History Book Club

On the 20th July 1944 Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg attended a meeting at the Wolf's Lair at which Adolf Hitler was present. He placed a briefcase containing high explosives under the conference table and then departed. A few minutes later the bomb exploded killing four, but crucially not Hitler.

This month's film club is Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise, the 2008 depiction of the July Plot. Joining is Roger Moorhouse, author of Killing Hitler, and film maker Tim Hewitt.

Links

Valkyrie on IMDB

Valkyrie on Wikipedia

Ollie on X

Tim on X

Roger on X

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On the 20th July 1944, a bomb hidden in a briefcase exploded under a large table over which Adolf Hitler was examining maps of  the Eastern Front. The man who had planted the device, Claus von Stauffenberg, had left just before the explosion to initiate the operation that he hoped would lead to the overthrow of the Nazi regime. The plan failed, and Hitler would survive for another 9 months before his suicide on 30th April 1945.

Was this the closest Hitler came to death? What about the November 8, 1939 when Georg Elser so very nearly succeeded where Stauffenberg would fail more than four years later. And what about Allied attempts - Operation Foxley by the British, and then the very strange idea from the American OSS? Roger covers all these in the first part of our series on the 80th anniversary of the July plot.

Part Two continues on Saturday with Valkyrie, the 2008 film starring Tom Cruise.

Roger Moorhouse Links

Killing Hitler: The Third Reich and the Plots Against the Fuhrer

Roger on X

13 Minutes

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Ollie on X

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The Ancient Greeks are the font of all our historical knowledge. Now that's quite a claim, but the historian who joins to discuss makes a strong argument in his book, The Muse of History. Oswyn Murray is one of the country's finest ancient historians and in this chat, beginning with the Peloponnesian War between Athens & Sparta, many subjects are addressed including colonialism, slavery, the wonder of the ancient world, ancient historians fighting in WW1 and WW2 and why we should all learn an ancient language.

Oswyn Murray Links

The Muse of History: The Ancient Greeks from the Enlightenment to the Present

Cover of Thomas Hobbes' translation of Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War

Aspects of History Links

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Ollie on X

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The Emperor Vespasian began construction of the Colosseum and it was completed by his son, Titus. Vespasian is played by Anthony Hopkins in the new show, Those About to Die, and Justin Pollard, historical consultant, joins to discuss gladiators, charioteers and the Circus Maximus under the Flavian Dynasty. Those About to Die hits Prime on the 19th July.

Justin Pollard Links

Charge! The Interesting Bits of Military History

Justin on X

Aspects of History

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Ollie on X

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When Alexander crossed the Hellespont to invade the Persian Empire in 334BC, he began a thirst for war that could not be sated. Territory was not his aim, nor was power for its own sake. What of Germany in 1914 and 1939? Competition with the great powers in the former case, and a demand for resources in the second were important motivations.

Joining to discuss these and other examples is Richard Overy, historian of the Second World War and the author of many bestselling and award winning books.

Richard Overy Links

Why War?

Aspects of History Links

Ollie discusses D-Day on GB News (48mins in)

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Ollie on X

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Between 1763 and 1767 two British surveyors, Charles Mason and Nathaniel Dixon, established the dividing line between the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware. For the two hundred years since, the Mason Dixon Line became known as the cultural divide between North and South, Union and Confederate. But is that correct?

Jonn Elledge joins to discuss this and other boundaries including Ireland, India & Pakistan, Israel & Palestine, and most controversial of all, Middlesex.

Jonn Elledge Links

A History of the World in 47 Borders

Jonn on Substack

Jonn on X

Aspects of History

Mason & Dixon, by Thomas Pynchon

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Ollie on X

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On the 25th October 1415, the English under Henry V met with the French on the field of Agincourt. The resulting victory, and it was a total victory, has gone down in history alongside Blenheim and Waterloo as the finest by an English or British army.

Gordon Corrigan joins to discuss the build up, the internal strife in England and France, the battle itself and the aftermath.

Part One: Crécy

Part Two: Poitiers

Gordon Corrigan Links

A Great and Glorious Adventure – A History of the Hundred Years War

Agincourt

Finest Hours: Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt

Aspects of History Links

Ollie discusses Agincourt with Jacob Rees Mogg on GB News (50mins in)

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Ollie on X

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When France fell in June 1940, the country agreed an armistice with Nazi Germany, and a period of collaboration began, both in occupied France, and with the Vichy government.

Pirate Irwin joins to discuss deportation of the Jews, score-settling, the personalities involved and the murky moral compromises that were made.

Pirate Irwin Links

The Tortured Detective

Pirate on X

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Ollie on X

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On a cold and dark night in February 1942, a company of paratroopers dropped on snow covered occupied France - their target: the Würzburg radar.

Max Hastings joins to discuss the thrilling raid, the personalities involved and its impact on the British bombing effort.

Max Hastings Links

Operation Biting: The 1942 Parachute Assault to Capture Hitler’s Radar

Aspects of History Links

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Ollie on X

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Concluding our 80th Anniversary D-Day celebrations, Tim Hewitt joins Ollie to discuss the 1962 classic starring John Wayne, Mel Ferrer, Robert Wagner, Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Henry Fonda, Richard Todd, Kenneth More, Sean Connery, Curd Jurgens and a host of other Hollywood stars.

But is it any good? And should Cornelius Ryan have been allowed to write the screenplay? And, what about the CGI?

All these questions, and more, are answered in this month's Film Club.

Links

The Longest Day on Wikipedia

The Longest Day on IMDB

Why John Wayne’s Role in the Longest Day Was Hated by Everyone

Ollie on X

Tim on X

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