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Books > History > World history > From 1900
"Don't be too ready to listen to stories told by attractive women.
They may be acting under orders." This was only one of the many
warnings given to the 30,000 British troops preparing to land in
the enemy territory of Nazi Germany nine-and-a-half months after
D-Day. The newest addition to the Bodleian Library's bestselling
series of wartime pamphlets, "Instructions for British Servicemen
in Germany, 1944" opens an intriguing window into the politics and
military stratagems that brought about the end of World War
II.
The pamphlet is both a succinct survey of German politics, culture,
and history and a work of British propaganda. Not only does the
pamphlet cover general cultural topics such as food and drink,
currency, and social customs, but it also explains the effect of
years of the war on Germans and their attitudes toward the British.
The book admonishes, "The Germans are not good at controlling their
feelings. They have a streak of hysteria. You will find that
Germans may often fly into a passion if some little thing goes
wrong." The mix of humor and crude stereotypes--"If you have to
give orders to German civilians, give them in a firm, military
manner. The German civilian is used to it and expects it"--in the
text make this pamphlet a stark reminder of the wartime fears and
hopes of the British.
By turns a manual on psychological warfare, a travel guide, and a
historical survey, "Instructions for British Servicemen in Germany,
1944" offers incomparable insights into how the British, and by
extension the Allied forces, viewed their fiercest enemy on the eve
of its defeat.
Bergen-Belsen was the only major Nazi concentration camp to be
liberated on the British front, some three weeks before the end of
the war in Europe in 1945. This book contains accounts which should
ensure that the horrors of the camp are on the record for posterity
and cannot be denied or excused...Although Soviet forces discovered
Majdanek, Auschwitz and other camps on their front in 1944/45, the
significance of these sites did not register in the West until much
later. It was the atrocities perpetrated at Belsen and Buchenwald,
therefore, that became headline news in the Western press in April
1945. The eyewitness reports and testimonies are as profoundly
shocking today as they were then; they are gathered in this volume
so that they will not be forgotten.
Marthie Voigt (nooi Prinsloo) is in 1931 in Suidwes-Afrika gebore;
die vierde van ses kinders. Wat volg is ’n groot avontuur. Marthie
word groot in die wye en ongetemde vlaktes van Angola. Die
Prinsloo-gesin trek baie rond agter goeie weiding en gesonder
toestande aan. Die lewe in ongerepte Angola het ook sy gevare en
Marthie beleef groot hartseer toe haar sussie op 19 sterf aan
malaria. Nadat Marthie trou met Carl-Wilhelm Voigt en hulle hul
gevestig het op haar skoonouers se koffieplaas, begin die onheil in
Angola roer. Ongelukkig breek daar oorlog uit en die Voigts moet
hulle plaas net so los. Hulle speel ’n groot rol daarin om
vlugtelinge uit Angola te versorg. Marthie Voigt het haar
ongelooflike herinneringe aan hierdie historiese en persoonlike
gebeurtenisse neergeskryf sodat wanneer ’n mens dit lees, dit
glashelder voor jou geestesoog afspeel. ’n Wonderlike lewensverhaal
uit die pen van ’n sterk, intelligente vrou.
This highly praised study traces the province's history from
partition in 1921 to today's peace process. Widely acknowledged as
the best informed academic observers of Northern Irish politics,
the authors look behind the handshakes on the White House lawn and
provide a fascinating insight into history as it unfolds in the
headlines and on news bulletins.
In a gripping, moment-by-moment narrative based on a wealth of
recently declassified documents and in-depth interviews, Bob Drury
and Tom Clavin tell the remarkable drama that unfolded over the
final, heroic hours of the Vietnam War. This closing chapter of the
war would become the largest-scale evacuation ever carried out, as
improvised by a small unit of Marines, a vast fleet of helicopter
pilots flying nonstop missions beyond regulation, and a Marine
general who vowed to arrest any officer who ordered his choppers
grounded while his men were still on the ground.
Drury and Clavin focus on the story of the eleven young Marines who
were the last men to leave, rescued from the U.S. Embassy roof just
moments before capture, having voted to make an Alamo-like last
stand. As politicians in Washington struggled to put the best face
on disaster and the American ambassador refused to acknowledge that
the end had come, these courageous men held their ground and helped
save thousands of lives. Drury and Clavin deliver a taut and
stirring account of a turning point in American history that
unfolds with the heartstopping urgency of the best thrillers--a
riveting true story finally told, in full, by those who lived it.
In 1944 the British War Office distributed a handbook to British
soldiers informing them what to expect and how to behave in a
newly-liberated France. Containing candid descriptions of this
war-ravaged society (widespread malnourishment, rampant
tuberculosis) as well as useful phrases and a pronunciation guide
(Bonjewer, commont-allay-voo), it was an indispensable guide to
everyday life. This small, unassuming publication had a deeper
purpose: to bring together two allies who did not enjoy ideal
relations in 1944. The book attempts to reconcile differences by
stressing a shared history and the common aim - defeating Hitler.
It also tried to dispel misapprehensions: 'There is a fairly
widespread belief among people in Britain that the French are a
particularly gay, frivolous people with no morals and few
convictions.' Often unintentionally hilarious in its expression of
these false impressions, the book is also a guide for avoiding
social embarrassment: 'If you should happen to imagine that the
first pretty French girl who smiles at you intends to dance the
can-can or take you to bed, you will risk stirring up a lot of
trouble for yourself - and for our relations with the French.' Many
of its observations still ring true today. For example, 'The French
are more polite than most of us. Remember to call them "Monsieur,
Madame, Mademoiselle," not just "Oy!"' Others remind us of how we
recently we have adopted French customs: 'Don't drink yourself
silly. If you get the chance to drink wine, learn to "'take it".'
Anyone with an interest in Britain, France or World War II will
find this an irresistible insight into British attitudes towards
the French and an interesting, timeless commentary on Anglo-French
relations.
Illustrated with colourful artworks of carrier aircraft and their
markings, Allied Carrier Aircraft of World War II is a detailed
guide to all the aircraft deployed by the Allied navies from 1939
to 1945. Organised chronologically by type and nationality, this
book includes fighters, fighter-bombers, torpedo bombers,
dive-bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, floatplanes and flying
boats. All the best-known types are featured, such as the Grumman
F4F Wildcat, Douglas TBD Devastator and Douglas SBD Dauntless that
fought at the battle of Midway in 1942, as well as the Fairey
Swordfish torpedo bomber that proved so effective at the Battle of
Taranto in 1940 and helped sink the German battleship Bismarck in
1941. The entries are accompanied by exhaustive captions and
specifications. The guide is illustrated with profile artworks,
three-views, and special cutaway artworks of the more famous
aircraft in service, such as the Blackburn Skua torpedo bomber,
Curtiss SB2 Helldiver dive-bomber and the Vought F4U Corsair heavy
fighter. Illustrated with more than 100 artworks, Allied Carrier
Aircraft of World War II is an essential reference guide for
modellers and enthusiasts of military aircraft of World War II.
In this tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, Karl-Werner
Antrack looks at her life and those that affected it. He looks in
detail at the many conspiracy theories surrounding her death, and
how it has affected those that Diana left behind, and the
'revelations' revealed by those she is said to have trusted while
alive. The state of the world post-Diana is also looked at
including the war on Iraq, and Britain's relations with the US.
Altogether, this book is a useful compilation of much of the hype
which has surrounded the death of Princess Diana, but at the heart
of it we must remember she was a loving mother who cared for all
those less fortunate than herself, and it is hopefully this memory
that shall live on...
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