Tag Archives: World War II

Have you or a loved one been affected by persuasive cartography

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Although I am one of those odd people who actually took geography courses at university, Persuasive Cartography is a term I only recently encountered. It usually refers to propaganda art that uses cartography to make a point. An amazing collection … Continue reading →

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Never Forget

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

A temporary holocaust monument titled Levenslicht (Lifelight)  created by artist Daan Roosegaarde lights up Rotterdam with 104,000 luminescent memorial stones that represent the 104,000 Dutch holocaust victims of the Nazis during WWII.  The monument, which recalls the Jewish custom of … Continue reading →

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Resistance Is Not Futile

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

In response to my post last week on the 10th anniversary of the American publication of Hans Fallada’s heartbreaking novel Every Man Dies Alone, TBTP reader Lincoln S. reminded me about the real life story of brother and sister Hans and Sophie … Continue reading →

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Every Man Dies Alone

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Until ten years ago Hans Fallada was a forgotten German novelist who had a moderately successful career until the rise of the Nazis. When he died in a sanatorium in 1947, Fallada was struggling with a long term addiction to … Continue reading →

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September 1, 1939

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

September 1, 1939 W.H. Auden I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-second Street Uncertain and afraid As the clever hopes expire Of a low dishonest decade: Waves of anger and fear Circulate over the bright And darkened lands … Continue reading →

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Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first publication of Kurt Vonnegut’s masterwork Slaughterhouse-Five. Part autobiographical, part science fiction, part satire, Slaughterhouse-Five was Vonnegut’s first bestseller and remains a revered literary classic of the 20th century. After the real-life Vonnegut … Continue reading →

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Britain In Pictures

Posted on January 13, 2019 by Brian D. Butler

The books  in the 1940s Britain in Pictures series were designed to boost morale during World War II, but perhaps also record the British way of life in case the Germans completed their European campaign by successfully crossing the English Channel. The … Continue reading →

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Miracle of Dunkirk

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

I had the opportunity to see Christopher Nolan’s exceptional film Dunkirk this past weekend and have been ruminating on the experience since. I won’t spoil the film by commenting much on the content, however I strongly urge you to view it on … Continue reading →

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Don’t Mention The War

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Situated on the shores of the Laacher See near Andernach in Germany, Abbey Maria Laach is a handsome 800 year-old center of devotion and learning with a gorgeous 18th century library and a dark history. During the years leading up … Continue reading →

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Noteworthy ?

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

Adolf Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto has been freely available in most countries for decades, but for the first time since World War II Mein Kampf will be legally published in Germany. The book, which will include 3,500 scholarly annotations, will be … Continue reading →

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