Category Archives: World War 2

Marooned

Posted on July 27, 2017 by

Well, I went in with my expectations set reasonably low – the swooning and gasping from many of the critics automatically put me on my guard. (Remember how they tried to convince us that “Skyfall” was the best Bond film … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, History, Reviews, Uncategorized, World War 2 | Tagged , ,

Truth and lies

Posted on January 4, 2017 by

I have a feature in the Express on “Denial”, the compelling new film about the David Irving vs Deborah Lipstadt libel trial. When Richard Rampton rose to deliver his opening statement he was blunt: “My Lord, Mr Irving calls himself … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, History, World War 2 | Tagged , , , , ,

Notebook

Posted on January 4, 2017 by

Often, even in court, one had to pinch oneself to realize the enormity of the events we were discussing. Much of the time, however, merely to keep oneself from becoming uncontrollably angry, it was necessary to erect some kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Notebook, Uncategorized, World War 2 | Tagged , , , ,

Notebook

Posted on January 1, 2017 by

It is said children still have a sense of wonder, later one becomes blunted. Nonsense. A child takes things for granted, and most people get no further; only an old person, who thinks, is aware of the wondrous. Victor Klemperer, diary, … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Notebook, World War 2 | Tagged ,

Notebook

Posted on December 27, 2016 by

Leipzig dominated the conversation at the Steinitzes yesterday. A married sister of the wife lives there. When the warning came, the couple ran down to the cellar, the bombs started exploding, and most of their house collapsed. They were rescued, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Notebook, Uncategorized, World War 2 | Tagged , , ,

Notebook

Posted on December 19, 2016 by

There was one day, unforgettable, when I did go back to Hoxton… I was thirteen or fourteen and had been at Christ’s Hospital for two or three years. Suddenly, after the years of Hoxton’s emptiness, I once more had a … Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Notebook, World War 2 | Tagged , ,

Notebook

Posted on December 15, 2016 by

Before 1933, football had been dominated by the workers’ sports clubs, which counted 700,000 members, and by the 240,000-strong Catholic clubs. Although the German Labour Front rapidly absorbed them and the Nazis reorganized the whole structure of the football leagues, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Notebook, Sport, World War 2 | Tagged , ,

Notebook

Posted on December 5, 2016 by

George Orwell, “As I Please”, Tribune, 1944.

Posted in Notebook, Politics, Uncategorized, World War 2 | Tagged ,

Notebook

Posted on November 24, 2016 by

A wonderful summer’s day. Bright sun. Hot. Today we wore light suits and cycled. I’m making remarkable progress in this art. Then I lay on the grass, resting my head on my hands and gazed into the deep blue skies. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Notebook, Uncategorized, World War 2 | Tagged , ,

Notebook

Posted on November 1, 2016 by

The term “national socialism” seems to have been invented by the French nationalist author Maurice Barrès, who described the aristocratic adventurer the Marquis de Morès in 1896 as “the first national socialist”. Morès, after failing as a cattle rancher in … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, France, History, Notebook, Uncategorized, World War 2 | Tagged , , , ,