Teaching
History Online
Number
72: 9th February, 2003
Introduction
1.
Katyn
Massacre
2.
Polish
Home Army
3.
Warsaw
Uprising
4.
Berlin
Wall
5.
House
of Lords
6.
Atlanta
Race Riot
7. Airline
History
8. Young
Archaeologist's Club
Introduction
Spartacus Educational
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John Simkin
spartacus@pavilion.co.uk
Katyn
Massacre: Katyn Forest is a wooded area near Gneizdovo village,
a short distance from Smolensk in Russia where, in 1940 on Stalin's
orders, the NKVD shot and buried over 4000 Polish service personnel
that had been taken prisoner when the Soviet Union invaded Poland
in September 1939. In 1943 the Nazis exhumed the Polish dead and blamed
the Soviets. In 1944, having retaken the Katyn area from the Nazis,
the Soviets exhumed the Polish dead again and blamed the Nazis. In
1989 Gorbachev admitted that the Soviet NKVD had executed the 25,700
Poles in Katyn. This website includes four articles on this terrible
tragedy.
Polish
Home Army: The division of Poland into two occupied zones, German
and Soviet, in 1939, did not break the will of the Polish people and
they continued to fight for freedom. In Warsaw, before the surrender,
a secret military organization was set up with the approval of the
Supreme Commander, who was already in Romania. General Michael Karszewicz-Tokarzewski
took command of what became known as the Polish Home Army. This website
provides a detailed account of Polish resistance during the Second
World War.
Warsaw
Uprising: As
the Red Army advanced into Poland during the summer of 1944, Soviet
contacts in Warsaw encouraged the underground Home Army, supported
by the exiled Polish government in London, to stage an uprising. Polish
resistance troops led by General Tadeusz Komorowski gained control
of the city. However, the Soviet Army reached the suburb of the city
but failed to give help to the insurgents, or allow the western Allies
to use Soviet air bases to airlift supplies to the Poles. On the 2nd
October the Poles were forced to surrender. This article by Tadeusz
Kondracki provides a detailed account of the Warsaw Uprising.
Berlin
Wall: In
the fifteen years following the Second World War over 3 million people
emigrated from the German
Democratic Republic (East Germany) to
Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). In August 1961, Erich
Honecker ordered the blocking off East Berlin from West Berlin by
means of barbed wire and anti-tank obstacles in an attempt to stem
the flow of refugees. Streets were torn up, and barricades of paving
stones were erected. People living in East Berlin and the German
Democratic Republic were
no longer allowed to enter West Berlin. This included 60,000 people
who had working in the city. This article on the Berlin Wall by Burkhard
Kirste is available in English and German.
House
of Lords: When the Labour Party was elected to power in 1997,
it promised to introduce legislation that would make the House of
Lords an elected second chamber. However, Tony Blair, the prime minister
changed his mind and last week called for a fully appointed House
of Lords. On 4th February, 2003, the House of Lords voted for this
measure (335 votes to 110) but it was defeated in the House of Commons
(323 votes to 245) . This Guardian website includes a large collection
of articles on the various attempts to reform the House of Lords.
Atlanta
Race Riot: Four decades after the Civil War had left Atlanta in
ashes, the city had transformed itself into the gateway of a new,
enlightened and racially progressive South. But in the fall of 1906,
the city was convulsed by a deadly race riot - one of the worst of
the Jim Crow era. This
website, produced by PBA, provides the story of how Atlanta descended
into four days of mob violence - an event that stymied race relations
for the next fifty years.
Airline
History: This website on Airline History has been produced by
Sarah Ward, a former commercial pilot. The Airline History Website
has two main parts: Airlines ( listed from A to Z) Aircraft (listed
by decade) There are also special feature topics covering Paper Planes
(aircraft that never flew), London's Airports (decade by decade),
Supersonic Airliners, Flying-boat Airliners and National airline histories.
Young
Archaeologist's Club: Every year the Club organizes a prestigious
award, based on a competition, for young people interested in archaeology.
The
competition is open to anyone aged
between nine and sixteen. Entries will be judged in two age categories:
9-12 and 13-16 and an overall winner from each category will be chosen.
The winner and their guest will be invited on an all expenses paid
trip to York where Julian Richards, from the BBC’s Meet the Ancestors,
and Blood of the Vikings series will present the Award along with
some fantastic archaeological prizes including free YAC membership
for a year! Activities include a guided trip round the Jorvik Viking
Centre, a Viking Saga story-telling session and much much more!
Book
Section
The
Second World War: The Mediterranean: This book covers events in
the Mediterranean and discusses the
importance of logistics and the close cooperation that developed between
ground, sea and air forces in achieving victory.
It explains how this area moved from being a sideshow to being regarded
as an area of major strategic importance.
(Paul Collier, Osprey, £9.99)
.
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
