In Our Time: History

Atrocity in the 20th Century


Listen Later

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the widespread and chilling atrocities of the 20th century. Just over a hundred years ago, in the ‘Genealogy of Morals’, Nietzsche wrote “there can be no doubt that morality will gradually perish: this is the great spectacle in a hundred acts reserved for the next two centuries in Europe”. What if he is right? Certainly the twentieth century can claim the bitter palm of being the century with the biggest body count, the most advanced savagery, the finest of death delivery systems and, in that sense, the true Dark Ages of humankind. For inhumanity there has never been a century like it in the history of man: 58 million people died in the slaughter of two world wars. Stalinist Russia killed 20 million of its own people. The Nazis killed 6 million Jews. 2 million people were killed in Vietnam, 3 million in Korea, and in 1994 in Rwanda 1 million ordinary people were suddenly turned on and killed by their neighbours. And all the while in this bloody century the private and individual murder of one human by another has risen inexorably.What are the conditions that allow man to be inhuman to man on such a scale? And can a scientific study of the mind ever uncover the routes of inhumanity or evil?With Jonathan Glover, philosopher and Director of the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics, King’s College, London; Dr Gwen Adshead, consultant psychiatrist, Broadmoor Special Hospital.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

In Our Time: HistoryBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

1,796 ratings


More shows like In Our Time: History

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,412 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,833 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,745 Listeners

History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,186 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

501 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,749 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,068 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,951 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,050 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

593 Listeners

In Our Time: Science by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Science

709 Listeners

In Our Time: Religion by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Religion

279 Listeners

In Our Time: Philosophy by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Philosophy

860 Listeners

The History Hour by BBC World Service

The History Hour

590 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,629 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

811 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

763 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,016 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

2,894 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

12,429 Listeners

Gone Medieval by History Hit

Gone Medieval

1,706 Listeners

Not Just the Tudors by History Hit

Not Just the Tudors

1,922 Listeners

Empire by Goalhanger

Empire

1,996 Listeners