came under assault in 1936 drew communist and non communist volunteers from Britain and other European countries to defend it, with both Hitler and Stalin becoming involved in the fate of the Spanish people. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:5502/09/2020
Guadancanal and Ironbottom Sound
Following the victory over Japan at Midway, the US Navy was unprepared for a devastating defeat inflicted on its landing force at Guadalcanal. The Japanese sought to control islands close to the sea lanes vital to Australia's survival; shutting them off would bring the country to its knees and prevent it becoming a staging post for the liberation of Asia and the Pacific. The commitment of America to Guadalcanal would lead to one of the bloodiest campaigns of the Pacific war. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:5722/08/2020
Collaboration and Vengeance in Europe 1945
In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, civilian governments struggled to establish law and order and in many cars failed to prevent a wave of vigilante violence against those suspected of collaboration. The complicity in Nazi crimes and the everyday experience of occupation created huge divisions in societies of western and eastern Europe and a deep suspicion on the police, who had often been used by the Nazis and collaborationist governments Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:1215/08/2020
The Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was the first major victory of the US Navy in the Second World War, resulting in the loss of four out of Japan's six carriers. This devastating defeat was not the end of Japan's war in the Pacific, but it signalled the start of a downward trajectory from which Japan would not deviate, despite the ability to inflict losses on America until the end of the war. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:3005/08/2020
Britain and the Central African Federation 1951-59
During the 1950s, as Britain attempted to hold on to its African colonies, it had to deal with the ambitions of white colonial settlers for domination of the black population on a more explicitly racist model of government, exemplified by apartheid South Africa and the growing force of black nationalism. The British attempted to foster 'moderate' African leaders who might be compliant in a new state, the Central African Federation, which incorporated North and South Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Outmanoeuvred at every turn by the white settlers, the British were forced to accept defeat and see the break up of their federation. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:0620/07/2020
Abandoned children in Stalin's Russia 1928-39
The rapid industrialisation of the USSR, poor housing, poverty and family breakdown led to countless children being abandoned to fend for themselves by uncaring and cruel parents and step parents. The Soviet state often intervened and prosecuted fathers who refused to pay for the upkeep of their families. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:1406/07/2020
France's road to Dien Bien Phu 1954
As French power and influence declined in Vietnam from 1953 onwards, the conflict started to become a proxy for the wider cold war and not simply an anti colonial struggle. The enormous French miscalculation at Dien Bien Phu, where the garrison was surrounded in a north Vietnamese valley by DRV armies came just as France prepared peace talks at Geneva with the government of Ho Chi Minh. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:4124/06/2020
French political crisis and the First Indochinese War 1951-54
Despair and defeatism defined the French political class's response to the worsening situation in Vietnam following the French defeat at Cao Bang in 1950. This lack of hope led to a gradual decline in the necessary resources to defeat the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. At the same time the DRV was becoming an increasingly professional and organised fighting force. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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27:5912/06/2020
Hunting Evil: Nazi War Criminals in South America. Explaining History in conversation with historian Guy Walters
In the half decade after the Second World War, a stream of wanted Nazi war criminals, including Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele fled from Germany and escaped via Italy to Argentina and Brazil. They lived relatively openly in the established German communities in both countries and only a handful were ever brought to justice. In this special edition of the Explaining History podcast, we hear from Guy Walters, whose book, Hunting Evil examines the hidden history of this often mythologised chapter of post war history. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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39:4322/05/2020
German terror bombing and Warsaw 1939
The German airforce was designed to support its army on the battlefield and act as a tool for rapid military operations or 'blitzkrieg'. Unlike British and American air fleets that pursued a policy of strategic bombing away from the battlefield, lighter German aircraft were focused on ground support. Their role in the terror bombing of the defended city of Warsaw was to force capitulation of the army and other defenders, but this came at a deliberate massive civilian cost. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:2218/05/2020
Britain's Europe Referendum 1975
In 1973 the Conservative Party and the right of the Labour Party voted to join the European Economic Community or 'Common Market' as it was known. Despite opposition on the right and left, the decision to join was ratified by a referendum in 1975, but the political divisions foreshadowed endless political conflict over the issue of European integration in later decades. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:3908/05/2020
French Politics and the war in Indochina 1949-54
By 1950 the French political establishment was in a state of despair about its prospects in Vietnam. The newly reorganised army of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam had inflicted defeats on France in 1950 ad Cao Bang on the Vietnam/China border. The involvement of the USA in the war brought badly needed military and financial aid, but placed an intolerable burden on French national pride. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:0104/05/2020
Internationalism vs Anti Communism in America: 1945-7
In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the popularity of international, multilateral organisations such as the UN and the Bretton Woods institutions in America was high. Wartime cooperation was looked upon favourably by most Americans, even though there was a considerable minority who favoured a return to isolationism. The Republican Party and right wing journalists and thinkers saw international cooperation, sympathies towards Britain and wartime cooperation with the USSR as ideal material to attack the Democrats with. This was an integral part of the growth of anti communism in the USA in the 1940s and 1950s. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:5103/05/2020
140 Days to Hiroshima Part Two: Explaining History interview with David Dean Barrett
This is the second in our two part interview special with historian David Barrett, whose new book 140 Days to Hiroshima examines the decision making regarding the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This time we examine the factionalism within the Japanese wartime leadership, the impact of the second atomic bomb on the regime's decision making and the role of Emperor Hirohito.You can purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/140-Days-Hiroshima-Untold-Surrender/dp/1635765811.There are further reviews of the book here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/david-dean-barrett/140-days-to-hiroshima/, and you can read David's further writings on Hiroshima at the History News Network here: https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/174871. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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58:4301/05/2020
Ronald Reagan's conservative transition 1954
In the 1930s, Ronald Reagan had been a Roosevelt Democrat supporter and had believed that the role of government in alleviating the crisis of the Great Depression was vital. By the early 1950s, Reagan, a failing actor was moving to the political right and had embraced the Hayekian obsession with reducing the size of the state. As a spokesman for the company GE he toured the USA, speaking to working class Americans who shared his views and in doing so, he prepared for his later political career. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:2727/04/2020
The US Navy and the Battle of Midway
America's war in the Pacific had begun with Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbour and within six months the US Navy inflicted a devastating defeat on Japan at the Battle of Midway. American admirals and aviators learned the rules of naval warfare quickly, despite the fact that Japan initially outclassed America in naval warfare and aviation. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:1325/04/2020
Pacifism and British Politics 1933-39
In the 1930s the deteriorating world situation presented all major political parties in Britain with profound dilemmas, whether to back pacifism, collective security or appeasement. The peripheral British Union of Fascists advocated peace with Nazi Germany in order to allow Hitler to wage his war against Europe's Jews. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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28:3723/04/2020
Slave labour and the Nazi Armaments Industry 1942-45
In 1942 Heinrich Himmler appointed a new administrator to the head of his concentration camp network, Oswald Pohl. Pohl saw the key to his personal advancement the utilisation of slave labour for arms manufacture. By late 1942 and in early 1943 it was clear that the tide of war was turning against Germany and Pohl believed that the brutal extraction of work from prisoners could contribute to victory. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:0623/04/2020
Class origin, social stigma and the Stalin Constitution 1935-39
By 1935 the Soviet regime appeared to relax its stance towards citizens deemed to be class enemies and their children. Stalin said: "A son does not answer for the father." However, persecution of former Kulaks and former members of the Tsarist order continued regardless, as many Soviet employers or teachers did not wish to appear lenient towards 'social aliens' in case the political mood changed and they were accused of anti Soviet sympathies. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:4622/04/2020
140 Days to Hiroshima: Explaining History Interview with David Barrett
This special episode of the Explaining History Podcast features historian David Barrett, whose new book 140 Days to Hiroshima examines the decision making regarding the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This is the first of two interviews with David and it explores the decisions by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Truman to use the bomb instead of an amphibious landing in the Japanese home islands.You can purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/140-Days-Hiroshima-Untold-Surrender/dp/1635765811.There are further reviews of the book here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/david-dean-barrett/140-days-to-hiroshima/, and you can read David's further writings on Hiroshima at the History News Network here: https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/174871. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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44:5116/04/2020