It’s been awhile since we’ve done a YouTube video and this is a good one, a Disney propaganda cartoon called “Education for Death.” Running approximately 10 minutes, the story follows the birth of a German child, Hans, from his registration as an infant through his education and into military service. Like most propaganda, it speaks for itself in both imagery and words. Exceedingly interesting as an historical document.
This morning I ran across a haunting video on YouTube, a five-minute tour of the ruins of a Nazi stronghold in Bretagne, France. Now, bear in mind, I’m a sucker for ruins of any kind. I’ve even been known to stop on the side of the road and take photos of abandoned, vintage gas stations.
There’s a rather extended blog entry here in relation to the video. (There are some opinions there that I’m neither advocating or refuting. Just providing the link to flesh out the story of the video since there is no narration.)
One of the things that struck me about the video was the fact that the ruins are covered in graffiti. While I realize it isn’t possible to preserve every remnant of every war, I’m still disturbed by that kind of thing. If we can’t make physical memorials, I’m glad we have photos and video at our disposal to preserve some of these sites before they disappear forever into the landscape or fall prey to what seems to be mankind’s desire to pave every square inch of the planet.
Just as a quick aside, another exciting project along these lines is the virtual reconstruction of Hitler’s long-destroyed Fuhrerbunker. For more information and to see some images, click here.
YouTube can be a treasure trove of video gems, including World War II material. Although embedding has been disabled on this video by request, click on the graphic and you’ll be taken to the first video in a series of posts by CountryComesToTown.
You see, on a trip home to Alabama, he found a box of letters his father, who served in the Army Air Corps, wrote between 1941 and 1946. The bulk of the correspondence come from the period 1943-1945.
In the first video the son reads a letter from January 11, 1944 in which his father describes his trip overseas to England, being entertained by Red Cross workers on the ship and settling into his first stationing — even acquiring a bike.
Interspersed with the text of the letter you’ll get commentary on the degree to which mail home was censored as well as observations on vintage items and life on the American homefront. For instance, one of the commenters clears up confusion about V-Mail writing:
“Oh, almost forgot. V-Mail was the military’s effort to save room in mail bags. The letter was filled out by the sender on a standard form. Then Photographed and slightly scaled down, and developed on photographic film. This was placed in a flat encasement envelope and sent back with all the other mail to the states. May have saved room, but think of the cost of all the film.”
Look at the other videos posted by CountryComesToTown and you’ll find additional letters. It’s a wonderful glimpse into the personal correspondence of one of “the boys.”
World War Two Talk examines World War II past and present including the homefront for both the Allied and Axis powers, news, nostalgia, history, memorabilia, trivia, humor, and militaria. A professional historian and the daughter of an Army Air Corps pilot, Rana is interested in all things WWII.
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