On Friday, when we heard the presentations in class, I thought the topic of Nazi medical experiments was particularly interesting. I was aware that experiments had taken place during the Holocaust, but I guess I was unaware of the sheer barbarity. This weekend I was research some of the particular experiments that took place. To understand hypothermia, the Nazis put their victims through a painful process in order to help the Nazi soldiers who were suffering on the Eastern Front from the harsh Russian winters. In the experiments, they would freeze their victims to death in a tub of ice and then attempt to revive them with a sun lamp. A large amount of Nazi medical experiments were done in the area of genetics, in Hitler’s attempt to prove to people that there was indeed a superior race and certain people, like Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and mentally unstable people were genetically inferior. Much of these experiments were done simply as propaganda to fuel the Nazi war cause and keep up the faith in Hitler’s radical ideals. For example, it was discovered by Nazi doctors that gypsies had bad blood and that they were prone to criminal activity. The medical experiments that took place during the holocaust were done without informed consent and though they may have had some lasting effect on medicine, they were justifiable forms of torture. Most of the test subjects were killed and their body parts and organs used afterwards to see the effects the various diseases and chemical injections had on the body. Those who actually survived the experiments were left severely maimed and disabled. They may have discovered many great medical advances, like for example modern knowledge of hypothermia comes from these Nazi experiments, but the manner in which they went about seeking these discoveries was completely unethical. I do not think it is excusable for the Nazis to have treated their test subjects in such a barbaric manner, but then they were the Nazis and these experiments were only a portion of the horrible, inhumane things they did during the Second World War.

We have done our final project on the European Union. It was not an institution that I knew a lot about before I did the project. The European Union a twenty-seven country organization has created immense cooperation and success all over Europe. The currency, the Euro, has been steadily getting stronger as the years go on. The cooperation between the countries has made travel and immigration throughout Europe much easier and has spurred on the economies of many European nations. It has created a Unified Europe which Churchill himself sought and deemed the “United States of Europe.” With its creation in the late, 20th century from the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 the EU ushered in an age of prosperity and hope in Europe. Not only did this treaty create the Union itself, it also created the Euro and joined Western European countries not only politically, but economically too. This is not the only important part of being part of the European Union. In October of 1997, the Treaty of Amsterdam guaranteed the abolition of passport controls between member states guaranteeing the freedom of movement. This provision has made it easier for tourists, such as myself, to travel throughout the countries in the European Union. European Union member states are very active on the global scale too with twenty-one of twenty-seven being apart of NATO and agreeing to a policy of defense in response to unwarranted aggression. To join the European Union, it is necessary that candidate countries fit the “Copenhagen Criteria” which requires a stable democracy that respects human rights, so the former Soviet Union or Nazi Germany would not have fit the requirements of the Copenhagen Criteria. I think this is a sensible requirement to fill. It is necessary that the EU accepts countries that will further their progress and not detract from it. The EU has made a lot of great changes to Europe and has united the continent in ways that Churchill could only have hoped for when he sought his “United States of Europe.” I am glad that America’s system of the unification of very diverse areas of our country has created an example upon which Europe has built a very successful institution.

Last Thursday, for my World War II class, we took a trip to the Churchill Cabinet War Rooms. It was probably one of my favorite museums that I have been to London. Walking around with a headset to my ear, I learned the significance and importance of all the rooms in the underground headquarters. The Cabinet War rooms were used by Winston Churchill and his cabinet during World War II. The full-proof bunker was fortified by thick concrete and was called the slab. It was in this facility that Churchill and his advisors made key decisions during the war. In the museum, there were many rooms that were open for people to see. They included: the sleeping quarters of all Churchill’s advisers, the cabinet meeting rooms, the kitchen, the map rooms, rooms where coded messages were sent and received, and Mr. and Mrs. Churchill’s sleeping quarters and dining room. Though Churchill had a large bedroom at his disposal, other than his daily naps, he only spent three nights in the bunker throughout the course of the war. Churchill was a very dedicated man to his job, but he did not want to hide in the shelter while his countrymen were suffering at the hands of German bombs. One of the most interesting rooms, in my opinion was the “Transatlantic Telephone Room.” This is the room in which Churchill made secure phone calls to President Roosevelt. It allowed the two leaders to discuss important wartime strategy without having to worry about the Germans intercepting coded messages. Another interesting room in the facility was the map room, an expansive room containing maps of every part of the world. It was the most important room in the bunker because of its necessity in wartime strategy. It was the hub of most of the activity in the bunker and was a room that Churchill frequented often. A detail that I found interesting about the war rooms was that despite the terrible war that was going on around them, the British still clung to their class traditions. For example, in the bunker we looked at two rooms alongside each other. One belonged to an officer and then adjoining room was home to his secretary. You could clearly recognize the difference in elegance and design of the room. The officer’s room had more ornate furniture, a bigger bed, and a decorative rug covering the floor by the desk. The assistant’s room on the other hand was much simpler. It is interesting that despite all the troubles, the British still held on to their lifelong traditions. It was a great experience to be able to see where a lot of important decisions were made and where Winston Churchill changed the course of World War II for the better.

Over Easter Break, my roommates and I went on a day trip to Brighton. It was an interesting city and it was definitely not what I expected. It had a Coney Island feel, though on a smaller scale. After walking along the water for a while, we came across the Brighton Pier. As like many other amusement parks and fairgrounds, the Pier is not as grand an attraction as it once was. Brighton Pier was built in 1866 as a simple sundeck with a few oriental houses to protect the Brighton visitors from the sun and the wind. It was transformed over the years to become a bigger and more attractive place to visit. In the early 1900s, it was transformed into a concert hall by 1916. It’s transformation was an attempt to draw busy Londoners out to the city for a relaxing, yet fun filled weekend by the sea. It was transformed again in 1932 to add a more amusement park aspect to the simple pier. I think this transformation was probably undergone in an attempt to keep up with the changing and more fun seeking lifestyle that had developed in the 1920s after the end of World War I. People were seeking to enjoy life; they were more interested in frivolous activities and pleasure pursuits. So the change in the pier was probably a result of society’s shift to an era of luxury and consumerism. However, construction was halted with the beginning of World War II. British people were more focused on survival from the enemy and working towards victory than they were on taking weekend trips to the sea. All efforts in Britain were geared towards the war and the pier was forgotten for the time being. However, at the end of the war people were so excited that the slaughter was over, that people again sought day trips at the relaxing seaside. Business on the forgotten pier boomed with people enjoying the fruits of victory. But this euphoria soon ended at the pier again fell into disarray around 1960. It’s modern state was established in the 1980s when the pier underwent major renovations. I think the story of the pier is very interesting and it coincides with all the turmoil and ups and downs of the 20th century. The Brighton pier suffered, just as the people suffered, from the destruction of two world wars.

When Winston Churchill gave his iron curtain speech declaring that “an iron curtain had descended upon the continent, I’m not sure the world realized the truth of his statement. With the end of the 2nd World War, the struggle between the ideologies of the victors began because they believed in very different things. People were forced to live under the threat of nuclear attack. Neither the United States nor the Soviet Union wanted to be the first to attack, but the race for power was fueled by this constant threat of destruction. The lifestyles of the people who lived during this time were not the only proof that people lived in constant fear. Not only did people build shelters under their homes and save up food in the fear of nuclear disaster, but even the media portrayed a certain amount of fear. This is evident in the films that were produced during the Cold War. There are a few movies that are indicative of the indescribable fear described by the iron curtain. The fifties film The Blob was released in 1958. The film is about a bizarre blob that has come to earth from a different planet. The blob terrorizes the world by going around swallowing humans and growing exponentially as it does so. It all sounds kind of silly but it indicative of what people during the Cold War were interested in watching. It shows that people were looking to put a face on the indescribable fear. The media worked to alleviate this fear by giving people a ridiculous monster to associate fear with and make the nuclear scare into a satirical thing. Another film that is a shows the fear felt during the Cold War is called the Thing or later The Thing from Another World. It follows a faceless thing that takes over human bodies again showing this indescribable villain that is trying to devastate all humanity. I think films such as these were an interesting way to make the very real fear of nuclear destruction seem a little silly and help make everyone living under constant threat feel more at ease.

My flatmates and I were having an argument last night about how Facebook and all of the newer age means of communicating were destroying the communication abilities of today’s youth. I think that while these new forms of technology have opened up different ways of communication, they will not affect the youth as much as people are speculating. My reason for saying this comes from my knowledge of history. In Britain, in the 1960s a revolution in music culture occurred at the hands of four boys from Liverpool. The Beatles introduced a new form of rock ‘n roll to the world. People were afraid that the loose values and shaggy haircuts would spread like wild-fire and destroy the youth. Their music did change the world forever and it was a driving force behind many of the radical movements of the time, like for example John Lennon’s plea for the world to “give peace a chance.” Their trend setting ways did change the youth, but not necessarily for the worse. A new youth culture was brought to the stage in Britain and the rest of the world soon followed. It is funny to think that a few boys who played music in a local pub could become four of the best known artists in the world. I think the music of the Beatles reflected a very post World War II attitude of living and loving freely. Who knew four boys from Liverpool would have such a dramatic affect on the world? The Beatles were not a passing fad; they and the music they created are timeless.

Last week on our BLC field trip to Dover Castle, I really wish we could have seen the World War II tunnels. When we were standing by the entrance looking out at Dover bay, one of the tour guides was telling us a story about the evacuations of Dunkirk, during World War II. The first time that I heard about the evacuations was after watching Atonement. I had never really learned about too much detail about World War II from the British perspective until I came here. It was interesting to hear and see how much the tunnels and the castle grounds had contributed towards saving the lives of many British and French soldiers at the evacuations. I can’t imagine how they fit so many ships into the tiny Dover harbor. It was interesting that even though the coast of France is a mere seventeen miles from the White Cliffs of Dover, ships still had to struggle to cross the channel because of the constant bombardment by the Luftwaffe. The English made a great use of their underground systems. This probably stems from the fact the English had to deal with the constant bombing of the Germans. Not only did they create a whole system of underground tunnels at Dover, but they also used the cabinet war rooms in London and sought refuge from bombs in the underground. The British had a lot to contend with in World War II after the surrender of France at the hands of the Nazis. The Blitz brought so much destruction upon England, but from the way it looks right now, its as if it never happened.

Today in class some of us were talking about how we never really get to see movies or read books from the German perspective of World War I and World War II. In every movie or book that I have ever encountered, the Germans are always portrayed in a very negative light. Naturally, anything that has been written or created by an American or a British person would portray the Nazis and the Germans in the trenches as monsters because of all the horrible things they have done. And yes, the holocaust was a travesty and the acts performed were horrific. But for once I would like to see a movie or read a book from the perspective of a German. I think it would be interesting to see their view on the war because it would be so different from the opinion I have formed. Obviously, the Germans had something to be angry about when they were forced to comply with the many demands of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was not in a position in which they could pay for all the damage they caused. It always makes me wonder if the treaty had been a little more lax, would the Second World War have even occurred? I would really like to learn about how the Germans felt at this time. They actually lost the most men during the war. Their population was devastated just as much as England and France. Surviving German soldiers were probably just as deeply affected by the war as the allied soldiers. I think it would be interesting to read something about that.

One of my favorite parts of the Imperial War Museum was the In Memoriam exhibit. After reading Regeneration, it sort of puts World War I into a different light. I feel like the affect the war had on the veterans is often left out of history and it was really interesting to get a glimpse into this part as well. The three surviving British veterans of the war were on the first wall, each with a quote about the how they could never forget the war. I just found out that one of the three men on the wall, Bill Stone, died a month ago at the age of 109. I was researching him and I found out that he also fought in World War II. I couldn’t believe that even after he fought in the first World War, he was willing to fight for his country again. If he witnessed all the horrors of World War I that caused most of the surviving soldiers to lose themselves, it shows immense loyalty to his country that he was willing to fight the Germans again. It is very admirable and inspiring.

Modern U.S. history places a large emphasis on the historical events of WWII. The war is popularized by the media and popular culture. While often they are portrayed in a realistic manner, the media often represents these wars inappropriately. In feature films World War II is portrayed with a romantic approach. Modern movies show a humanistic aspect to the war by illustrating the war through romances. The Oscar winning film the English patient shows the war through the eyes of the fatally injured Count Almasy and his love for a woman named Katherine. The film illustrates a love that overshadows the atrocities of war. Another popular film, Pearl Harbor, depicts the devastating effect Pearl Harbor and the war had on two best friends and their love for a woman named Evelyn. Again, WWII is portrayed in romantic fashion. The film is a love story surrounded by the backdrop of WWII. In a more recent film, Atonement, though it depicts the war, once again through a love story, does a better job of depicting the realities of the war in Europe. The movie is shown through three very different perspectives. It is shown through two women who work as nurses and see the extensive casualties suffered at the hands of the axis powers and a soldier who witnesses first hand the carnage in France and the evacuations of the British at Dunkirk. It revolves around the love of Robbie and Celia. The ending, though devastating is a more realistic portrayal of the war, though it is still riddled with romanticism. Often, popular culture leaves out the real atrocities. The holocaust is not often portrayed. The U.S. reluctance to enter the war is not often portrayed. A more historical representation of WWII would illustrate the atrocities of the war, such as the U.S. treatment of the Japanese in interment camps, the extermination of jews in Europe, and the gruesome casualties suffered at the hands of bombs and technologically advanced weapons. The media tries to hide these atrocities and show a more appealing version of the war, through romance.