Archive for the ‘History’ Category
Remembering Hans Litten
August 31st, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I think I know a fair bit about the Second World War and then I discover something I never knew. Recently it was the story of Hans Litten, a German lawyer who defended victims of Nazism in the courts in the late 1920s and early 1930s, who has just been the subject of a both […]
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How political shifts have altered the map of Europe
July 30th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
With 21 European Union member states now under varying degrees of right-wing government, Europe has never been more blue. To see how its political complexion has changed in the 38 years since Britain joined the EEC, click on this interactive map produced by the “Guardian”.
Posted in History, World current affairs | Comments (2)
100 years since rediscovery of Machu Picchu
July 24th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Exactly 100 years ago today, on 24 July 1911, Hiram Bingham announced the discovery of Machu Picchu in Peru. An American historian employed as a lecturer at Yale University, Bingham had been searching for the city of Vilcabamba, the last Inca refuge during the Spanish conquest. He had worked for years in previous trips and […]
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The treasures of Afghanistan
May 31st, 2011 by Roger Darlington
All we ever hear about Afghanistan is war and death, but the country has a long history and a rich heritage. Some of this is celebrated in a current exhibition at the British Museum which my wife and I visited this morning. The exhibits come from four archaeological sites in the north of the country: […]
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Reminiscences from a 90 year old war veteran
May 29th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
In 1985, my biography of Vee’s father – Flight Lieutenant Karel Kuttelwascher DFC & Bar – was published as “Night Hawk”. It took me three years to research and write and I thought that the project was then over – but it keeps coming back to life, even after 26 years. In 2006, Vee and […]
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Ratko Mladic and the siege of Sarajevo
May 28th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I was delighted this week to hear the news of the arrest at long last of the Bosnian Serb leader Ratko Mladic. Of all his war crimes, undoubtedly the most horrific was the massacre at Srebrenica in 1995, but I have a particular interest in his responsibility for the siege of Sarajevo from 1992-1996. In […]
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A review of the book of British history “Monarchy”
May 15th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Kings and Queens of England and Britain have come and gone over the centuries and the present Queen Elizabeth II might yet become the longest-serving monarchy. But the institution has changed – and, in turn, changed the nation – enormously. I’ve just read a book by David Starkey – called simply “Monarchy” – which describes […]
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Why is it called the Union Jack?
April 29th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The national flag of the United Kingdom is not seen in everyday life anything like as commonly as the national flag of some other countries, most notably the star and stripes in the United States. It has been much in evidence today, however, because of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. The […]
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25 years after the Chernobyl disaster
April 26th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
On 26 April 1986, exactly twenty-five years ago today, reactor number four at the Chernobyl nuclear power facility in what is now Ukraine exploded. It was – and remains – the largest civil nuclear disaster in history. I once met a trade union official who went to Chernobyl shortly after the disaster to check on […]
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The first man in space
April 12th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Fifty years ago today, the first man went into space. At the time I was 12 and found the whole thing enormously exciting. The Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin became one of the most famous men in history and today we remember his feat. Of course, the space race between the USSR and the USA was […]
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