6 episodes
WW2 - the Key Questions, answered by Laurence Rees. Laurence Rees
-
- Arts
-
-
4.2 • 29 Ratings
-
A former Head of BBC TV History programmes, Laurence has specialized in writing books and making television documentaries about World War Two, the Nazis and Stalinism for thirty years. He won a BAFTA and a Peabody for his TV series 'The Nazis: A Warning from History' and a British Book Award for his book on Auschwitz, which is also the world's best selling book on this notorious camp. His book 'the Holocaust: A New History' was described by the Times as 'exemplary' and by the Daily Telegraph as 'the best single volume account of the atrocity ever written'. Educated at Oxford University, for several years he was a visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics, London University. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Sheffield and the Open University. Professor Robert Service, of Oxford University, described Rees as 'one of the world's experts on the Second World War'. Sir Max Hastings wrote in the Sunday Times, in a review of Laurence Rees' 'World War Two: Behind Closed Doors' that 'Rees knows a vast amount about the Second World War and his judgments can seldom be faulted.'
-
How did Auschwitz evolve into a place where over a million people were murdered?
Award winning historian, Laurence Rees, answers the key question - How did Auschwitz evolve into a place where over a million people were murdered? Laurence is the author of 'Auschwitz: The Nazis and the 'Final Solution' which won history book of the year at the British Book Awards. It is also the world's bestselling book on the history of the camp. Laurence also wrote and produced the accompanying six part TV series on Auschwitz for BBC TV and PBS.
-
Is it valid to compare Hitler and Trump?
Award winning historian, Laurence Rees, answers a key question with a difference. In the light of all of the attempts on social media to compare Donald Trump with Adolf Hitler, Laurence examines the validity of a comparison between the two.
-
How best can we compare Hitler and Stalin?
Award winning historian, Laurence Rees, answers the key question - How best can we compare Hitler and Stalin. Laurence's latest book 'Hitler and Stalin: The Tyrants and the Second World War' has recently been published in the UK and in America. It was described as 'always compelling' by the Times, 'an impressive parallel study' by the Telegraph, and the Times Literary Supplement concluded that 'as this book brilliantly shows, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were blood brothers.'
-
Why did Hitler hate the Jews?
Award winning historian, Laurence Rees, answers the key question - Why did Hitler hate the Jews? Laurence is the author of 'the Holocaust: A New History', described by the Sunday Times as 'absorbing, heart breaking', by the Mail on Sunday as 'Groundbreaking' and by the Daily Telegraph as 'The finest single volume account of the Holocaust.'
-
Why did Hitler invade Stalin's Soviet Union?
Award winning historian, Laurence Rees, answers the key question - Why did Hitler invade Stalin's Soviet Union? And in the process reveals how Stalin could have lost this war, if he hadn't made two crucial decisions.
-
Why did World War Two happen?
Award winning historian, Laurence Rees, answers the key question - Why did WW2 happen? And in the process reveals why Hitler ended up fighting what was, for him, in many ways the wrong war.
Customer Reviews
Simply Amazing!
I have loved listening to such an interesting and knowledgeable person who clearly has a passion for history and the analysis of it. An excellent food for thought type of podcast. Only sad that there are so few episodes but grateful there were at least some, thank you!
Please Keep This Up
Mr. Rees,
I have own all your DVDs and books and have consumed each more than once. I really enjoy your take on Hitler and Stalin etc. you seem to give the context which other story tellers either gloss over or mold to the tale they want to tell. I appreciate your integrity that is always visible in your stories. My favorite part of any DVD is the woman who dismisses your interview because it was raining. The cognitive dissonance on her face spoke volumes about how people have to make compromises both to live in their country during difficult time and to live with themselves during peace time after making difficult choices in a trying time.
Please continue with this series of informal information sharing and more importantly please continue making outstanding television/documentary films. We cannot afford to live without your insights. Most young people may be playing video games but the leaders among us do care to learn the lessons that history has to teach us.
Thank you again for your distinguished gifts to the future of liberal democracy.
-Stephen
Fantastic!
A must listen, nothing more to say.