The History of the Twentieth Century

Latest Episodes:

109: I Am Ordering You to Die Mar 18, 2018

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In early 1915, with the Western Front in a stalemate, Winston Churchill becomes the leading voice behind a plan to do an end run around the Germans and knock the Turks out of the war.

108 This Isn't War! Mar 11, 2018

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In the spring of 1915, just before the sinking of Lusitania and in international women's conference aimed at ending the war through private diplomacy, Germany uses poison gas on the Western Front.

107 Too Proud to Fight Mar 04, 2018

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The sinking of Lusitania and the deaths of 128 Americans was a shock. While there was little support in the US for war against Germany, there was a strong feeling that *some* kind of response was necessary. It was up to Woodrow Wilson to figure out what that would be.

106 Breaking the Blockade Feb 18, 2018

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Germany searches for a way to break the British blockade; Britain looks for a decisive battle.

105 The Action of a Lunatic Feb 11, 2018

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In 1914, Germany and Britain held adjacent colonial territories in East Africa. When the Great War began, Britain attempted to seize German East Africa.

104 The Birth of a Nation Feb 04, 2018

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Another look at race relations in the USA. The formation of the NAACP and the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League and the re-founding of the Ku Klux Klan. And the release of D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation."

103 Colonialism without Bloodshed Jan 21, 2018

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Germany claimed Southwest Africa as a colony in 1884. This episode reviews the history of the colony through the Great War, when it was seized by South Africa.

102 They Showed Us the Way Jan 14, 2018

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In 1914, the war in the West ground down to a stalemate. There seemed no sign that 1915 would be any different. Allied commanders experimented with new tactics to deal with this new warfare.

101 Strike a Blow Somewhere Jan 07, 2018

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The beginning of 1915 sees the Central Powers under something like a giant siege. What can be done to break out?

100 These Desert Places of the Earth Dec 17, 2017

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The Great War was by no means restricted to Europe. In this episode, we begin an occasional series examining the war in Africa.