Explaining History

In 1845, at the height of Britain's industrial revolution, Friedrich Engels, the son of a German cotton industrialist came to live in Manchester. His study of the lives of the English working classes was the first major work to highlight the appalling effects of the industrial revolution on the poor.

In the middle years of the Second World War, Bulgaria became a target for repeated and heavy RAF and USAAF bombing raids. Bulgaria's alliance with Germany proved to be a disaster for the country, but there was very little real strategic value for the western allies in the Balkans.

In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, railways and steam boats became tools for European powers to colonially exploit a weakened China. Following the 1911 revolution however, rail became a key device by the nationalist Sun Yat Sen to unify a chaotic and fissile country.

In the 1920s and 1930s the ownership of Britain's newspapers concentrated in an ever smaller number of hands. Lords Northcliffe, Rothermere and Beaverbrook were able to wield unprecedented political power because they had captured a mass audience of readers. They advanced their own political agendas and existed on the far right of the political spectrum in an age of political uncertainty and crisis.

In 1905 the destruction of the Russian fleet by the Japanese sent political and cultural shockwaves throughout the world. Colonised Asia saw weaknesses in European power that had hitherto never been revealed. The implications for European colonial powers like Britain and France were significant.

In March 1933 the arrest of thousands of communists, socialists and trade unions saw the birth of Hitler's concentration camp system. However, the idea that the camps were a product of an ordered and planned seizure of power should be revised as new evidence suggests that the camps grew out of chaos and the autonomous actions of the SA. **** The new A level history series that gives teachers some fresh perspectives and new energising ideas for their lessons will start on October 19th with the first webinar which will focus on modern Britain. On November 2nd I will be co hosting with Alf Wilkinson on Soviet Russia and then on the 9th with Richard Kennet where we will be talking about Nazi Germany. Finally, I’ll be presenting with Helen Snelson on November 16th on post war Germany from 1945-1991. If you’re a subscriber to Explaining History you can get a discount on each booking by following the link that comes with this podcast and quoting the promotionally code WF0009023, which is also listed below; this will save you ten percent on the booking costs. Click here to book: http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/Event/563

Why did British, American and European philosophers, writers and journalists embrace Maoism and the violent repression of China after 1949? This podcast attempts to explore the thoughts and motivations of a range of sympathetic 'fellow travellers'.

In the mid to late 1970s, faith in politicians and a belief in the moral sanctity of the office of President went into decline in the USA. The Watergate Scandal that ended the career of Richard Nixon was followed by the presidencies of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Both men were seen as weak and ineffective by wide sections of the public.

How did the British Labour Party emerge after 1900, from a wide array of affiliated socialist parties and trade unions? This podcast explores the origins and the rise of the party and its effect on British politics in the Edwardian era.

In August 1968, during a year of violence and political tension in America, protesters fought a pitched battle in the streets of Chicago with the police. The anti Vietnam war demonstrators clashed outside the Democratic National Convention, while inside the pro and anti war factions of the divided Democrats attacked one another.

A short recording to get your head in the game for the upcoming summer history exams. How to approach your essays as an arguer, not a narrator of history.

Between 1926 and 1937 the Marxist intellectual Antonio Gramsci was imprisoned by Mussolini's fascist government following the dictator's crack down on left wing parties. During his incarceration he wrote some of the most important critiques of capitalist society of the 20th Century. Gramsci's prison notebooks are a fundamental part of Marxist thought and attempt to answer questions that Marx was unable to address about the workings of capitalist society.

In 1949, following the creation of the Soviet controlled German Democratic Republic, Walter Ulbricht, the German Communist Party leader unleashed a wave of repression against the last surviving Jews. The repression was inspired by events in the USSR and the Middle East and help to highlight the moral and ideological pragmatism of the GDR.

In 1945, following the dropping of two atom bombs on Japan, General Douglas MacArthur became the ruler of the country for six years. He imposed on Japan a modern constitution, while helping to absolve Emperor Hirohito from any blame in the atrocities perpetrated by his armies during the Second World War.

Horatio Kitchener became one of the most iconic British military and imperial figures of the late 19th and early 20th Century. His role in Egypt, South Africa and on the Western Front helped develop this public persona. Kitchener's lasting legacy in Britain, however, was the creation of a massive new British Army in the early years of the First World War.