Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with wwii

ID this WWII/Holocaust story

Johnny Assay — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:08:37 -0800

Identify the source of this story: A Jew living in Germany (or Eastern Europe) in the late 1930s sees that the situation is turning bad, and decides to flee the country. He tries to convince his parents to come with him, but they refuse to be uprooted. A few years later, in the new country, he receives a telegram from his father reading simply "You were right." He never sees his parents again. For some reason this story popped into my head this morning, and I can't remember its context. I don't even know if it's fictional or factual. Does it sound familiar to anyone?

when Wikipedia articles fall short, it's time for a book

bluishorange — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:49:48 -0800

Have you read an informative, engaging book on German history? If so, what is it? After visiting Berlin last year, I became quite interested in German history. In particular I was fascinated by the city of Berlin itself, WWII and the events leading up to and following it, and the Berlin Wall years.

The 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall has me thinking about it again, so I've decided it's time to stop my casual internet reading and move on to a proper book. I read very little nonfiction, so I'm hoping for something that's not too dry. But I was an English major, so it doesn't have to be, you know, a kids' book or anything. Also, military strategy puts me to sleep.

I know this is a very broad subject to ask for A book about, but as of now I'm just trying to get my feet wet. Anything helps. Thanks!

Book identification filter: Help me find a WWII history book with a bright orange cover.

snowleopard — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:36:09 -0800

Book identification filter: Help me find a WWII history book with a bright orange cover. I got this book out of the library years ago. I'm guessing it was published pre-2000. As I recall it had no particular focus, but just a different article about some aspect of the war on each page, maybe loosely chronologically ordered. It might have been one volume of a multi-volume set.

The things I remember more clearly:
Somewhere in the middle it had a full double-page spread with a grid of thumbnail images from various WWII movies. I remember looking at them and wanting to go through and watch them all, which is pretty much what prompted this question, since I intend to give the watch-them-all plan a go if I eventually find the book. Anyway, under each thumbnail was the title of the movie and a small note about whatever was notable about that film. I think the thumbnails were from about half color and half B&W films.

And the most distinctive thing I remember about the book was that it had a bright orange cover - no dust jacket (although it may be that it had one originally, and the library removed it), and the title printed in simple black lettering on the spine only.

Interviews, Research & Archiving, oh my!

ikahime — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:06:04 -0800

I'm preparing for a massive personal archiving/interviewing trip with my grandparents and need advice regarding many aspects of the project. My grandparents came to America from Lithuania during WWII and have an amazing story that my cousin and I started documenting several years ago. Life being what it is, we really only got a rough outline and are now going for another week long visit with them (now 97 and 90 years old, but still witty and spry). Not only do they have some great/astounding anecdotes that we haven't documented, they also have an amazing collection of photos (some taken by Life Magazine photographers) which are in not such good order (to say nothing of being stored or digitally preserved).

Here are some of my concerns that perhaps y'all could help me with:

History: I'm not a historian, and so have been trying to bone up on the Soviet-Nazi conflict that took place in the Baltic States. Books and online resource recommendations are appreciated.

Preservation: I need to construct a good workflow for organizing/digitizing old photos. How best to store? Should I be uploading to the cloud, or bring an external hard drive with me?

Interview: Getting these stories out of them is not usually too hard, but I'm wondering about tried and true methods of biographical interview. Should we march thru the historical timeline? Jump around and organize later? Are there some good prompts I shouldn't forget to ask them?

Documentation: I would like to either film or audio record or both. I will probably have access to a decent microphone + laptop and a so-so digital video camera. Should I have both roll at the same time, or just favor one vs. the other? This is my weakest link. Is Audacity a good enough program, or should I be throwing down for something else?

In addition to doing this for my own (and my family's) edification, I'm gathering this info now for some sort of creative project in the future (still yet to work out - could be something as mundane as a book, or more outlandish like an interactive sculpture, or hyperlinked map). I've started making things like timelines and maps of their trip from Lith to Germany to Britain to the US; got any other ideas of rich add-ons?

Lastly, I'm looking for other media to bring with me that may enhance their reminiscing, especially music of the era/region (they were in Germany for quite a few years in the late 40s. Got some faves?

Thanks to all in advance!

How'd it end?

Netzapper — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:12:27 -0800

Did Dr. Rufus W. Hooker survive WWII? I read his 1943 memoir, Ship's Doctor, and it's driving me crazy. A couple weeks ago, I read Ship's Doctor by Dr. Rufus W. Hooker. It was published in 1943, and the last event of the memoir is his service on a hospital ship retrieving the wounded from Pearl Harbor. The book ends with his statement that he'll remain a ship's doctor for the duration of the war.

The only information I've found online is this photograph on the Truman Library website.

I've considered calling the Navy records office. But, according to what I read on their website, to look up a service history they need the person's serial number. Or, if you don't have the number, the person's name, unit, and dates of service. I have none of that information. Furthermore, from the last chapter of the book, it seems that he might not have joined the Navy but remained in the merchant marine.

This is probably too obscure for the hive mind to know off the top of its manifold head. But where would I even go looking for this information? I've spent cumulative days looking for this on the web (even trying non-google search engines!), and I can't find anything.

British WWII sentimental movies

eleslie — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:32:31 -0800

British WWII sentimental movie recommendations? I have always loved the sentimental movies the British made during (and immediately after) WW II. The two that come to mind off the top of my head are "In Which We Serve" and "Captive Heart." When searching for other examples to watch and buy, the lists I have found seem to focus more on the "action" genre with lots of people and things being blown up. Can anyone suggest other movies or ways to search for these movies which are focused more on the pathos of war and on shoring up the British people emotionally (but I am not looking at strictly patriotic films.) Thank you, hivemind.

WWII pro-war movies.

flibbertigibbet — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:28:24 -0800

I want to see some WWII-era propaganda (or at least pro-war, pro-service) films on DVD, especially those with musical interludes in the style of the Andrews Sisters. Any recommendations beyond Buck Privates, which I unfortunately cannot easily find in Canada? There's a lot of them, but I only want to see those that have aged well and can easily be found.

Best WWII air battle movie scenes

keith0718 — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:25:39 -0800

What's the best WWII movies for air battle scenes (domestic or foreign)? Documentaries are fine, but I'm really looking for dramas.

The Best of WWII Lit

Autarky — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:56:50 -0800

I've always been fascinated by war, and recently I've been on one of those kicks that seems ephemeral at first but just won't go away. I am particularly fascinated by WWII. I want reading suggestions. This thread is quite helpful, but it seems mostly limited to broad histories of the war. That's certainly something I'm interested, but you only need to read so many of them if you choose good ones. (I just ordered Keegan's.)

What I'd like are more topical books. Once I've read a few books on the war as a whole I'd like to branch out into narrower aspects. Specific battles or campaigns, particularly good biographies/autobiographies, and narratives about particular countries (I'm imagining a book like "Japan in the Second World War" or something) are especially welcome.

I'd like to stick with non-fiction, though if there are any film gems off the beaten path I'd be interested in hearing about them. I'm reasonably well read on the Holocaust, though if there's anything especially good that's welcome as well.

I'm not intimidated by length, so don't let that be a factor.

Best World War II books?

lullaby — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:59:52 -0800

What are the best books on World War II? I know this is a pretty broad subject, but I suppose I'd like a broad education. I am not only interested in books that have a wide focus, though. Histories, biographies, memoirs, etc., are all good. Fiction as well.

Thanks in advance!

Help me find that World War II u-boat newsreels

ouke — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:47:18 -0800

Help me find that World War II u-boat newsreels My darling niece is interning at one of our local cinemas. For her father's birthday she arranged the most awesome present in the known history of mankind: a private screening of Wolfgang Petersen's "Das Boot".
The running gag in our family is that he is always watching this movie by himself, so whenever somebody asks where he's at, the standard answer is: "In the attic, watching Das Boot". Tomorrow the whole family shows up at the cinema, while he thinks he's coming to town to carry his wife's shopping bags all day.
To make this a complete nostalgic cinematic experience, I would like to see if it is possible to start the screening with an old German War newsreel. I would like to faux subtitle that with a text about his Das Boot obsession. I am looking for footage of the building or launch of a german submarine, preferably similar to the tormented star of the movie: the u-96. Of course u-boat related parades are also what I'm looking for, but at the same time I wonder how the hell you parade around with a u-boat.
A quick tour yesterday to find a related DVD in the shops in town resulted into nothing. Online I was more succesful at archive.org. I found some appropriate footage in their archives of German UFA ton-woche newsreels. And while archive.org is usually very generous in offering different formats, these movies come with a compression that renders into something so impressionist, it has to be considered entartet.
So my question is: where could I find such German newsreels or documentary footage in good quality? And remember short is good, because director's cut of this movie already makes us hold our breath for three and a half hours.

The Weapons that Won the Eastern Front

EatTheWeak — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:37:24 -0800

Please recommend resources about Soviet and Nazi weapons! Hi AskMe. I'm looking for some help in pinning down some authoritative, well-researched works on the weapons of the Red Army and airforce and the Nazis fighting in Russia during the Second World War (or, the Great Patriotic War, if you prefer). I'm most interest in the air forces and infantry weapons, but I wouldn't be much of a war nerd if I asked that we leave out tanks.

I'm really interested in how differences in engineering played out in the battlefield, the more detail the better. I want to explore firepower, obviously, but I'm also curious about how things like engine design, materials used and maintenance realities contributed to the outcome of the war.

So, I'm interested in whatever you got - books, articles, documentaries, websites - anything with solid research on the weapons the Soviets and the Nazis used to fight for control of Russia - planes and infantry weapons preferred, all categories welcome. The more affordable the resource, the better.

Thank you! Happy Victory Day!

FDR knew Pearl Harbor was coming?

tzikeh — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:15:17 -0800

Is there any factual basis to the idea that FDR knew the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbor, and allowed it to happen to get the U.S. citizenry behind the war? Some of my history professors are dead certain that the Roosevelt administration, which had been agitating to enter into WWII, knew the attack was coming, and let it happen in order to move public sentiment firmly into their corner. Others say this is complete and total bunk, and even the dumbest conspiracy theorists wouldn't believe it. I've wandered through Wikipedia's entry on the topic, but, as to be expected, there are piles of conflicting information.

Is there a MeFite who has studied this, or knows a good deal about it, who can support the idea that they knew it was coming?

Won the war. Lost the war poet.

taramosalata — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 16:57:20 -0800

Help me identity this 1910s/20s/30s British poet (from precious little information). * Auden admired his work -- this is definite but I've lost the source and cannot be sure whether Auden ever reviewed his work.

* He's not usually ranked among the great WWI poets like Sassoon, Owen, Brooke, et al. And I cannot find him on this Wikipedia list. But I do remember reading a short Wikipedia entry devoted to him.

* And he did write about war -- before WWII, if not during WWI -- and was particularly well-known for one longish poem (or short epic) that was published as a single volume. With 80% certainty I believe its title to be a definite article followed by a multisyllabic latinate (but not too complicated) abstract noun. It was something like 'The Ambiguity.'

* First name might be David. (20% certainty here).

[Apologize for the sparse clues. As soon I read about his work I knew I was determined to track it down -- then neglected to bookmark or jot down the actual info. So this riddle is really a passionate query.]

The French had great military victories. Let's find them.

Flying Saucer — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 12:05:01 -0800

I'm tired of the conventional wisdom that the French don't know how to fight, or are cowardly, or always surrender. I'd like to put together (or find) a list of the great French military victories from ancient Gaul through WWII. It particularly puzzles me that France is called out as the big cowardly loser in WWII, a war in which Hitler bulldozed through a dozen countries. Why doesn't anyone call the Polish "surrender monkeys"? They succumbed to the Nazis in only a few weeks. Why not the Czechs, who let England and Germany carve up their country without even putting up a fight?

Added to this is the fact that (warning: generalization) many deeply patriotic Americans from the South share this view of the French as bungling military idiots...yet would never say a word against the Confederate army, which surrendered all over the place -- Vicksburg, which cut the CSA in half, comes to mind.

Even when I try to search for bright spots in France's military history in Google, I get a joke response: "Did you mean 'great French military defeats?' What is going on here?

We all know about Napoleon and Lafayette's assistance during the Revolutionary War. Help me find (or create) a timeline of French military victories. I'll start -- The Battle of Tours in 732 AD, when a French army led by Charles Martel held off an Islamic invasion and saved Christian Europe. You don't hear anyone mention that in discussion of the "War on Terror", do you?

Anyone else want to help me save France's military reputation?

Great historical media collections

Hargrimm — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:28:40 -0800

Where can I find lots of historical media? I'm looking for any kind of photos or film, newsreels, anything. I've always been fascinated by old photos of the Civil War and such, as well as newsreels and archive footage from WWII-era. I'm interested in military stuff as well as everyday life. I'm tired of searching everywhere for a few pictures and newsreels - please help me find some centralized collections!

(Free would be preferable)

Move me!

robotot — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:16:39 -0800

Book-filter (again)! I just read Markus Zuzak's "The Book Thief" and loved it and loved being moved by it. Give me more books that do the same. I really liked reading about the German people living under Hitler, and through the war and how that affected them, particularly about people who didn't necessarily agree with Nazi ideals, but were forced to live by them nonetheless.

Please recommend me books that touch on a similar vein. They don't have to be set during WWII Germany either. Feel free to expand on my criteria to include general war fiction (or non-fiction).

thanks.

Help me find this short story please!

katie — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:28:31 -0800

Please help me find a short story I think I read in The New Yorker a couple of years ago. So, I am looking for a short story I have only a vague recollection of reading. I believe it was in the New Yorker summer fiction issue sometime between 2002 and 2006. The story was told by a female narrator who had been switched at birth during the Holocaust. I remember little else, except that the remains of the other little girl are eventually found behind a false wall. I have tried searching the magazine's archives but to no avail, so perhaps I am misremembering where it was published. It was definitely in a mainstream periodical, and it was definitely fictional. Thanks!

Where to go to do research on a specific soldier in WWII?

Tullyogallaghan — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:45:15 -0800

My brother is doing research on his brother in law who was a staff sergeant in the Paciifc in WWII. After the war he came back to the States, got married and had 8 kids and died at the age of 50. He was in many of the horrific battle zones of that time, Guadalcanal, etc and we would like to present his children with a narrative of his experiences or, at least, places of warfare. The question is - where would a person go to obtain this information on a specific soldier? Thanks very much.

Any "combat photo"-friendly sharing sites on the web?

monkeymcgee — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:14:17 -0800

I have some photos that were in my grandfather's possession of the preparations and the aftermath of The Battle of Attu. He served in the 7th Infantry and fought in the battle. Some of the photos are pretty graphic and some contain ethnic slurs, but I think they may be of some interest to WWII history buffs. I would like to put scans online, but I believe that the content would violate the ToS for most of the sharing sites I've checked and I'd rather not use my own hosting account unless I need to. I couldn't find any comparable material during some quick searches on Flickr, but I may have just missed them.

Does anyone know if this type of material is okay for Flickr or if there is another photo sharing site that would accept this kind of material?

I want to make documentary films. What kind of video-camera should I get?

softsantear — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:41:53 -0800

I want to make documentary films. What kind of video-camera should I get? There are some people in my family who've been through some pretty interesting experiences over the last century, mostly involving World War II, and in preparation for a non-fiction film class I (hope) I'll be taking next semester, I want to get a camcorder.

The question is, what kind? I'm not really looking to do anything complex, but I also don't want something that I'll have to replace as soon as I get into it because I've reached its limitations. I want it to be of a high enough quality that projects I present don't just feel like a hollow home-video, but I also don't mind a little of that kind of DIY-aesthetic. I want to be able to transfer relatively painlessly to digital (Windows or Ubuntu, probably Windows) for editing--and in case you're wondering, I won't be doing heavy editing (hough there will be cross-fading, text, music, etc...simple stuff).

I've been pointed to something like this but I have to believe that that's low-end and/or limited. Like I said: I do want to get some life out of this thing, because I know I'll be using it a lot. Then again, I might be deluding myself into thinking I can get anything other than something simple for a middle range price--I'm thinking <$500, preferably much less.

I saw a handful of threads suggesting mini-DV in the archives, but with technology, you never know--things could change or become cheaper in only a years time. So I thought I'd play it safe and ask.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Stories about WWI/WWII home fronts

booksandlibretti — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:30:21 -0800

Please recommend me some great books about the home front during WWI or WWII. I'm really interested in stories, not academic histories or anything. Novels, diaries, collected letters, and memoirs would all qualify -- basically, I like stories, fictional or not.

Again, I'm looking for a home front setting, not for soldiers' stories. England, Canada, and America would all be obvious choices, but stuff about noncombatant residents in contested areas (like A Woman in Berlin) is also fair game.

I'm especially interested in the London Blitz and the evacuated schoolchildren, so bonus points for books including those elements. Other examples of what I've enjoyed are The Night Watch, by Sarah Waters, and L. M. Montgomery's Rilla of Ingleside. Heck, even the Chronicles of Narnia qualify around the edges.

Thanks in advance!

a possibly deformed man...

phytage — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:31:20 -0800

Please help me figure out the name of this Japanese war movie... IMDB and Netflix have let me down. About 10 years ago I rented this movie from a ma and pop video that is no longer in business. It took place during WWII but possibly filmed in the late 80s/early 90s. What I remember is a girl is in a boat right after the bomb fell and radioactive rain/ash is falling on her. It permanently stains her skin and when she goes back to her village they treat her like a monster. She ends up with only one person to love and that is a possibly deformed man...
I've tried to search plot lines in IMDB and I have looked through every Japanese movie on Netflix with no luck at all.
This movie was a tear-jerker, and I'd love to see it again!

Are there any good English-language sources on dissent in World War II era Japan?

Kattullus — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:10:33 -0800

Are there any good English-language sources on dissent in World War II era Japan? I recently met a Japanese woman who grew up in a dissenting household during World War II. I also learned that some Buddhist leaders were jailed for dissent by the Tojo government. Now, if I had thought about it I'm sure I would've realized that dissent was just as widespread in Japan as it was in Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. However, I never thought about it because I don't remember ever seeing it mentioned before. Can anyone point me towards good English-language books, articles or websites about dissent in WWII-era Japan? Or, in a pinch, summarize non-English sources?

anybody recognize this alphabet?

garfy3 — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:54:27 -0800

anyone familiar with the language/alphabet used in this WWII-era document from western China? my best guess is something related to the Yi language, but that could (of course) be totally wrong.