History
My perspective
WORLD WAR II
Books to read:
"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William Shirer
"The Seamstress: a memoir of survival" by Sara Tuvel (w/ Louise Loots Thornton and Marlene Bernstein Samuels)
"Children of the Flames" by Lucette Matalon Lagnado and Sheila Cohn Dekel
"The Holocaust Chronicle" (see website
http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/)Movies to watch:
"Schindler's List"
"Hiding Place"
"Saving Private Ryan"
I study World War II and the Nazi Regime occasionally. Studying that time helps me to appreciate the freedoms we currently enjoy. It also helps me to appreciate what I have. When things seem bad, I have to realize how blessed I am. After World War I, the German people were desperate for hope. Hitler gave the people someone to blame for their troubles, and a solution for that problem. The evil in his mind is unfathomable, but as so many Holocaust survivors relate from those who died, we must not forget!
Auschwitz, "Work makes you free".
Auschwitz hospital block.
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Hitler |
Goebbels Minister of Propaganda |
Goering |
Himmler Head of the SS (an ex-chicken farmer) |
Important leaders of the Nazi Regime
Hitler, paranoid that the Russians would capture him, and cage him to parade in front of the world, married his mistress, Eva Braun, took cyanide and to be sure he would die, shot himself.
Goebbels, so loyal to the cause of hatred that when they were to lose the war, had his wife poison their six children and then they killed themselves.
Goering, after capture killed himself with cyanide.
Himmler, tried to disguise himself but was captured anyway, also committed suicide with cyanide.
TITANIC
Around the time the movie came out in 1998, my husband purchased me a book about this tragedy. It fascinates me as many other things in history do. The story in the movie was a bit out there, but the parts that were representing facts was quite touching. I'd have to say that my favorite part was when the band played until the ship went down to keep up morale. Those were some brave musicians. If only the people responsible for this ship hadn't been so confident in man. The famous "unsinkable" ship may have stayed afloat if only God had been given the glory instead of man.
CIVIL WAR
A good book I read discussed the use of spies and other interesting aspects of war in that time. Something that will never leave me is the story of the riots that took place in New York. People of color were slaughtered needlessly in the streets. A sad time where brother fought against brother, and father against son. One man said it would go against everything they were fighting for if black men were brought into the fight against the Union soldiers. I've learned that this war wasn't only about ending slavery. Many people didn't want to be a unified country in the way that the "Union" representatives were going. The Confederates wanted the states to be under individual state rule, not the general federal government. A good movie to watch about the civil war is the movie, "Glory" with Matthew Broderick.
ASSASSINATIONS
Abraham Lincoln was a republican. He was a simple man who stands out in our history for making great change. He was assassinated by Henry Wilkes Booth, a man who was against ending slavery.
John F. Kennedy was supposedly assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. I've read different books and enjoyed the movie about Jim Garrison's case.
CHINA
I've enjoyed reading Chinese stories (as in "Joy Luck Club" and "A Hundred Secret Senses" by Amy Tan).
BIBLICAL EVENTS
Noah's Ark being found on Mt. Ararat.
