Tag Archives: Hitler

This week in the War, 9–15 September 1940: Luftwaffe bombs Buckingham Palace

This week in the war saw the bombing of Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth (mother of the current queen) famously remarked that she was glad it happened because she would be able to “look the East End in the face.” (The … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 19–25 August 1940: Stalin settles a score

On the evening of 20 August 1940, the same day that Winston Churchill made his historic ‘Never in the field of human conflict…’ speech before the British House of Commons, a man armed with an ice pick entered a house … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 12–18 August 1940: Eagle Day

Like every boy who grew up in England, not too long after the war, I loved to read the boys comics: Beano, Dandy, Hotspur. Particulary Lion. The latter featured the weekly adventures of make-believe World War II RAF pilot, Paddy … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 29 July–4 August 1940: Invasion 1940

This week in the war, on 31 July 1940, Hitler called a meeting of senior naval officers. He decided that the success of his proposed cross-Channel invasion of Britain, Operation Sealion, would depend upon Germany winning the air war over England—what would … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 15–21 July: An end to the war?

The war could have ended this week. It would have been a different end, with Hitler and Churchill, if not exactly shaking hands, at least agreeing to quit fighting and go their separate ways. Britain would keep its Empire, Germany … Continue reading

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In the news: Queen Elizabeth unveils Bomber Command memorial, 28 June 2012

A few days ago, and 67 years after the most devastating war in history, the Queen unveiled a new monument on the edge of Green Park in central London. The larger-than-life sculpture features the WWII airmen of Britain’s Bomber Command. … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 17–23 June 1940: Two tourists in Paris

Most visitors to Paris love the city—and I’m no exception; I adore it—and most come in July or August. It’s the time of year when Parisians flee to the countryside, abandoning their parks and boulevards to hordes of tourists. Paris … Continue reading

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In the news: Ghosts of Olympics past

With this year’s London Olympics fast approaching, the topic of previous Olympic Games has garnered much attention in UK newspapers. An article in yesterday’s Guardian by Alex von Tunzelmann focussed on the Berlin Olympics of 1936 and the movie Olympia, … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 13–19 May 1940: German breakthrough at Sedan

This week in the war, with their invasion of the Low Countries well under way, German forces attacked the town of Sedan in the Ardennes region of France. Responsibility for the attack fell to Panzer Group Kleist (named for its … Continue reading

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In the news: Romanino’s Christ

The Italian Renaissance masterpiece, Christ Carrying a Cross Dragged by a Rogue, painted by Girolamo Romanino, was seized by US officials while on tour in Tallahassee and, as reported in the British newspaper The Telegraph (19 April 2012), returned to the … Continue reading

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