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fandomhigh2009-10-27 10:00 am
chosehumanity) wrote in fandomhigh2009-10-27 10:00 am
World Wars in the Media, Tuesday
"The second World War," Mitchell began, sitting on top of a sofa in his classroom with his fingers knotted together, "Was a little more obvious in how it spawned, I think." He took a breath. "Getting everyone in the country together was nice and all, but imperial bastards like Hitler never stop at something like that. He was obsessed with this idea that the Jews and 'lesser races'," you could hear the airquotes, "Were responsible for all that had gone wrong in the world. If they just let the Aryans, blue-eyed blonde-haired pale types, rule everything as the master race, everything would be fine."
Sarcasm: you could hear it. "In order to do this, the Germans would need 'lebensraum'. Room to live. You'd think with a country that size they'd be happy, but no. So Hitler started poking at the terms of Versailles, remilitarizing places that should have been kept free of soldiers, that kind of thing. The Allies, the countries that had won the last war, had also taken chunks of land populated mainly by Germans and stuffed them into other countries - such as Czechoslovakia. Hitler pushed to occupy those lands as well. The Allies did nothing - they were following the politics of 'appeasement', to keep Hitler happy so he wouldn't do anything rash."
Mitchell snorted. "The next step was even bigger. Austria, a country which had always been populated by Germanic people, wound up annexed by Germany in what they termed the 'Anschluss' - joining up. Italy had joined with them as well at the time, as an ally." He waved a hand at the map of Europe behind him. "Germany took more of Czechoslovakia. Again, the Allies did nothing. That was very discouraging. Really."
He took a breath. "September 1st, 1939," he said, "Germany invaded the neighbouring country of Poland. Some of the Allies declared war. By the time they actually acted, though, the Germans owned half of Poland, and the other chunk had been snagged by Russia just to make sure the Germans wouldn't come knocking on their door. It wasn't until April 1940 that the Allies acted for the first time, and by then it was too late: Germany had already taken the Netherlands, Belgium and, soon after, France."
He gestured at the map again. The image had changed. "What happened?" he asked. "How did it manage to happen?" He shook his head. "Nazi propaganda is still prevalent even in our time," he continued, "Idiots raging around blaming it all on anyone who doesn't have the right hair colour. Back in those days, it energized millions and led to the conquest of Europe. How does that happen? If you were one of the Allies, when would you have acted?" Beat. "No, I don't want you to discuss that. Today, we're putting it into a more visual medium."
[[ and up! ]]
Sarcasm: you could hear it. "In order to do this, the Germans would need 'lebensraum'. Room to live. You'd think with a country that size they'd be happy, but no. So Hitler started poking at the terms of Versailles, remilitarizing places that should have been kept free of soldiers, that kind of thing. The Allies, the countries that had won the last war, had also taken chunks of land populated mainly by Germans and stuffed them into other countries - such as Czechoslovakia. Hitler pushed to occupy those lands as well. The Allies did nothing - they were following the politics of 'appeasement', to keep Hitler happy so he wouldn't do anything rash."
Mitchell snorted. "The next step was even bigger. Austria, a country which had always been populated by Germanic people, wound up annexed by Germany in what they termed the 'Anschluss' - joining up. Italy had joined with them as well at the time, as an ally." He waved a hand at the map of Europe behind him. "Germany took more of Czechoslovakia. Again, the Allies did nothing. That was very discouraging. Really."
He took a breath. "September 1st, 1939," he said, "Germany invaded the neighbouring country of Poland. Some of the Allies declared war. By the time they actually acted, though, the Germans owned half of Poland, and the other chunk had been snagged by Russia just to make sure the Germans wouldn't come knocking on their door. It wasn't until April 1940 that the Allies acted for the first time, and by then it was too late: Germany had already taken the Netherlands, Belgium and, soon after, France."
He gestured at the map again. The image had changed. "What happened?" he asked. "How did it manage to happen?" He shook his head. "Nazi propaganda is still prevalent even in our time," he continued, "Idiots raging around blaming it all on anyone who doesn't have the right hair colour. Back in those days, it energized millions and led to the conquest of Europe. How does that happen? If you were one of the Allies, when would you have acted?" Beat. "No, I don't want you to discuss that. Today, we're putting it into a more visual medium."
[[ and up! ]]
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