The History of the Twentieth Century
A chronicle of the history of the twentieth century, covering art, music, popular culture, science, religion, and politics and war.
Episodes
461 Wacht am Rhein
On December 16, 1944, the German Army began a last-ditch offensive on the Western Front, triggering what became known as "The Battle of the Bulge."
460 Question Time III
Once again, I answer questions sent in by listeners.
459 Autumn Mist
On the Western Front, the Allies were probing the German defensive line. On the Eastern Front, the Red Army advanced past the 1939 border and into Germany itself.
458 The Battle of Leyte Gulf
When the Americans landed on the Philippine island of Leyte, the Japanese Navy executed a plan intended to cut off and isolate Allied ground forces on the island.
457 I Have Returned
On October 20, 1944, Douglas MacArthur made good on his famous promise.
456 A Bridge Too Far
Bernard Montgomery proposed a risky operation that just might have allowed the Allies to break through the German defensive line. Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler was planning a risky operation of his own.
455 Up Against the Wall
The Western Allied advance in August 1944 was breathtaking, but it stopped short at the German border as the German Army rebuilt its defenses and Allied supply lines became strained to the limit.
454 The Altar of Alliance
By 1944, a German defeat seemed inevitable. In August, Romania defected from the Axis and joined the Allies. Within weeks, Bulgaria followed suit, while Finland agreed to an armistice with the USSR. This left Hungary as Germany's sole remaining ally in Europe, and Hungary only stayed loyal because of German military intervention.
453 The Panacea Target
The British view on aerial bombing over Germany held that area attacks on German cities were the only effective form of attack. The Americans preferred to target specific sites crucial to the German war effort, an approach the head of RAF Bomber Command dismisses as "panacea targets."
452 The Double V
The Second World War offered African Americans new opportunities and new political clout.
451 Wonder Weapon
The United States had its Manhattan Project. Germany had its rockets.
450 The Gadget
By 1944, the United States had developed the facilities to produce U-235 and plutonium in sufficient quantities. The last problem was how to design and build a bomb that would detonate an atomic explosion when you wanted it, but not before.
449 All For the Front
The war made life in the Soviet Union very difficult. Even by Soviet standards, the government took an unprecedented degree of control over the allocation of labor and of food. Despite food shortages, there was no mass opposition as there had been in 1917.
448 Keep Calm and Carry On
The British had to deal with many more shortages of food and fuel and consumer goods than did Americans. And they had to worry about the Luftwaffe.
447 Don't You Know There's a War On?
The war put Americans in the unfamiliar position of enduring limits on what they could buy or eat, even how much they could drive their cars.
446 Is Paris Burning?
The Allies invade southern France, close the Falaise pocket, and the German line collapses. Soon the Allies are advancing on Paris.
445 Breakout and Pursuit
When Patton's Third Army broke through the front line, the Germans had a serious problem.
444 Tempest
The Polish Home Army makes a last-ditch effort to assert the authority of the government in exile, while Romania successfully switches sides.
443 Shoot the Works
Hitler exacts retribution for the assassination attempt against him, while in France, the Americans break out of Normandy.
442 Make Peace, You Fools
Bloody inconclusive fighting in Normandy, and the Democratic Party nominates Roosevelt for a fourth term.
441 The Plot to Assassinate Hitler
There had been grumbling about Hitler in the Army since 1938, but by 1944 a group of officers were determined to get rid of him and overthrow the Nazi government.
440 The Destruction of Army Group Center
The Soviet summer offensive of 1944, "Operation Bagration," costs the German Army virtually an entire army group.
439 Doctor Win-the-War
In 1944, Franklin Roosevelt's health began to fail, while Stalin made good on his pledge to begin a Soviet offensive in June.
438 A Bill of Goods
The China and Burma fronts remained relatively quiet for two years. That changed in 1944.
437 Where Do We Go From Here?
In this episode, we conclude the story of the American occupation of Saipan, while US commanders ponder the question of where to strike next.
436 Too Good to Be True
When the Americans attacked Saipan, the Japanese saw a final opportunity to force that decisive battle they'd been yearning for.
435 D Plus One
The initial Normandy invasions were moderately successful. Casualties were lighter than feared. But D-Day was not the end; it was only the beginning.
434 The Longest Day III
We conclude our look at the Normandy invasion by examining events at Sword, Juno, Gold, and especially Omaha Beaches.
433 The Longest Day II
In this episode we look at the Normandy amphibious landings generally, then focus on the US assault on Utah Beach.
432 The Longest Day I
The Normandy landings began at dawn on June 6, 1944, but the night before three Allied airborne divisions were dropped into Normandy to help prepare the way for the amphibious landings.
431 Bombing Your Allies
The German military was occupying many European countries, which put British and American bomber commanders in the awkward position of bombing nations that were supposedly their allies.
430 Question Time II
In this Christmas bonus episode, I answer listener questions.
429 The Fall of Rome
In May 1944, Allied forces in Italy began an offensive that finally broke the Gustav Line. Soon Americans were marching into Rome. At the same time, Allied forces in Britain were making final preparations for the invasion of France.
428 An Idea of Simple Genius
In this episode, we look at some of the preparations both sides' militaries were making for the coming invasion of France, as well as the tricky problem the Allies faced in keeping Charles de Gaulle on board.
427 Half American
As America geared up for war, and then entered the war, African Americans fought to claim a role in the battle against fascism.
426 Incomparably More Difficult
During the interwar period, African Americans pushed back against the US military's explicit racism.
425 Eight to the Bar
Boogie-woogie went mainstream in America during the war, as evidenced by the music of Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters.
424 From Z to A
The Americans were on the offensive in the Southwest Pacific, and after Tarawa, in the Central Pacific. As they advanced, Japanese military leaders scrambled to find a way to stop the Americans.
423 Bodyguard of Lies
As soon as Allied leaders chose Normandy as the site of the Operation Overlord invasion, British intelligence set to work convincing the Germans that the invasion would be somewhere else.
422 A Stranded Whale
The Allied campaign in Italy stalled, and British and American leaders were searching for a way to break the stalemate on the peninsula. Winston Churchill suggested an amphibious invasion behing enemy lines.
421 Two Strikes and You're Out
The war era (1939-45) saw the beginning of the end of the big band era. Part of this decline was due to two key strikes in the music industry.
420 A Contintent-Wide Crime
The Holocaust should not be viewed as strictly a Nazi project or even a German project. Millions of people across Europe share responsibility for those crimes.
419 Millions of Spectators
When Hitler learned that the Hungarian government was attempting to make a separate peace with the Allies, he ordered the German military to occupy Hungary, which was also the home of the largest surviving Jewish community in Axis-occupied Europe.
418 Bloody Tarawa
The US tries out a new strategy against Japan, but the American public is shocked by the cost.
417 Over the Rainbow
A look at some prominent blues singers, plus Judy Garland and her most famous role, as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz.
416 The Iron Gut of Europe
The Allies hoped their invasion of the Italian mainland would lead to a rapid occupation of Italy, but the Germans put up a defense that slowed their advance to a crawl.
415 Would They Obey You Any More Readily?
The German Army continued to retreat westward over the winter of 1943-44, abandoning most of Ukraine. Red Army pressure was relentless, not giving the Germans any opportunity to establish a strong defensive line.
414 The Teheran Conference
The Big Three--Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill--met and conferred together for the first time in November 1943. It was the most important meeting of world leaders since the Paris Peace Conference of 1919.
413 Frankly, My Dear
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, created in 1924 by the merger of three film production companies, quickly rose to become the most successful studio of the era. The record box office for the 1939 film Gone with the Wind represents the studio at its height.
412 Hero to Zero
The Japanese "Zero" fighter plane played an important role in Japan's amazing victories early in the Pacific war. But by 1943, the Zero (and its pilots) were falling behind their Allied counterparts.
411 From the Top
Continuing from the previous episode, we examine events in multiple theaters in August-September 1943
410 Stranded on Plum Pudding Island
An eventful period in July-August 1943, when there were major developments on the Eastern Front, in the Mediterranean, and in the Pacific.
409 Famous Players in Famous Plays
The history of Paramount Pictures, one of the oldest and most prominent film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age.
408 The Great Retreat
The end of the Battle of Kursk did not mean the end of the Red Army advance. The Germans withdrew, but the Red Army just kept coming.
407 The Siege of Leningrad II
Hundreds of thousands died in Leningrad during the winter of 1941-42, but with spring came new hope. Composer Dmitri Shostakovich's latest symphony became a patriotic anthem, and not only in the USSR.
406 The Siege of Leningrad I
As war raged around the globe, the city of Leningrad suffered under a German siege that lasted 872 days.
405 On the Good Ship Lollipop
In this episode, we look at Twentieth Century-Fox, John Ford, Shirley Temple, John Wayne, and Alfred Hitchcock.
404 The Other Resistance
Resistance against the Nazis could take many forms.
403 The Resistance II
Some of the biggest successes (and biggest failures) of European resistance movements and their guides in Britain.
402 The Resistance I
In the occupied countries of Europe and Asia, resistance movements developed to oppose Axis occupations. In most cases, the resistance movements were divided between Communist and non-Communist.
401 No Option But to Fight On
The U-boat war was going quite well for the Germans at the beginning of 1943, but by mid-year, the German Navy was on the verge of abandoning the effort.
400 War in the Air II
The Hamburg bombing forced the German government to rethink its defense policies. In Québec, Churchill and Roosevelt cut a deal on atom bomb research.
399 War in the Air I
After two years of trying, RAF Bomber Command at last perfected the techniques to inflict mass casualties and devastation on an enemy city. Meanwhile, the US Eighth Air Force struggled to develop their own strategies.
398 An Incontrovertible Fact
As the war turned against them, the Japanese attempted to create allies among the nations it occupied, declaring the independence of Burma and the Philippines, while the US embraced China as a peer of the main Allied powers, alongside the US, UK, and USSR.
397 Pop Goes the Weasel
The Japanese come to the reluctant conclusion that they have to abandon Guadalcanal and northeastern New Guinea. US submarine warfare begins to take a toll, and Admiral Yamamoto is killed.
396 The Battle of Kursk
The German offenive failed. Then it was the Soviets' turn.
395 A Definitive Mistake
Adolf Hitler begins his long-delayed 1943 offensive against the USSR, which fizzles in a matter of days.
394 The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of
Warner Brothers was one of the minor studios until they introduced the first talking picture, which made the studio into one of the majors. In the Thirties, Warner Brothers, led by the irascible Jack L. Warner, was known for its glitzy musicals and crime dramas. In the early Forties, the studio released two films that are now regarded as among the best American films ever made: The Maltese Falcon
393 Everything Is Going to Be Fine
The Japanese claimed to be liberating their fellow Asians from Western oppression, but Japanese rule proved to be brutal and murderous.
392 Warsaw and Katyn
In early 1943, the remaining residents of the Warsaw Ghetto rose up against the SS. Farther east, the German Army uncovers the mass grave where the Soviet NKVD buried thousands of murdered Polish Army officers.
391 The Manhattan Project
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the American atom bomb project kicked into high gear. Fearful that the Germans were already working on a bomb and had a head start, the US government built a huge program meant to approach the problem of building an atom bomb from several different angles all at once.
390 Benito è finito
The Allies invade Sicily, which leads to the fall of Benito Mussolini.
389 On the Defensive
Hitler himself said that he had "never been a man of the defensive," but in the aftermath of Stalingrad, he had no choice.
388 Woman of the Year
RKO Radio Pictures had a reputation for producing second-rate films. Even so, this was the studio that signed Fred Astaire and Katharine Hepburn; it was the studio that released King Kong and Citizen Kane.
387 Hooray for Hollywood
The first in a series looking at the American film industry in the 1930s and 1940s, the heyday of the "studio system."
386 Do Or Die
The fall of Burma to the Japanese put India on the front lines of the war, posing hard questions for the Indian nationalist movement.
385 The Thingamabob That's Going to Win the War
The BBC struggles to determine its role in wartime Britain.
384 Do You Want Total War?
Stalingrad falls and Joseph Goebbels tries to spark a program to ramp up the German war effort.
383 Casablanca
Roosevelt and Churchill met again in early 1943 to discuss the next stage of the war against the Axis, and they chose a provocative venue: Casablanca, a city their armies had only recently taken.
382 Turning Point
In October and November 1942, the Japanese began their final push to drive the Americans off Guadalcanal.
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