Warfare

Born in Budapest in July 1944, Agnes Grunwald-Spier resided in the Ghetto with her mother from November 1944 to January 1945. Having gained degrees in History & Politics and Holocaust Studies, in this episode Agnes speaks to James about her family's experiences of the Holocaust. This personal history includes her mother's time alone in the ghetto with a newborn, the loss of her grandfather and the lasting impact of the Holocaust on her father. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Giles Milton has been researching D-Day from a new perspective - that of the youngsters who were involved in the first wave of the offensive. For this podcast he and Dan discussed his findings, the untold stories of this landmark event. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In this episode, Dan speaks to the late Wing Commander Thomas Neil, who fought in the Battle of Britain. Thomas joined the RAF Volunteer Reserves at the age of 18 and, when the Second World War broke out, he was called up to full-time service. In 1940 he was posted as an officer to No. 249 Squadron with whom he flew Hurricanes during the Battle of Britain. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In this short episode, Dan visits Sarajevo on the trail of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, his wife and his assassin, Gavrilo Princip. It was their fatal encounter that led to the outbreak of the First World War. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In amongst the ranks of the heroic female wartime nurses Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell is a lesserknown Danish woman, Valborg Hjorth. When Dr Jakob Seerup - author, researcher and curator of Modern History - discovered a photograph of an elderly woman adorned with medals in the archive at Bornholm Museum, Denmark, he started the process of unearthing this woman's amazing life. In this episode, Jakob and James discuss Valborg's experiences in field hospitals, and also the way in which a woman travelling independently was perceived during the First World War, despite her service to the ranks of injured soldiers. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In this episode, Joshua Levine provides us with an in depth account of the German offensive against Britain's moral. The actor, barrister and historian offers a study of the whole of the UK in discussion with Dan Snow. Together they explore the sense of community which emerged from the Blitz, as people who previously had no contact with one another were forced to share lifechanging experiences and confined spaces. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In this episode, Dr. Shama Ams places the Black Lives Matter movement and the killing of George Floyd into the historical context of the treatment of African American soldiers during and after WW2. In conversation with James, he also explores links with the Civil Rights movement. Shama Ams completed his PhD in the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), Centre of Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, where he was a Marshall Scholar. His research focuses on the nature of socio-cultural, legal and institutional transformation in post-war countries. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

For this podcast Dan spoke to John Nichol, former Royal Air Force navigator and author of the bestseller 'Spitfire: A Very British Love Story'. They discussed the plane that was so critical to the RAF's efforts in the Battle of Britain and the Second World War, and why it occupies such a special place in Britain's hearts. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Over a century after the end of the First World War, there is still so much that is unknown about so called 'shellshock'. In this episode, Suzie Grogan delves into past and present understandings of shellshock and opens up discussion of the hidden impact of warfare on soldiers and civilians. Suzie is interested in social and literary history, and the history of mental health. She is the author of 'Shell Shocked Britain: The First World War's Legacy for Britain's Mental Health'. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In this episode, Roger Moorhouse brings to light arguably the worst maritime disaster in history, the sinking of the German armed military transport ship, Wilhelm Gustloff, in January 1945. Roger and Dan discuss the circumstances and terrible outcomes of the disaster after first looking at the often ignored background of the ship, which had acted as a cruiseliner in the Nazi programme of <em>Kraft durch Freude </em>(Strength Through Joy). Moorhouse is a specialist in modern German history, particularly the Third Reich. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

After winning back France and Belgium, the Allied forces met unexpected resistance in the Netherlands in September 1944. Following nine days of fighting, they withdrew. In this podcast, Dan spoke to Antony Beevor about what was possibly one of the greatest Allied failures of the Second World War, and the intelligence failures and vanities which caused it. Antony is one of the best selling military historians of all time, and author of ‘Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges 1944’. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

On the outbreak of World War Two, young men from across the Empire volunteered to risk their lives in the fight against Nazi Germany. For this podcast, Peter Devitt from the RAF museum spoke with Dan about the often-neglected histories of African-Caribbean RAF pilots and their contribution to the Allied war effort. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

When studying the causes of war we can often be distracted by actions, but in many cases, including the World Wars, a study of the history of ideas is just as enlightening. In this episode, James spoke to inter-disciplinary scholar Dr. Pablo de Orellana about ethnonationalism and its role in both of the World Wars, as well as in the rise of far-right ideas today. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

On the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem, Dan Snow was joined by veterans and dignitaries to follow in the footprints of those who took part in the bold attempt to outflank the Germans in 1944. As Dan prepares to jump out of an aircraft to relive the events of the 1944 landings, we hear from the UK and US ambassadors to the Netherlands, from the Mayor of Arnhem, and from veterans who lived through the battle. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

He is arguably the 20th century's most notorious head of state and the results of his leadership are spread far and wide. But did Hitler shoot himself in the Führerbunker, or did he slip past the Soviets and escape to South America? In this podcast with Dan Snow, Luke Daly Groves takes on the conspiracy theorists using recently declassified MI5 files, previously unpublished sketches of Hitler's bunker and eyewitness accounts of intelligence officers. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In 1941, Nazi Germany turned on its former ally, the Soviet Union. One of the strategic objectives of this operation, Barbarossa, was to conquer Leningrad. To discuss the German turn on the Soviet Union and perhaps the most brutal siege of the Second World War, James Rogers is joined by Chris Bellamy, author of <em>Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War. </em>Chris is Professor Emeritus of Maritime Security at the University of Greenwich and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Maritime Crime and Security. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In the spring of 1945, the Allies liberated territory from Axis occupation. Whilst the British advanced into most of Denmark, Stalin’s Soviet forces occupied the small island of Bornholm. They remained there for 11 months, but then withdrew with little fanfare. Caroline Kennedy-Pipe is a professor of International Relations and International Security at Loughborough University. She spoke to James about her research into the Soviet occupation of Bornholm and its mysterious end. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In considerations of the First World War, the roles of female scientists in supporting the war effort have been shockingly under acknowledged. Dan was joined in this podcast by Patricia Fara, a historian of science at the University of Cambridge, to talk about the women who worked as scientific researchers during the First World War. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

The First World War is most commonly portrayed using records of young white Europeans, silencing the stories of the 4 million non-white non-Europeans who fought in and laboured for it. For this History Hit podcast, Dan spoke with John Akomfra about the untold experiences of African soldiers, carriers and labourers during the First World War. John is an artist and filmmaker whose work investigates, amongst other things, memory, post-colonialism and the experiences of migrant diasporas. When this podcast was recorded in 2018, John was running an exhibition at the Imperial War Museum to commemorate those Africans who fought, served and died during the war. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

The First World War is one of the great turning points of the last couple of centuries. Debates surrounding its origins, however, remain endless. In this podcast Margaret MacMillan, Professor of International History at Oxford, discusses the circumstances which led to the declarations of war in 1914 with Dan Snow. They consider our enduring fascination with this moment in history, in which so many of the modern world's problems have their roots. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

On 6 August 1945 a B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped a uranium bomb, nicknamed the 'Little Boy' onto the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It was the first use of nuclear weapons in warfare - and also one of history's most controversial acts. While it almost certainly hastened the surrender of Japan to the USA and ended World War Two, it came at an incredible human cost - with 150,000 being killed in the blast and nuclear aftermath. In this podcast, first broadcast on Dan Snow's History Hit, survivor Hirata-San talks to Dan about his experiences, and his work on keeping global peace. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In one of the strangest twists in political history, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party rose from a small provincial agitator into the largest political party in the German Reichstag - before completely dissolving the Weimar Republic and taking Germany and the rest of the world on an escalator to catastrope. Professor Frank McDonough spoke to Dan Snow about Hitler's remarkable rise. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

In this History Hit live on Timeline Dan Snow was joined by Margaret MacMillan, professor at St Antony's College, Oxford University and author of 'Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War'. They discussed the effects World War One had on the world, and how Europe began to rebuild in the years that followed. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>