Good morning, we are going through World War II in Numbers and the first episode of the series. This episode is called The War of the World. The run time for this episode is 45:05. This episode was found on the YouTube Channel War Stories because it was not easily found on the YouTube Channel Timeline. This episode is also divided into chapters to make for an easy break up if you want to show it as part of a lecture.
A forty-four-year man was shot and killed. He was stuck in a German uniform and dropped into a Polish radio station. This death would be the catalyst for World War II. It was the first truly global war in history. It was a war driven by numbers. It was a war that had its roots in a treaty. A treaty that would cause disillusionment and despair. However, it was hoped that such a global war would never happen. What were the numbers behind World War II? The first part of this episode starts off with a discussion on the Great War and how Germany bore the brunt of the blame for this war. German veterans would return to a shattered Germany and it would feed into their disillusionment. The historians are pretty detailed in their descriptions of how the veterans were feeling when they returned to Germany and hints as to Hitler’s mindset. The Treaty of Versailles was meant to prevent Germany from rising again. However, Germany could not keep up with the demands and the economy suffered. Inflation ran rampant and when the Germans missed a reparation payment France invaded. The United States came to the rescue and helped the German government. The German economy was on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, the Depression happened and those payments stopped. With the rising cost of living and festering resentment, the door was open for a man like Hitler to come into power. The Nazis were masters at campaigning and it is here that Andy Robertshaw presents the variety of posters that the Nazis produced. Mussolini was doing the same thing in Italy even before the Great Depression. He appealed to the Italian farmers and so Hitler would do the same. The German farmers voted in high numbers for the Nazi party. He eventually becomes chancellor of Germany. On the other side of the world, Japan was stretching out. The Japanese had their eyes on China and the resources the Chinese had that would feed their war machine. The Japanese were facing their own troubles with the great earthquake that managed to collapse their economy. The Japanese Military would start taking center stage and look back at the past. Their eyes soon turned to China. China at the time was divided and so would be an easy conquest in the Japanese military eyes. The Japanese would invade Manchuria and take over. The League of Nations condemned the act resulting in Japan pulling out. Emboldened by their success in Manchuria the Japanese military continued to invade China. However, they underestimated the Chinese generals. It is an all-out war between China and Japan. The League of Nations cannot prevent the carnage. Hitler begins to secretly rearm Germany and following the Japanese example walked out of the League of Nations. Eventually, Germany reveals that it has rebuilt its army and it is twice the size of the French army. The French Army is not ready for war. Britain is ready for war but is focused on the Navy. The British have an empire to defend. The dominoes were in place for World War II. Tune into the rest of this episode to learn more about the beginnings of World War II. Woah, this episode really covers all the factors that lead up to World War II, it was almost overwhelming with all the information presented. I am still distracted by the Guy look-alike and I enjoy Andy Robertshaw’s presentations throughout the episode. It is interesting to see all the numbers that lead up to World War II as well. Overall it was a good start to this series and should be added to your list of documentaries to show to a class. Also recommended for independent study students who are especially interested in military history.
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The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such. I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms. |