There was a certain level of reality that Berliners had to adjust to due to the war. Windows had to be shut, headlights of cars were covered, and paint covered street corners for pedestrians. It all seemed a bit much to me initially. Air raid wardens roamed the streets reminding citizens of turn out lights…
Hitler’s Birthday
The celebration in the city centre for Hitler’s birthday was the largest ceremony staged by the Nazis with 50,000 troops and two million spectators. I can only imagine the spectacle, how enormous this event was. Tensions rose at the parade, some even fainted. The crowds consisted of people throughout Nazi Germany, including Rhinelanders, Saxons, Bavarians,…
Outbreak of War – 1939
The prologue and first chapter of Roger Moorhouse’s Berlin at War focused primarily on the celebration of Hitler’s 50th birthday, and the start of the Second World War in 1939. The disparity between Berlin citizen’s behavior during Hitler’s birthday celebrations, and the announcement of war was stark; enthusiastic festivities contrasted against the solemn apathy at…
Let’s Have a Parade
I’m simply finding it amazing how Hitler could have taken all this power to himself as a dictator without anyone freaking out over it. My best guess is that anyone who realised what was going on and was vocal about it would have been swiftly killed. Otherwise, the show and the spectacle which hid the…
Reactions in Berlin of War Declaration
Berlin at War by Roger Moorhouse has given me a new insight into the overall initial reactions of Berliners in Germany during the early days of WWII. The initial reactions of the common Berliner to the declaration of war was one of eerie calmness and dread. As war is not usually something to be celebrated,…
On Perspective, Storytelling, and Representation
This post is being re-posted from my personal blog, bleepbloopwhirr. Alright, I’m posting on this blog again. It’s not because I had some stroke of inspiration or some intense life event that convinced me I needed to blog about it, it’s because I’m required to. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and make…
The Phoney War reaches Berlin
The Phoney war, a term used to describe the relative peace and lack of military action in Western Europe in the first months of WWII, doesn’t mean that absolutely nothing happened, but rather that there was an overall semblance of remaining peace among the countryside as well as the cities. It’s interesting to note that…
Paris for Semana Santa!
Bonjour!= the only word I knew going into my experience of the only and only Paris, France. This week here in Spain and most of Europe I believe is Semana Santa, “Holy Week” which is the week celebrating the end of lent and ends with Easter which in Spain is called “Pascua”. For my week…
Only one month left – March
On one hand, I feel like I’ve lived here all my life. On the other hand it’s as if I have just arrived, where has the time gone?
Midterms and Spring Break – March
When March came around, it came time for midterm assignments. I’ve never had more fun with my midterms. In Contemporary British Film, we were told we could write about anything to do with the films we had already seen in class as long as it was interesting and we could say 1000 words about it….