…in 1945 celebrations took place around the world to mark the end of the Second World War.
Tag Archives: ww2
Did Films Reflect or Shape Gender Roles in the Second World War? Part 5
While wartime films did open up passage of gender exploration for both film-makers and audiences, the war itself meant that the discourse could not be as radical or far-reaching as some might have hoped. For the sake of both national … Continue reading
Did Films Reflect or Shape Gender Roles in the Second World War? Part 4
The question of female identity inevitably encouraged both film-makers and audiences to explore ideas of masculinity, in particular the relationship between heroism and men in non-combatant roles. If men had to fight to prove their masculinity, what did that mean … Continue reading
Did Films Reflect or Shape Gender Roles in the Second World War? Part 3
A crucial concern of the wartime discourse on gender was that of duty versus desire, explored in the melodramas and Brief Encounter. L. K. Gordon of Leicester wrote to the Leicester Evening Mail in 1943 stating that ‘the war had … Continue reading
Did Films Reflect or Shape Gender Roles in the Second World War? Part 2
The anxious discourse on female mobilisation during the war also concerned the perceived necessity of protecting the femininity of these women. Gender distinctions rest largely on appearance, thus “these trouser-clad androgynies destabilised the polarisation upon which gendered identity normally rested”[1]. … Continue reading
Review: Joyce’s War
Verdict: A fascinating slice of history told from a unique point of view; Joyce’s War perfectly captures a wartime experience that is both alien yet strangely familiar to us. Though you will be left desperate to know more (Joyce introduces … Continue reading
On This Day…
… in 1945 the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Allies. Of the 1,300,000 Jews, homosexuals, Poles and other perceived ‘enemies’ of the Nazi state sent to Auschwitz, 1,100,000 never left.
May we never forget nor trivialise the sheer brutality of war and the darkest extremities of human nature.
On This Day…
… in 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy conducted a surprise military strike against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This attack provoked the US into entering the Second World War.
My History Cafe 