Enrichment – things to discuss – How valid are the parallels between the Trump administration and 1930s Germany ?

Trump KongIf you click here you will get to an Independent write up of historian Timothy Snyder’s article for  The Guardian (it can be found here  but is not the easiest of reads). Snyder is a leading Yale historian, who suggests that Republicans today “risk  remembered like the conservatives of 1930s Germany, who were overcome by the radical right in Adolf Hitler’s ascension to power”.

  • How valid are his arguments ?
  • Is this good history / helpful ?

We will discuss this in a History Society session in September. For now, have a read and see what you think.

Mr Kydd.

“Writing in The Guardian, Timothy Snyder, Housum professor of history at Yale University, claims the “mendacity-industrial complex of the Trump administration makes conservatism impossible, and opens the floodgates to the sort of drastic change that conservatives opposed”. 

He examines the language of the President’s campaign and of his staff, from Chief Strategist Steve Bannon to the administration’s acknowledgement of Holocaust Remembrance Day, and its relation to the far-right in 1930s Germany and America.

Mr Snyder claims Mr Bannon wants to undo the legacies of 1940s America, which saw a fight against fascism and the results of President Roosevelt’s New Deal, which provided jobs and financial support for millions of Americans affected by the Great Depression…”

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Enrichment – things to watch – treasures of the Anglo-Saxons

A little summer treat for you all from the BBC (in four 15 minute sections). A bit of art history and archaeology combine to explore Sutton Hoo. If you want to see the artifacts, they are on display in the British Museum.

Mr Kydd.

Dr Nina Ramirez reveals the codes and messages hidden in Anglo-Saxon art. From the beautiful jewellery that adorned the first violent pagan invaders through to the stunning Christian manuscripts they would become famous for, she explores the beliefs and ideas that shaped Anglo-Saxon art. Examining many of the greatest Anglo Saxon treasures – such as the Sutton Hoo Treasures, the Staffordshire Hoard, the Franks Casket and the Lindisfarne Gospels – Dr Ramirez charts 600 years of artistic development which was stopped dead in its tracks by the Norman Conquest“.

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If you are still undecided…

840x4501Year Thirteen,

If you want access to some of those How should I vote ? quizzes, then please click on the links below…

 

Now go and do some revision.

Mr Kydd.

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Year Nine holocaust prep

_80480260_80480259All,

Following on from today’s lesson, for prep I would like you to do the following.

  •  Explore the three BBC web pages below.

This account of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz II-Birkenau (here).

The audio slideshow from the Auschwitz Museum explaining the problems of preserving the ageing and crumbling 191-hectare site, with limited funds (here).

Two experts on Auschwitz arguing for and against the idea that the former Nazi death camp should be allowed to crumble away (here)

  • Then post which view you agree with more (and why) below. One paragraph please.

Please note, for your post to appear, I will need to approve it – so don’t worry it is does not show up straight away.

You can of course discuss this with people at home.

Mr Kydd.

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Enrichment – ‘Incredibly rare’ William Caxton print discovered at the University of Reading

_95969287_caxton3If you click here you will get to a BBC report on a find in the University of Reading’s special finds department – two pages of previously unknown print by Claxton.

“Erika Delbecque, special collections librarian at the university, described the find as “incredibly rare”. The two pages, with religious texts in medieval Latin, were produced by Caxton at his pioneering printing works in Westminster – and are now going on public display for the first time since they were sold from his print shop in the 15th Century. They are believed to be from the earliest years of Caxton’s printing press, either 1476 or 1477, and are being hailed as a remarkable discovery.”

You might like follow the links on the page to find out more about Claxton.

Mr Kydd.

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Ten Top Tips for History Exam Revision

All,

As promised, please click  on the link below for those top ten tips.

Mr Kydd.

Ten Top Tips for History Exam Revision

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Places to go (soon) – The British Library – Russian Revolution: Hope, Tragedy, Myths

russian_revolution (1)If you click here you will get to the link for the upcoming Russian Revolution: Hope, Tragedy, Myths exhibition at the British Library (Fri 28 Apr – Tue 29 Aug 2017). Obviously  it is to mark the centenary of the Russian Revolution, and looks great.

From the fall of Russia’s last Tsar to the rise of the first communist state, this definitive exhibition takes a fresh look at the Russian Revolution 100 years on.

With rarely seen items from both sides of the conflict – from a first edition of the Communist Manifesto to anti-Bolshevik propaganda – this is a unique chance to understand the lesser-known personal stories behind the events that changed the world.

Also on display for the first time, from the British Library’s own archive: Lenin’s handwritten application for a Reader Pass.

Uniting the political and the personal, explore the Russian Revolution’s central characters, most notably Lenin and Trotsky, alongside the tales of ordinary people living through extraordinary times. Did events in Russia in 1917 transform the international landscape forever? Did they shape the world we live in today?

Bringing to life the hope, tragedy and myths of this seismic revolution, discover Russia 1917 – the biggest flame in a world on fire.

Mr Kydd.

 

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Places to go – Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932 exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts

If you click here you will get to information about the Royal Academy’s Exhibition of Revolutionary Art. Obviously this is to mark the centenary of the Russian Revolution, and it has received outstanding reviews.

Not to be missed – I am heading that way in March.

Mr Kydd.

 

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Archaeology – coins discovery ‘will re-write’ Anglo-Saxon history

coinsAll,

If you click here you will get to some local(ish) archaeology news of national importance. The so-called Watlington Hoard has re-written what we know about the Anglo-Saxons…

“This is an extraordinary find, one which re-writes Anglo-Saxon history,” Xa Sturgis, director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, which now houses the coins, told Sky News. “The keeper of the coin room here came running up the stairs to tell me. The more they were excavated the more it became obvious how significant they are. These coins point to some sort of an alliance in the 870s between Alfred and Ceolwulf.” While Alfred is often described as the king who founded England, uniting Mercia and Wessex, very little is known of his rival Ceolwulf.

“These coins prove that there was a very real alliance between the two men at that time,” added Julian Baker, coin curator at the Ashmolean. “That alliance hasn’t survived in the historical record until now. Alfred manipulated history to put himself in a better light. To date, history has overemphasised Alfred’s record and almost completely neglected Ceolwulf.”

As such, this article is a good example of how far from being a static subject, historical ideas are always fluid and changing.

See what you think.

Mr Kydd.

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Obituary – Brunhilde Pomsel (11 January 1911 – 27 January 2017)

If you click here you will get to the BBC obituary for Brunhilde Pomsel. She was Goebbels’ personal secretary, and one of the last direct links to the Nazi regime.

You may know of her from the excellent German life documentary (trailer above). This raised the classic AJP Taylor question – how far should responsibility for Holocaust go ? For Pomsel at least, the only blame that she felt was for voting Nazi.

Mr Kydd.

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