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fandomhigh2009-12-08 11:04 am
chosehumanity) wrote in fandomhigh2009-12-08 11:04 am
World Wars In Media, Tuesday
"And here we arrive at the end of it."
The class had met in the Danger Shop this time; behind Mitchell, around the students, everywhere was what appeared to be an abandoned, destroyed German town, no one around but a solemn string quartet whittling away in the background.
Mitchell felt they added atmosphere.
"After D-Day and the Russians joining the fight, the Second World War began to wind down," he said. "Obviously, we've mostly only covered the western front. There hasn't been time to go into what went on in Japan, although I'm sure some of you have heard of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, two cities destroyed with the use of nuclear arms by the allies. Quite possibly one of the greatest atrocities of the twentieth century, although as you can tell we've got a few of those lining up for the title."
He took a breath. "But this is about Hitler," he said. "Who died, as those of you who watched the film last week, in the middle of Berlin, in his own bunker, mad as can be. He refused to admit that his ideals were over until the end, and then he'd rather shoot himself while the Russians barged into Berlin, killing what was left of the Nazi forces and leaving a string of war crimes and destroyed cities behind."
"In his last days, he sent out orders to units that had long since ceased to be. He decried friends as traitors, drove those who stuck with him to kill themselves and their families. All around Europe, people were celebrating their new freedom, looking to an uncertain future. Europe got all diced up in terms of who got what, what went where. The Russians took the east half, the west fell under its own terms, shaping international affairs for decades afterwards. It happened in Berlin on a small scale, too - in the end, they built a wall to divide the city into East and West, Russians and Western Europe, and the wall didn't get torn down until the 1980s."
He nodded at a wall running behind the class, which obviously didn't quite fit with the 1940s decor of the ruined buildings around them. You could sort of tell by the grafitti.
"No assignment today," he said, finally, "I just want you all to wander about and see what you can make of it. What happens when war has come and gone for the moment. It wasn't the end, of course, but none of it really is. Time always stirs up and then falls back down, letting us rebuild until we think we're safe, and then the hounds of war pick right up again and cast us all back into the madness."
His mouth tugged into the slightest of smiles. "One more film this week," he said, "A bit lighter than the last one, trust me. On Thursday at the theatre. Try to be there if you can. Bring friends."
The class had met in the Danger Shop this time; behind Mitchell, around the students, everywhere was what appeared to be an abandoned, destroyed German town, no one around but a solemn string quartet whittling away in the background.
Mitchell felt they added atmosphere.
"After D-Day and the Russians joining the fight, the Second World War began to wind down," he said. "Obviously, we've mostly only covered the western front. There hasn't been time to go into what went on in Japan, although I'm sure some of you have heard of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, two cities destroyed with the use of nuclear arms by the allies. Quite possibly one of the greatest atrocities of the twentieth century, although as you can tell we've got a few of those lining up for the title."
He took a breath. "But this is about Hitler," he said. "Who died, as those of you who watched the film last week, in the middle of Berlin, in his own bunker, mad as can be. He refused to admit that his ideals were over until the end, and then he'd rather shoot himself while the Russians barged into Berlin, killing what was left of the Nazi forces and leaving a string of war crimes and destroyed cities behind."
"In his last days, he sent out orders to units that had long since ceased to be. He decried friends as traitors, drove those who stuck with him to kill themselves and their families. All around Europe, people were celebrating their new freedom, looking to an uncertain future. Europe got all diced up in terms of who got what, what went where. The Russians took the east half, the west fell under its own terms, shaping international affairs for decades afterwards. It happened in Berlin on a small scale, too - in the end, they built a wall to divide the city into East and West, Russians and Western Europe, and the wall didn't get torn down until the 1980s."
He nodded at a wall running behind the class, which obviously didn't quite fit with the 1940s decor of the ruined buildings around them. You could sort of tell by the grafitti.
"No assignment today," he said, finally, "I just want you all to wander about and see what you can make of it. What happens when war has come and gone for the moment. It wasn't the end, of course, but none of it really is. Time always stirs up and then falls back down, letting us rebuild until we think we're safe, and then the hounds of war pick right up again and cast us all back into the madness."
His mouth tugged into the slightest of smiles. "One more film this week," he said, "A bit lighter than the last one, trust me. On Thursday at the theatre. Try to be there if you can. Bring friends."
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