Second World War

In the first of our new series of brief biographical sketches, Peter Neville defends Britain's ambassador in Berlin during the years before the Second World War.

Ian Thatcher argues that surface similarities between the regimes of Hitler and Stalin disguise deep-seated differences.

Gilbert Shama looks at the German research into penicillin during the Second World War.

David Welch looks at the dramatisation of Führerprinzip in the Nazi cinema, and how history films were used to propagate themes of anti-parliamentarianism and the concept of an individual leader of genius.

Michael Paris describes the film record of the North African victory, and how the footage represents a tour de force in terms of wartime documentary and national effort.

Anthony Head describes the ways in which an atrocity has been commemorated, sixty years on.

The article that follows comes from True to Both My Selves, Katrin Fitzherbert's prize-winning history of her Anglo-German family. Spanning a century and two world wars, the book centres on three generations of women who each lived part of their lives as Germans and part as Britons, depending on the state of politics between the two countries.

David Williamson examines two seemingly irreconcilable schools of thought.

Valerie Holman describes the little-known role played by the cartoonist Kem in assisting the British propaganda effort aimed at Iran.

David Cesarani reflects on the past, present and future of education about genocide and bigotry.