world war 2 Archives - Page 2 of 3

World War Speed – The Drugs that Won WWII

Uncategorized / 2 minutes of reading / January 17, 2021 / By HDclump

World War Speed – The Drugs that Won WWII: It’s long been known that German soldiers used a methamphetamine, called Pervitin, during WWII. But have tales of Nazis on speed obscured the massive use of stimulants by British and American troops? Did total war unleash the world’s first pharmacological arms race? And in the face of industrial slaughter, what role did drugs play in combat? Historian James Holland is on a quest to dig deeper and unearth the truth behind World War Speed. Amphetamine, discovered before methamphetamine, was first synthesized in 1887 in Germany by Romanian chemist Lazăr […]

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Berlin 1945 episode 3

History / 2 minutes of reading / November 23, 2020 / By HDclump

Berlin 1945 episode 3: The British, French and Americans are waiting to enter Berlin. In the meantime, the Soviets appoint mayors, organise the food supply and go on the hunt for war criminals. The Jewish community, among whom there are few survivors, regroup. The fate of the city is determined at the Potsdam Conference. Life returns to the ruins, theatres reopen and orchestras play in the open air. By the end of 1945, the bond that held the Allies together is torn apart – and the Cold War begins. Berlin 1945 episode 3 Berlin is the

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Berlin 1945 episode 2

History / 2 minutes of reading / November 21, 2020 / By HDclump

Berlin 1945 episode 2: On 30 April, the Red Flag flies over the Reichstag. National Socialism is finally beaten, along with Germany and Berlin. But for many, the fall of Nazism spells liberation rather than defeat. The Battle for Berlin has begun. Step by step, the soon-to-be victorious powers advance. On 30 April, the Red Flag flies over the Reichstag and Adolf Hitler takes his own life. Another seven days pass before the Wehrmacht disassembles. National Socialism is finally beaten, along with Germany and Berlin. But for many, the fall of Nazism spells liberation rather than defeat.

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Berlin 1945 episode 1

History / 3 minutes of reading / November 19, 2020 / By HDclump

Berlin 1945 episode 1: Journey back in time to Berlin’s most fateful year – 1945 – through the eyes and voices of those who experienced it – ordinary German people and the Allies who entered the city. At the beginning of 1945, Berlin remains under the spell of the Nazi promise of salvation, an illusion at odds with the city’s daily reality. Every day there are bombing attacks, fires to be extinguished and corpses to be buried. Life goes on as the front lines of the war close in each day. Death comes for men, women, the old,

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Hitler’s Steel Beast

History / 2 minutes of reading / December 10, 2019 / By HDclump

Hitler’s Steel Beast: At the end of the 1930s, Hitler ordered the construction of a special train, under the code name “Amerika”, that could transport him around safely and appease his growing paranoia. Hitler had a few iconic pieces of transportation, from a famous Mercedes to the SSS Horst Wessel sailing vessel, but his headquarters train was one of the most famous during the war. Hitler’s Steel Beast Nazi soldiers would march along routes ahead of the train to make sure no one was lying in wait for it, and there were multiple decoy trains

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1000 Days of Fear : The Deadly Race at Los Alamos

History / 3 minutes of reading / October 11, 2019 / By HDclump

The Deadly Race at Los Alamos: the triumphs and failures of the men and women who created the world’s first atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. This the story of the men and women who worked on a research and development project that produced the first nuclear weapons during the Second World War with First-hand accounts from the men and women who worked on the Manhattan Project and developed the atomic bomb at Los Alamos during the Second World War. The Deadly Race at Los Alamos Part 1: Day 1 to 572 Los Alamos

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The Winter War of Finland and Russia

History / 2 minutes of reading / September 25, 2019 / By HDclump

The Winter War of Finland and Russia: In November 1939, when Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union, no one expected that this tiny nation could resist the largest military force in the world. And no one anticipated that 1939 would be one of the coldest winters in recorded history, what historians have called a frozen hell. Filmed on the old battlefields in Finland and Russia, Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia dramatically depicts the intensity of the warfront and the homefront. Outnumbered and outgunned, Finns knew this war was not about changing the

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The Invasion – The Outbreak of World War II

History / 2 minutes of reading / August 7, 2019 / By HDclump

The Invasion – The Outbreak of World War II: On 1 September 1939, Hitler started the most fatal war in world history. With the invasion of Poland, he did not only aim at destroying the military force of the neighboring country but also at depriving its people of their livelihood. The German-Polish two-part series reconstructs how the Fuhrer triggered a chain of events sparking a global conflagration. It also includes selected interviews with Roman Polanski and Andrzej Wajda who witnessed the attack, when they were children. The Invasion – The Outbreak of World War II – Part 1: The

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The Pacific War in Color episode 8

History / 2 minutes of reading / August 1, 2019 / By HDclump

The Pacific War in Color episode 8: By the summer of 1945, the Allies are reducing Japan to ashes, but there’s no sign of surrender. While a ground invasion seems imminent, a casualty estimate of U.S. soldiers in the hundreds of thousands leads President Truman to a decision that will not only end the war, but forever change the course of warfare. Color combat footage and witness accounts of the atomic bombings provide rare insights into the final days of the Pacific War. The Pacific War was unlike any military conflict before it in terms of its scale,

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The Pacific War in Color episode 7

History / 2 minutes of reading / July 31, 2019 / By HDclump

The Pacific War in Color episode 7: The Allies celebrate the end of the war in Europe, but the Pacific War rages on. Okinawa, the last stop in the island-hopping campaign to the Japanese mainland, is absolute havoc, with Japan sending an unprecedented wave of kamikaze attacks to destroy Allied warships. Meanwhile, Australians liberate Indonesians from three years of oppressive Japanese occupation in Borneo. Witness the final battles of the Second World War, captured with rare behind the scenes film and color combat footage. The Pacific War in Color episode 7 The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation

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The Pacific War in Color episode 6

History / 2 minutes of reading / July 29, 2019 / By HDclump

The Pacific War in Color episode 6: Japan feels the pressure coming from all fronts in 1945–ships from the sea, boots on the ground, and fire from the sky. The Japanese Empire has been weakened, but there is no sign of surrender. Through rarely seen color combat footage and frontline stories, witness the American invasions of Peleliu, the Philippines, and Iwo Jima, in addition to the war’s first organized kamikaze attacks and the deadly raid on Tokyo. The Pacific War in Color episode 6 The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the United States

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The Pacific War in Color episode 5

History / 2 minutes of reading / July 24, 2019 / By HDclump

The Pacific War in Color episode 5: By the summer of 1944, America increasingly controlled the seas and skies of the Pacific, but the fighting on land remained bloody and brutal. As U.S. forces battled for two islands at once, Japan used ingenious dug-in bunkers and caves to make them pay for every inch of ground. Discover America’s strategic and personal motivations behind their simultaneous invasions of Tinian and Guam and witness their far less successful plan to strike Japan from India and China with the new, troubled aircraft, the B-29. The Pacific War in Color episode

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