Archive for the ‘History’ Category
Moral complexity in WW2 (1): ‘Operation Catapult’
May 29th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
At the beginning of the Second World War, British Prime Minister Winston felt compelled to order the Royal Navy to attack the pride of the French naval fleet in ‘Operation Catapult’, an assault which caused some 1,300 deaths and around 350 injuries – all of them citizens of France, our leading ally in the struggle […]
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Moral complexity in WW2 (2): Israel Kasztner
May 29th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Many of you will have read the book “Schindler’s Ark” or seen the film “Schindler’s List” and know how the Czech businessman Oscar Schindler managed to affect the escape of almost 1,200 Jews from Poland so that they missed certain death in the Nazi concentration camps of World War Two. But what about the Hungarian […]
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The Lod Airport massacre
May 17th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Today Vee and I attended the 60th birthday celebration of someone who has been a dear friend for over 20 years. The event – attended by around 40 family and friends – was held in premises almost opposite the synagogue that she and her husband attend. It was a very joyful occasion but, in her […]
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Czechoslovaks and the First World War
April 22nd, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Regular readers of NightHawk will know that I was in Prague for Easter. During my visit, I viewed a photographic exhibition in Prague Castle of Czechoslovak soldiers in the First World War. Now here’s a quiz question: on whose side did Czechoslovaks fight in the Great War? In a way, it’s a trick question because […]
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The shah of Iran
March 24th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
This week, I was able to visit the British Museum and see the fascinating exhibition “Shah ‘Abbas: The Remaking of Iran”. This tells the story of seventeenth-century Iran through the reign and legacy of one of its most influential rulers, Shah ‘Abbas I who reigned 1587–1629 and founded the capital of Isfarhan. I would always […]
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It has been much worse
March 6th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
I know that everyone is now suffering the impact of the global economic crisis and that some people have been hit much harder than others. But it is important to keep a sense of perspective. I’m currently reading “A History Of Modern Britain” by Andrew Marr (born 1959) which is essentially a review of the […]
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“The Counterfeiters”
February 22nd, 2009 by Roger Darlington
I’m guessing that you’ve never heard of the film “The Counterfeiters” – but this Austrian work the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film last year. I’m guessing that you’ve never heard of “Operation Bernhard” – but this secret German plan devised during the Second World War was the largest counterfeiting operation in history. And […]
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Understanding the Holocaust
February 13th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve done a number of postings mentioning that I was reading “The Nazi Holocaust: Its History And Meaning” by Ronnie Landau. I’ve now finished this excellent work and you can read my review here.
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The remarkable case of Rudolf Vrba
February 7th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
As regular readers of NightHawk will know, I’m currently reading “The Nazi Holocaust: Its History And Meaning”. The book mentions in passing the case of a Slovak Jew called Rudolf Vrba and I recently saw a television programme about this remarkable story. Together with his friend Alfréd Wetzler, Vrba managed to escape from the Nazi […]
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How many died in World War Two?
February 5th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
As I’ve mentioned in a couple of recent postings, I’m reading a book entitled “The Nazi Holocaust: Its History And Meaning”. Of course, it is widely known – if not accepted by Holocaust denialists – that some six million Jews perished in the Shoah. Without in any way wanting to diminish the uniqueness and the […]
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