Author: WarScholar

WWII and Vichy France history book – “Deposition 1940-1944” (Oxford University Press, 2018) – David Ball interview

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David Ball has studied the French language and French life for many years and has taught it as a Professor. We talk about the book he recently translated, a memoir by Jewish Frenchman and acclaimed author Leon Werth about his life hiding in occupied France.

1:04 – David Ball talks about how he got into translating French and translating this work.

4:11 – David talks about he edited a 700 page diary down to elements English readers would be interested in. He focuses on daily life in Vichy France.

6:00 – David compares this work to a memoir titled “The Dark Years.”

8:40 – David talks about participation in the French Resistance.

10:32 – David talks about how Leon Werth ended up in the village in which he was hiding.

14:20 – David talks about leon’s attitudes towards the crushing defeat in 1940.

18:54 – David talks about the language used in the diary and how he translated it.

23:45 – David talks about what kind of man Leon Werth was.

31:05 – David talks about Leon’s experiences and writings in WWI.

32:24 – David talks about how Leon recorded the Battle of Stalingrad.

39:03 – David talks about how Leon was worried about Hitler’s New World Order. He was also worried about a post-war civil war in France.

46:54 – David talks about Leon’s early awareness of the existence of the concentration camps.

58:13 – David talks about the passages on the liberation of Paris and reads them. The Germans and the Vichy government called the Resistance fighters terrorists.

Links of interest

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/deposition-1940-1944-9780190499549?cc=us&lang=en&

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/diary-of-the-dark-years-1940-1944-9780199970865?cc=us&lang=en&

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar

Guests: David Ball

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, leon Werth, Vichy France, Occupied France, Germany, WWII, World War 2, de Gaulle, concentration camps, Liberation of Paris

How Soviet Russia prepared for WWII with Mark Harrison

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The Industrialization of Soviet Russia

How Soviet Russia prepared for WWII with Mark Harrison

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3eIEmvT

Interview Timeline

Mark Harrison has been a historian studying the Soviet Union and the Soviet economy for many decades. We talked about his latest project, a book about the Soviet economy just prior to WWII which he co-authored. The Industrialization of Soviet Russia Volume 7 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018)

0:51 – Mark talks about how he got into studying Soviet history and its economic history and how it pertains to WWII.

3:07 – Mark talks about how the book breaks down the subject and its place in a book series on Soviet history.

10:45 – Mark talks about how few people in the Soviet system wanted to make final decisions.

13:43 – Mark talks about how much control the central authority had over outlying areas of the Soviet Union.

18:45 – Mark talks about how a good harvest in the Soviet Union at this time hurt Stalin’s plans.

21:07 – Mark talks about how the Politburo decided how many armaments to make.

26:15 – Mark talks about how the Soviets were planning for massive future war. Stalin was also very worried about the fifth column and the “unconscious” enemy.

30:09 – Mark talks about Soviet strategy for future war.

34:05 – Mark talks about allied support to the Soviet Union and what the Soviets had expected.

39:15 – Mark talks about the various archives used for the research.

44:09 – Mark talks about Soviet and German record keeping and differences between Hitler’s and Stalin’s leadership styles.

49:18 – Mark talks about the Lithuanian KGB and archives about it.

53:29 – Mark talks about jet propulsion in the 1930s.

1:09:35 – Mark can be found by googling “Mark Harrison Warwick”. He also has a blog which can be found by googling the previous phrase and adding the word “blog.”

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3eIEmvT

Book’s home page – www.palgrave.com/9781137362377

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar

Guests: Mark Harrison

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, Soviet Union, Germany, KGB, purges, agriculture, industrialization, WWII, world war two, Stalin, Hitler, Politburo, strategy

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3eIEmvT

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Roman Empire civil wars history book – “Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire” (Oxford University Press, 2018) – Adrastos Omissi interview

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Dr. Adrastos Omissi is a lecturer in Latin literature and his specialty is the later Roman Empire. We spoke about his latest book on panegyrics associated with the Roman civil wars of the Later Roman Empire.

0:52 – Adrastos talks about how he got into studying the history of the Roman Empire.

2:17 – Adrastos talks about the book and the later Roman Empire and the civil wars.

6:02 – Adrastos talks about how bureaucratic Rome was.

8:11 – Adrastos talks about how Roman civil wars commonly began.

13:57 – Adrastos talks about how would-be usurpers put together their forces.

19:49 – Adrastos discusses ideas on how religion affected the civil wars.

22:17 – Adrastos discusses the economic aspects of the civil wars. He makes an interesting point on Roman strategy and the focus of the Roman military.

26:35 – Adrastos talks about the resources he used for the book.

33:34 – Adrastos talks about British museums that have collections dealing with the Roman civil wars.

37:02 – Adrastos talks about the most alarming thing he learned while doing his research.

41:14 – Adrastos talks about the style pf the panegyrics he studied.

44:00 – Adrastos touches on St. Augustine’s writing.

47:55 – Adrastos talks about whether these panegyrics provide any military information.

57:07 – Adrastos can be found on twitter @adrastosomissi

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar

Links of interest

https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/staff/adrastosomissi/

Guests: Adrastos Omissi

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, ancient rome, roman empire, civil wars, Diocletian, Roman emperors, barbarians, Roman army, St. Augustine