Hirsch's "Soviet Judgment at Nuremberg" at WHS

The next meeting of the Washington History Seminar will be devoted to Francine Hirsch, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her book, Soviet Judgment at Nuremberg: A New History of the International Military Tribunal After World War II.  It will be held on Thursday, November 12 at 4:00 pm ET. ...

Read More

Poland, Nazis, and World War II

I was forwarded this article in NPR talking about how the government of Poland is poised to pass a law making it a criminal offense to claim "...Poland was complicit in the Nazi atrocities committed on Polish soil during World War II."  First allow me to say that I am not a fan of any law that...

Read More

No Amelia Earhart was not a prisoner of the Japanese

The MagicsThis is one of those moments that makes me, as an amateur historian cry inside, because stories like this grow legs and go racing along the digital byways of the 21st century.  The above photograph is being held up as "potential proof" that Amelia Earhart, rather than dying during her...

Read More

1920 National Defense Act, Tank Developments, and World War II (Why U.S. WW II tanks kind of sucked)

One of the unusual stories from the interwar period (1919 - 1941 for the United States) is the passing of the National Defense Act of 1920.  Sponsored by Julius Kahn this piece of legislation reorganized the United States Army and modified the rules on procurement and acquisitions, aiming to decentralize...

Read More

The Japanese Oil Embargo - History and Ambiguity of Sources

It is always a bit of a thrill to read an article that covers a facet of the 1930s or 1940s which I'm not aware of, which made this Salon article on the 1941 United States oil embargo against Japan fascinating.  To summarize for those unfamiliar with it, in 1941 before the Pearl Harbor attack United...

Read More

World War II and STDs - the United States government versus "Loose Women"

The United States was involved in World War II from December 1941 through August 1945, with United States fighting forces engaged in conflicts in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe.  The United States though began expanding its military forces in 1940 with a new Selective Service Act and naval...

Read More

Why was the United States unable to avoid entering a Cold War with the Soviet Union?

The Cold War was mainly a conflict for world supremacy. After the World War II, only two world superpowers stood up, each with its own political and economical ideology, and strategic interest, and a conflict between them was unavoidable. This competition was the fuel of the Cold War and since none of the parts was willing to give up and take defeat, the conflict lasted as long as the two superpowers...

Read More

Do you think WWI could have been prevented?

Although almost a century passed since the First World War, some historians are still wondering if the conflict could have been prevented. When the war erupted in 1914 nothing could have prevented the world conflagration. If there was ever a moment prevention was possible it would have been in the 19th century. The dawn of the 20th century dragged with it unresolved problems from the previous century....

Read More

Bad History – Malmedy Massacre

To fully appreciate this entry you first will need to travel to You Tube and watch a preserved clip of a broadcast by Keith Olbermann in which he dresses down Bill O’Reilly for his attributing the events of the Malmedy Massacre to the United States Army, rather then to the German SS.  Overall the commentary of both men has aspects that are correct, Keith Olbermann is correct in asserting...

Read More

World War II Collection

Visit http://go.footnote.com/wwii/ and view the largest interactive WWII collection on the Internet. The Collection is a collaborative effort between the National Archives Administration and footnote.com. It includes an interactive version of the USS Arizona Memorial, WWII Hero Pages and WWII photos...

Read More