Robert Herman
I am an English teacher in the US and also a graduate student, studying Irish literature and history.
Location New Jersey, USA
Activity
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Agreed. The religious element seems to be a justification and side benefit.
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I thought right away of some of the propaganda posters from WWI, where images of "Britannia" and "Columbia" (and other feminine symbols of nations) were threatened by bestial-appearing enemies. WWII posters tended more to show images of housewives and children, but Galle's image and the others are rooted in classic gender stereotypes. A good point about how...
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I've managed to lose two posts on this "lesson" so far - so for #3:
The diversity of grains and domesticatable animals in Eurasia, as opposed to the Americas, seems important to the development of agriculture. However, the regions identified as the earliest examples are far from Western or even Central Europe - at what point do those regions begin to...
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Robert Herman made a comment
A good learning and thinking experience! Thanks to the educators for setting up the course and the participants for your thoughtful comments and responses. My access ends tonight, but I've enjoyed going back to look at additions to the Comments throughout the three weeks of lessons and activities.
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A shift in thinking from "The Great Chain of Being," with everyone having a preordained position, to more enlightened thought (Locke and the Social Contract; Jefferson and the "consent of the governed").
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Robert Herman made a comment
I learned a lot about some aspects of Europe's "rise" and the precursors to European-based empires. Using sources that offered different perspectives and raised questions about the standard historical interpretation was effective. As Matthew V. noted earlier, "a lot of food for thought." I also appreciated the comments and contributions by other learners.
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Robert Herman made a comment
The irony is that Cortés relied on Indigenous groups, both militarily and diplomatically, to demonstrate "European superiority." Combined with the impact of smallpox and other diseases brought by the Europeans, this left the Aztecs vulnerable. However, the naval siege of Tenochtitlán also played a role, accentuating the impact of smallpox and enervating the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
It seems that the defeat was a combination of Cortés' ability to utilize the resentment of other groups subjugated by the Aztecs and get them to end their own conflicts in order to help the Spaniards, the effects of disease introduced from abroad, the ability of Malinche as a translator, and the authority given to the Spaniards from the legends about a force...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Relating to the sources, the "Aztec" point of view is what seems to be oral history as recorded by a Spanish priest. Cortés' accounts are likely crafted to give a version that reflects best on his actions and decisions; the lengthy "testimony" he ascribes to Moctezuma is hard to credit, given language barriers. He did have translators, but one was Spanish, and...
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Robert Herman made a comment
While Cortés and his party are horrified by the offer to conduct a sacrifice, much of what he mentions about the religion could be describing his own - the religious persons dress in black, are "debarred from female society," "abstain from eating certain kinds of food," and live in elaborate temples with stone and wood decorations. While he's appalled by the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The initial report emphasizes the "iron" that makes up the "war gear" of the Spaniards as well as the terrifying sound and capabilities of the cannon. The messengers also are surprised by their food, their dogs and horses, and their appearance, clad in armor so that "only their faces are visible." What's interesting is that the report notes that Moctezuma sent...
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Robert Herman made a comment
An odd coincidence - I was just reading John McPhee's most recent collection, "Tabula Rasa, Vol. 1," and he has a section on visiting the Extremadura region of Spain. He notes that not only Pizarro was from there, but Balboa and de Soto, too (both from Jerez de los Caballeros - "Jerez of the Knights" due to its association with the Knights Templar. Cortés was...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The image is divided into the civilized and "uncivilized" worlds, with the former moving into the latter - Vespucci is coming onto the land and toward the woman, who is apparently surprised and caught off-guard, and the billowing sails of the ship still at sea (not at anchor or grounded) and motion of the waves suggest the continued progress of the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Several details stand out to me in the timeline - Cortés had the assistance of both Gerónimo de Aguilar and La Malinche to help in dealing with local populations; he was able to (willing to?) turn conflicts into alliances (even the forces sent by Velázquez, led by Pánfilo de Narváez, to "rein [him] in" end up on his side) that eventually helped him against the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The description of Tenochtitlan highlights the bridges, causeways, & buildings, as well as the markets, which leave Castillo "amazed" and wondering if he's in a dream or seeing a legendary place - echoing the description of Kinsay by Marco Polo. And when da Gama visits Calecut, he isn't ready for the almost supercilious reception he gets from the king; when...
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While it's not quite the same, today there is the controversy of taking children from the Ukraine to be raised in Russian language and culture. A variation on the "Indian" residential or boarding schools, replacing one identity but not as "equals."
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Robert Herman made a comment
While the rise of the European city was a product of trade and industrialization, leading to the 19th-century explosion of many cities that are massive today (Professor Dwyer cites London as having a population of 50,000 in the early 16th century; by 1800, it was up to 1 million, and around 7 million at the end of the 19th century), the fact that Tenochtitlán...
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Robert Herman made a comment
From what I recall, the search for gold and riches was a primary goal in the exploration of the Americas, a desire to find "El Dorado." But there was also a desire to "convert" the inhabitants to Christianity, so along with the establishment of trading bases and colonies was the creation of missions.
There's an interesting and contested story of betrayal...
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Robert Herman replied to Robert Herman
@LeeScott I didn't know about the shelling on the coast - I knew about the impact of U-boats but thought that the direct attacks were limited to WWII. The visual images (stills and videos) in the course had quite an impact. Overall, I came away with a sense of sadness and loss.
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Robert Herman replied to Daniel Burnett
"[T]hey were compelled to exchange their silver and gold for merchandise of cloths and skins and other things" - seems like a "grab" for non-perishable capital, in part.
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Robert Herman replied to Andy Bryce
Precursors to Amazon and other web-based suppliers?
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Robert Herman made a comment
As "a weak kingdom of about one million people, with almost no reserves of silver and gold and only limited capacity for trade," Portuguese exploration seems based on the desire to find a way to supplant the established systems and routes of trade by creating a new sea-based one and, eventually, finding a way to exclusively control the supply of a valuable...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Being on the "margin" of the continent seems to have benefitted both Portugal and Spain. While they were occupied by the Caliphate, that was well prior to their "ages of exploration." Developing maritime technologies to allow further travel in rough conditions gave them a chance to seek resources and goods without relying on middlemen. Religion does seem to...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The Vikings seem to have established contentious settlements in Greenland and Vinland, but in Ireland, Scotland, and Britain, after initial periods of raids, they developed communities that eventually blended with the native populations. Was the Polynesian colonization from the European model different in not focusing on gain or spreading religion? Zheng He's...
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Robert Herman replied to Robert Herman
Absolutely. He knew where his "paycheck" was coming from!
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Robert Herman made a comment
Unfortunately, the "History Today" piece from which this article draws isn't available without a subscription. But from the excerpts & from Columbus' own journal, the Taíno seem to have a more developed view of the world & their place in it than given credit at the time ("they appear to have no religion" & "could be more easily converted to our holy faith by...
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Robert Herman made a comment
While Columbus's first stated objective was to serve his patrons by promoting "the Christian faith" & opposing "idolatry & heresy," it seems that the chance to "discover & acquire" numerous "islands and continents" over which he'd be "perpetual Viceroy & Governor," envisioned as an inheritable position is quite important to Columbus & his royal backers. Even...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The interactive map makes it much clearer how much contact Columbus had with different islands and locations during his travels in the Caribbean and Central and South America.
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Good question. The video gives some idea of why Columbus ended up seeking their patronage but not why they went with him, especially if his geographical theories were so far from what others believed.
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Portugal seems to have been one of the first "service" economies, facilitating (and controlling) trade rather than providing their own goods. It's interesting that their bases were called "factories"; we typically think of them as places of production, but "factors" were basically middle-men or agents.
Using the sea route around the Cape would certainly...
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Robert Herman made a comment
I was surprised by how neutrally the writer described the appearance of the people of Calecut. They are "naked down to the waist" (including the women); is he also suggesting that only the "most respectable" cover "their lower extremities" or that only they use "fine cotton stuffs"? There's little about the reactions they provoked, although he does indicate...
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Robert Herman made a comment
I had figured that transportation modes and maritime technology/design had a lot to do with the different ways empires expanded, whether over land routes or using ships designed for shorter voyages (heavily or lightly laden) as opposed to what the Portuguese developed with the combination of sails.
Since there were already routes from Asia to the Middle...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The article opens with two key premises: that goods brought from the Middle East and Asia had to be valuable enough to make transporting them worthwhile and that the trade routes were "high risk." Spices would be more portable than other valuable goods (gold, silver, etc), & the mystery surrounding some of them & the status associated with them (conspicuous...
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Robert Herman made a comment
From any maps and charts, one can learn about the priorities and assumptions of the "makers." The Genoese chart clearly marks bodies of water, potential travel routes, sites of castles and fortified cities, and some geographical and other natural features, as well as some details that identify the appearance of the people and some of the local fauna. While...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Many of the interactions between the explorers (Old World) and the New World were devastating, whether intentional or not, with the introduction of new diseases, which went both ways (smallpox, malaria, etc.), and the subjugation, enslavement, or eradication of existing, established populations. While the explorations were typically recorded in history as the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Deciding on the "biggest factor" in the "rise of European global trade and exploration" is a tough one. The impact of the Black Death in changing the foundations of societies, allowing for a less land-based economy and social structure is significant, since it led to the rise of new groups (precursors of the middle class) and the shift to a mercantile system...
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"Despite religious differences, Christian monarchs sought alliances with the Ottomans" - precisely because of the importance of Istanbul as a trade and travel nexus or hub as well as the defensibility of it that made it more practical to work with rather than against the Ottoman Empire? Yet religion does seem to play a role, in the Sunni and Shi'a divide...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Money seems to be at the heart of things, along with religious distrust and the wave of nationalism that attended the expulsion of the Moors from Granada. Many of the exiled groups faced further mistreatment, barred from some cities, tossed into the sea, enslaved, or banished further afield. The account notes that they were, in a short period of time, forced...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Is there a common theme between the Mongol and Moorish growth into Europe of over-expansion leading to fragmentation into smaller territories or states? Each seems to have hit a point (1031 and 1294 CE) where the peripheries couldn't be managed. Looking at the maps also suggests that their spread was dictated and limited by geography - both seem to have been...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Thinking about the phoenix metaphor mentioned below, I'm reminded of the ending of Ray Bradbury's novel, "Fahrenheit 451." Granger, one of a group of "rebels" who fight censorship and book burning by memorizing books to pass on to others, tells the main character, Montag, that the phoenix is "first cousin to man," getting "born all over again" after...
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One of the key impacts of the population loss due to the plague seems to be in shifting "wealth"/capital from land and agriculture to laborers themselves, animals, towns, mercantile goods, and artisan products. This took power away from the land-holding nobles, giving more agency to workers, commoners, artisans, and merchants and more importance to the towns....
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Boccaccio's account is fascinating; for a fictional/quasi-allegorical version (and a wonderful response to facing the absurdity of pandemic), try Camus' "The Plague." Dark and troubling, but with some moments of absurd humor and, in the end, a sense of how to maintain a sort of sanity amidst a disaster without a perceivable end, aside from death itself.
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Robert Herman made a comment
While it seems horrifying that the Mongol army used plague victims as biological weapons, considering how European explorers & settlers used smallpox & encouraged the consumption of alcohol, & WWI featured the use of devastating gas attacks, not to mention the direct and indirect impact of modern weapons (atomic and otherwise).
Boccaccio's narrative...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Inequality is definitely one of the main elements on which feudalism relied - everyone had a place, with little or no horizontal mobility. It seems that little capital accumulation or improvement was possible, aside from at the higher levels of society, but if the nobles and feudal landlords were reliant on the labor and taxes of the commoners (peasants and...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Polo, aware that his tales might not be believed, brings in "proof" by referencing the "written statement" of the "Queen of this Realm," to later be confirmed by his own experiences. This made me think of Sen. McCarthy's list of supposed State Department infiltrators - "I have here in my hand a list . . ."
Polo comments a lot on the infrastructure and the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The spread of Mongol influence is amazing; the time-lapse map of expansion shows how rapid it was. Interesting to see how the southern Himalayan barrier wasn't overcome; later European-based expansion used the sea routes.
The comment that "Mongols were not a producer empire. Rather, they were an extraction empire," using trade & taxation for support, was...
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Robert Herman made a comment
China, India, the Middle East, and Europe all were impacted by "location," the ability to centralize, access to resources, and religious and ethnic concerns. China's organized system of transportation and administration, and the range of resources, allowed for economic success without the need for extensive industrialization; India's fragmentation due to...
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Robert Herman replied to Marco Bertolini
Consider that modern Germany and Italy didn't exist until the 19th century, and France, with regions shifting into and out of English control, also has had strong regional identities.
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Robert Herman made a comment
It's interesting that Dr. Davis links damaging and destructive events (the Mongol conquests and introduction of plague, the fall of Constantinople) to the rise of European power. As per Nietzsche, "Out of life’s school of war—what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger." I had read that the plague allowed for increased wages (since there was a labor shortage,...
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Robert Herman made a comment
I am a (currently and recently) retired English teacher who has spent a lot of time looking at the history, culture, and literature of Ireland as a graduate student, so the topic of "empire" is important; the recent story of Ireland revolves around its relationship to Britain and its attempts to gain or restore its own narrative.
I liked the comments in the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
I've taken a few of the Future Learn courses and have found that it's hard to look through all the responses in sessions that aren't "current" (there can be years of posts), but in general there's always something to learn from the online community as well as from the leaders and materials.
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Robert Herman made a comment
I'm Rob, from New Jersey, in the U.S.
The three "Gs" come to mind when I think about explorations and empire: Gold, God, and Glory.
I just finished the course on WWI ("WW1: Trauma, Memory, and Controversy"), which centered on the impact of imperialism on European and global politics and on the different groups involved - military, politicians, and...
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Robert Herman made a comment
A few posts have wondered why a conflict from over a century ago still provokes debates and discussions. What's clear is that "the war to end all wars" didn't live up to the name, since so many have drawn parallels to subsequent conflicts, but examining it can help put contemporary conflicts into context. Maybe history can't help but repeat itself, but...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Röhl's comments are valid but seem narrow, to me. Clark's first audio clip introduces factors that may have contributed to an atmosphere of aggression, but the evidence he gives in the second clip seems aimed more at Röhl himself rather than the issue at hand. This is an interesting point, though, that evidence will be filtered through the lens of the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Röhl focuses on German plans for aggressive action; Clark considers the circumstances that brought German to these plans. If the assassination triggered the wider conflict, providing the spark that some of the German leaders wanted, to stick with that metaphor, there had to be enough fuel for that spark to ignite a fire that would spread.
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Robert Herman made a comment
The plan and possibilities discussed in the 1912 meeting clearly show an intent to take aggressive action at some point in time, and the 1914 September Programme's outline shows that not only the military but the politicians had a large conflict in mind. However, Röhl's view as presented here is focused on German thinking alone and doesn't consider the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Interesting comment about, given patience, Germany could have been a leader due to economic power, not military gain. Röhl puts German aggression as the primary cause but casually glances at the roles other powers played in the escalation. I'm interested to hear the "evidence" in the next step.
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Robert Herman made a comment
I'd be interested to know if Fischer and/or Clark developed their theses with the discovery or release of information that had been neglected or not known/hidden. Sometimes documents shed new light on the past that leads to a new perspective. The effects of time and the impact of ensuing events changes how we see things. At the end of WWI, the harsh terms put...
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Having read this article, it seems that the previous one "buried the lede" a bit (or encouraged us to think beyond the information given and wonder what wasn't being revealed yet). Ritter's "anxiety," it seems, is more about the impact of collective guilt; I wasn't thinking of the historical context of Fischer's publication (Eichmann's trial, the physical...
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The article identifies Ritter as a critic, but the comment cited seems to show his realization that Fischer was onto something. Is his "melancholy" and "anxiety" related to a fear that, if Fischer was right, Germany had a pattern of "aggressive foreign policy aims" and might continue them in the future?
We don't have any information on Ritter's thoughts...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Lloyd George's explanation makes sense, that "the alliance system, the secret diplomacy of the late nineteenth century and imperial rivalries were responsible for causing the war" (as paraphrased). While NATO today is, in theory, a defensive alliance that deters actions against member states (by other members or actors outside the organization), the alliances...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The terms seem aimed at "defanging" what was perceived as a newish nation with connections to the Prussian military tradition. Removing much of the military power took away identity and also left Germany as a secondary state, without the means to really defend itself, let alone "compete" with others; the "secret" rearmament should not have been surprising. The...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Why was the Armistice so traumatic? The expectations didn't meet the reality (demilitarization and occupation), and the relatively new "national identity" was challenged. Germany as a republic lacked the pride and power of the empire and later became the scapegoat for the problems in the interwar period.
Interesting that 9 November resonated across time...
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Robert Herman made a comment
As many have commented, the fact that "civilian politicians" signed the armistice agreement led, in the long run, for seismic changes to oust those associated with weakness and betrayal. Are there echoes in the call to "Make America Great" again and to remove the obstacles who stand in the way, whether through fair elections or attempting to change the outcome...
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Robert Herman made a comment
A few themes recur in the posters - the "defensive" nature of the war, the imminent danger (making the Atlantic Ocean in "Destroy This Mad Brute" seem like simply a river or lake, a short hop from Europe to North America), the call to one's honor (personal or national), masculinity, the demonization or "othering" of the opponent, the strong defending the weak....
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Robert Herman made a comment
The complications of the entente has a parallel in the discussions about the war in Ukraine today. Ukraine wants to be a part of NATO now, which would trigger a direct response by member states against Russia. But many of the NATO members, while supporting Ukraine in different ways, want to avoid a "hot" war that could lead to a nuclear response by Russia. And...
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Robert Herman made a comment
As I noted in the previous step, I'd always been taught that the assassination triggered the aggressions that had been simmering among newer and older "empires" to see who would be the controlling power in Europe and wider circles. Alliances drew the bigger powers into regional conflicts (Britain supporting Belgium, for example, and the Austro-Hungarian...
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Robert Herman made a comment
I'd been taught early on that the assassination was the spark but that the origins (the "tinder") lay in the German desire for expansion and to reclaim
Alsace–Lorraine, as well as the tensions between the older, more established empires and the newer ones.
However, I know it's more complicated than that! -
Robert Herman made a comment
I'm looking forward to considering the origins of WWI, whether it "was futile" or "fought for the wrong reasons." Wilson, addressing Congress in 1918, pointed out that among the key reasons for engaging in the war was for the rights of small nations: "National aspirations must be respected; peoples may now be dominated and governed only by their own consent....
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Robert Herman made a comment
Winters makes the point that the term "shell shock" has become a "metaphor for the devastating effects of the war as a whole" but refers to "the stress soldiers face on the field of battle" - a "wonderful English" phrase of "two syllables"; the alliteration helps it stick in the mind. But the broader term, PTSD, seems to capture the impact of war more...
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Robert Herman made a comment
"Unlike labels such as shell shock, the term was not purely limited to trauma resulting from combat, and was applied in a wide variety of contexts." PTSD has also moved beyond war itself; research has shown the effects of growing up in certain environments, traumatic experiences, or major events (like 9/11, natural disasters) that lead to lasting psychological...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Reid notes that shell shock was "something that affected young, elite males. And so the story of their war became everyone’s story, because class prejudice is so entrenched in Britain." Was the willingness of those involved in the war from upper-class backgrounds to write about the war and the traumatic experiences they faced make it more accepted as a problem...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Hard to evaluate emotional and psychological effects of war in comparison to seeing physical wounds and damage, so it's not surprising that the determination of eligibility for pensions would be an issue.
The nature of combat seems to be an important factor in how soldiers and others respond; a few mentioned in posts that the direct threats posed by Axis...
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Interesting that the term was discontinued in "official language" in 1922, although it obviously persisted elsewhere or took other forms that still weren't precise (having the "thousand-yard stare," being identified as "nervous in the service"). Is calling it "war neurosis" much better? A very telling comment about the "popularity" of the term - it's mnemonic...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Interesting comments by Pat Barker about her reasons for focusing on WWI. The personal connection makes sense - her point about being a small child "confronted with . . . a wound, and silence" is a poignant reminder of the war experience for many and the trouble those at home would have to understand it. Her reason for choosing WWI is a little odd, though -...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Bostridge makes the point that, "since the 60s, schoolchildren have been taught about the First World War largely through the prism of poetry. And it isn’t just the poetry, it’s the prose literature which started coming out at the end of the 20s which also portrays a very disillusioned view of the war." What I've encountered in the U.S. is a move to introduce...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Sassoon juxtaposes common sentiments about the "survivors" with the darker reality, linking the two with his punctuation (mainly semi-colons). It creates an ironic tone that, while describing the "survivors" also characterizes and criticizes those who are so sure of themselves and their opinions ("No doubt," "Of course"). He adds to this contrast by describing...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The British Library's collection of related documents (from the link above) is interesting. Sassoon's letter to his uncle reflects his understanding of how his protest would be received ("I am very sorry if I have caused you worry and annoyance") and that the official response was to dismiss his comments as a result of war trauma ("I hope you won't join the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Chilling image of Kollwitz' sculptures - the "coldness" of the medium reinforced by the body language of the grieving parents. Yet they are solidly fixed to the pedestals - defined and fixed forever by their grief?
Seeing these sculptures brought to mind Boris Saktsier's "Korczak and the Ghetto's Children," in Yad Vashem.
Most of the different works...
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Robert Herman made a comment
C.S. Lewis, who experienced WWI as an officer, wrote insightful reflections on the loss of his wife, Joy, that were collected as "A Grief Observed." Initially published under a different name, it served to process his feelings and come to terms with his loss. Tim O'Brien's novel "The Things They Carried," on the surface a book about the experiences of American...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Reading over the comments, I think I have a task ahead of me - to find out more about Vera Brittain!
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Robert Herman made a comment
The "article" notes that "To console themselves, [the families of those lost in the war] often sought to attribute meaning to the deaths of their loved ones. The notion that the dead had died for a valid cause offered solace for many" but often wasn't enough. How great an impact did the sentiment felt early in the war that it'd be over in a few weeks or months...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Navigating through some of the links provided on the "pinned" post, I found the site "12 Paintings Of Life Along The Western Front," from the Imperial War Museum and was surprised to see two images from John Singer Sargent - "Crashed Aeroplane" (which echoes some of the French Impressionists) and "A Street in Arras," showing a devastated building and a group...
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Robert Herman made a comment
As with Sheena R below, I probably am more familiar with the representations in poetry, prose (fiction and non-fiction) and not so with the visual arts, although I found Frank McGuinness's "Observe the Sons of Ulster" a powerful examination of the Battle of the Somme (in the moment and in its aftereffects).
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Robert Herman made a comment
Germany, in addition to the losses due to war and influenza, had to deal with the crippling effects of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Other nations had a temporary economic bounce-back, but by the end of the next decade came the Great Depression.
As with the first week, another set of interesting and varied "steps" as well as great contributions...
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Imagine, too, the families who were thrilled to have loved ones return from the war only to bring the virus with them.
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Robert Herman made a comment
An interesting detail about goods being sent from the war back home - typically I think of "care packages" from families to their husbands, brothers and fathers.
Thanks to Alyson Kelman for the links - some interesting information and images.
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Robert Herman made a comment
A side note - at the time of the Great Famine that so greatly changed Irish life, some who relied on potatoes ate over a dozen pounds a day. Different recipies (often involving buttermilk), but not a whole lot of variety. There's an amusing episode in the "Irish History Podcast" in which the host tries to adhere to a "potato diet" as some would have in the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The estimated number of Germans who died of hunger and the after effects of malnutrition in the subsequent influenza outbreak is new to me, but the use of blockades, naval or land-based, is nothing new. Castles and towns were routinely "starved out" by opponents, and Boston in particular suffered from the British blockade during the American Revolution. What's...
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Robert Herman made a comment
In the video from the British Library, there is a postcard image depicting two German soldiers with slaughtered "Red Cross dogs," which Professor Fox contrast with an image of a British soldier caring for a billy goat. She notes that this emphasizes how the Germans are supposed to be "cruel" and the British compassionate. But the German soldiers are also...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The first poster is interesting, with the central figure a woman standing proud and holding her head high. Behind her in the picture are a priest and a woman with "uncertain" and anxious body language, with a crucifix above them to their right. Christ's face, as is typical, is turned down and away, but the effect is that he and the others seem unable or...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Civilians have been targets in war for ages, whether directly or indirectly (burning crops, "salting" fields, destroying water sources, demolishing buildings). However, "modern" society sees itself as more humane and removed from the horrors of war. The increase in media access also makes the impact on the civilian population more well known. It's harder to...
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Robert Herman made a comment
Jeremy Paxman notes that the attack was the "first major" one on Britain "since 1066," and the Hansard report from the centenary of the event notes that Private Theophilus Jones "was the first soldier to be killed on British soil in warfare since the battle of Culloden in 1746." A feeling of relative island security would have been shattered by the naval...
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Robert Herman made a comment
There is an interesting contrast between the comment by Dee Beech, that there was a "we’ll just carry on and we’ll get through this" attitude in the school log, one typically associated with the bombings during WWII, and the message of the "Times" article, that the East End showed an "overpowering sympathy" for the mourners.
The article's comments about...
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Robert Herman made a comment
The image of the execution of the "notables de Blégny" is interesting in the composition of the men facing the firing squad. One is looking down & away, but facing the rifles; the second from the left seems to be looking directly at the guns, arms in almost a casual pose; and the third is turned away to face the wall. Is the man on the right a priest? It's...
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@JamieB With the decline and fragmentation of the British Empire, a lot of unsavory tactics were used as the colonial power sought to maintain control, not just after WWII or even during the expansion period.
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Robert Herman made a comment
The image is disturbing for a number of reasons. The systematic approach to the executions - echoes of crucifixion and the time it would have taken to set up such a scene. A few comments mentioned what has happened in some of the sites in Ukraine, but this image (albeit only one) seems to reflect a message being sent. I wonder what the context is.
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Robert Herman made a comment
Thank you for giving the links to the images from the Nationaal Archief. Some amazing and disturbing views of the war, at home and in the field. While there are some moments of levity (or at least pause), they are all generally grim.
The image from the Imperial War Museums was disturbing, too, but even more so when looking at the...
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Robert Herman made a comment
An interesting and troubling overview of the trauma of war. The combination of statistics, video, and written accounts is effective.
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Robert Herman made a comment
Groch-Begley's article in "The Atlantic" compares "shell shock" to "air raid shock" in detailing the case of Elizabeth Huntley's trial for killing her daughter. So while women may have had proximity to the front and the results of battle through serving as nurses and ambulance drivers, war's impact extends beyond the battlefield (or the battlefield, given the...