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A chronicle of the history of the twentieth century, including art, music, popular culture, science, religion, and, of course, politics and war.
Hitler exacts retribution for the assassination attempt against him, while in France, the Americans break out of Normandy.
Bloody inconclusive fighting in Normandy, and the Democratic Party nominates Roosevelt for a fourth term.
There had been grumbling about Hitler in the Army since 1938, but by 1944 a group of officers were determined to get rid of him and overthro...
The Soviet summer offensive of 1944, "Operation Bagration," costs the German Army virtually an entire army group.
In 1944, Franklin Roosevelt's health began to fail, while Stalin made good on his pledge to begin a Soviet offensive in June.
The China and Burma fronts remained relatively quiet for two years. That changed in 1944.
In this episode, we conclude the story of the American occupation of Saipan, while US commanders ponder the question of where to strike next...
When the Americans attacked Saipan, the Japanese saw a final opportunity to force that decisive battle they'd been yearning for.
The initial Normandy invasions were moderately successful. Casualties were lighter than feared. But D-Day was not the end; it was only the b...
We conclude our look at the Normandy invasion by examining events at Sword, Juno, Gold, and especially Omaha Beaches.
In this episode we look at the Normandy amphibious landings generally, then focus on the US assault on Utah Beach.
The Normandy landings began at dawn on June 6, 1944, but the night before three Allied airborne divisions were dropped into Normandy to help...
The German military was occupying many European countries, which put British and American bomber commanders in the awkward position of bombi...
In this Christmas bonus episode, I answer listener questions.
In May 1944, Allied forces in Italy began an offensive that finally broke the Gustav Line. Soon Americans were marching into Rome. At the sa...
In this episode, we look at some of the preparations both sides' militaries were making for the coming invasion of France, as well as the tr...
As America geared up for war, and then entered the war, African Americans fought to claim a role in the battle against fascism.
During the interwar period, African Americans pushed back against the US military's explicit racism.
Boogie-woogie went mainstream in America during the war, as evidenced by the music of Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters.
The Americans were on the offensive in the Southwest Pacific, and after Tarawa, in the Central Pacific. As they advanced, Japanese military...
As soon as Allied leaders chose Normandy as the site of the Operation Overlord invasion, British intelligence set to work convincing the Ger...
The Allied campaign in Italy stalled, and British and American leaders were searching for a way to break the stalemate on the peninsula. Win...
The war era (1939-45) saw the beginning of the end of the big band era. Part of this decline was due to two key strikes in the music industr...
The Holocaust should not be viewed as strictly a Nazi project or even a German project. Millions of people across Europe share responsibilit...
When Hitler learned that the Hungarian government was attempting to make a separate peace with the Allies, he ordered the German military to...
The US tries out a new strategy against Japan, but the American public is shocked by the cost.
A look at some prominent blues singers, plus Judy Garland and her most famous role, as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz.
The Allies hoped their invasion of the Italian mainland would lead to a rapid occupation of Italy, but the Germans put up a defense that slo...
The German Army continued to retreat westward over the winter of 1943-44, abandoning most of Ukraine. Red Army pressure was relentless, not...
The Big Three--Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill--met and conferred together for the first time in November 1943. It was the most important m...
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, created in 1924 by the merger of three film production companies, quickly rose to become the most successful studio of...
The Japanese "Zero" fighter plane played an important role in Japan's amazing victories early in the Pacific war. But by 1943, the Zero (and...
Continuing from the previous episode, we examine events in multiple theaters in August-September 1943
An eventful period in July-August 1943, when there were major developments on the Eastern Front, in the Mediterranean, and in the Pacific.
The history of Paramount Pictures, one of the oldest and most prominent film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age.
The end of the Battle of Kursk did not mean the end of the Red Army advance. The Germans withdrew, but the Red Army just kept coming.
Hundreds of thousands died in Leningrad during the winter of 1941-42, but with spring came new hope. Composer Dmitri Shostakovich's latest s...
As war raged around the globe, the city of Leningrad suffered under a German siege that lasted 872 days.
In this episode, we look at Twentieth Century-Fox, John Ford, Shirley Temple, John Wayne, and Alfred Hitchcock.
Resistance against the Nazis could take many forms.
Some of the biggest successes (and biggest failures) of European resistance movements and their guides in Britain.
In the occupied countries of Europe and Asia, resistance movements developed to oppose Axis occupations. In most cases, the resistance movem...
The U-boat war was going quite well for the Germans at the beginning of 1943, but by mid-year, the German Navy was on the verge of abandonin...
The Hamburg bombing forced the German government to rethink its defense policies. In Québec, Churchill and Roosevelt cut a deal on atom bomb...
After two years of trying, RAF Bomber Command at last perfected the techniques to inflict mass casualties and devastation on an enemy city....
As the war turned against them, the Japanese attempted to create allies among the nations it occupied, declaring the independence of Burma a...
The Japanese come to the reluctant conclusion that they have to abandon Guadalcanal and northeastern New Guinea. US submarine warfare begins...
The German offenive failed. Then it was the Soviets' turn.
Adolf Hitler begins his long-delayed 1943 offensive against the USSR, which fizzles in a matter of days.
Warner Brothers was one of the minor studios until they introduced the first talking picture, which made the studio into one of the majors....