Explaining History

Latest Episodes:

The continuity of Italian fascism post 1945 Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

In the aftermath of the Second World War, a centre right Christian Democratic Party emerged and by 1947 the Communist Party of Italy had been expelled from its coalition. The far right was able to reinvent itself in the Italian south, but were much diminished by the end of the 1940s.

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Betrayal, collapse and the fall of Burma 1942 Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

When the poorly defended British colony of Burma was attacked by Japan in December 1941 it quickly collapsed. For many Burmese, it was a moment of opportunity and for the British a desperate bid for escape and survival. Racial colonial attitudes soon showed themselves as the million Indians who had served the British in Burma were abandoned by their colonial masters and at least 50,000 died as they walked across the Burmese jungle to the Indian border.

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Mao and the invention of China's landlords Dec 04, 2019

Show notes

In order to rule China, Mao knew he needed to dominate the peasantry. In order to do this he divided Chinese peasant villages, creating new social classes in an otherwise socially conservative world that had little experience of such concepts. Mao created a landlord and poor peasant class and gave the latter free reign to terrorise the former (and in many cases educated them to do so). The result was rural anarchy, which only benefitted the Communist Party.

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Nationalisation in Britain after 1945 Nov 19, 2019

Show notes

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the new Labour government nationalised Britain's utilities, rail but most importantly its vast coal industry, creating more state employees of a national industry than anywhere else in the industrialised world. The decision to own the once mighty coal industry was part based in Labour's founding traditions but also in a shift towards economic and industrial nationalism that was emerging across the post war world.

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Family Life in Stalinist Russia 1928-41 Nov 13, 2019

Show notes

During the 1930s, the pressures on families in the USSR was immense. Men, women and children faced extreme economic hardship and political uncertainty, which in some cases had the effect of making families more cohesive and intimate, and in others tore families apart.

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Britain's Class System in the 1930s Nov 11, 2019

Show notes

During the 1930s, social class in Great Britain was experiencing a gradual transition away from the dominance that the landed aristocracy had enjoyed during the 19th Century. Instead, a new bourgeoisie was emerging, divided between an upper and lower middle class with different expectations and experiences, but similar political loyalties.

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Nazi Propaganda and Radio Broadcasting Nov 04, 2019

Show notes

Even before 1933, the Nazis were aware that radio offered then unprecedented opportunities to shape public thought. However, the use of radio did not quite have the power to create the type of existential and cultural revolution that Goebbels and Hitler had envisaged.

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US anti communism and the Republican Party 1945-50 (Part One) Oct 18, 2019

Show notes

This is the first of a series of podcasts on the development of anti communism in the 1940s in the USA and the role that the Republican Party played. By 1945 a fear of communism and also the suspicion that the Democrats had been too easy on communists led to the development of deep changes in the public perception of communism and fears that communists might be operating in the USA.

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The Roots of German and Italian Fascism Oct 14, 2019

Show notes

This podcast is a continuation of a series on the origins of fascism and it examines the development of fascist ideas in interwar Italy and Germany.

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German Bombing Raids on London and Paris 1917-18 Oct 07, 2019

Show notes

Strategic bombing of the enemy's home front began in earnest in the second half of the First World War, with London facing a near collapse of its air defences in early 1918. This podcast focuses on the development of German strategic bombing and the British and French anti aircraft responses.

Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.

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