Looking Back At History

Welcome to the first instalment of my new 'Spotlight On' series where each post will look at the incredible life of a different historical figure. From the famous to the unknown, the subject of each post will range in notoriety. "Mariya Oktyabrskaya" in H. Sakaida,  Heroines of the Soviet Union 1941-45  (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003) First up is Mariya Oktyabrskaya. Mariya was born in 1905 in the Crimean region of the Ukraine. She was one of ten children in a peasant family and was considered a serf. As a result of her peasant status in life, she welcomed the October Revolution in 1917 and the subsequent Communist regime that followed. It was under Communism that Maria was able to free herself from serfdom and gain an education and a job,firstly in a cannery and later as a telephone operator. Key Word: serf -  an agricultural labourer bound by the feudal system who was tied to working on his lord's estate . In 1925, she married Ilya Oktyabrsk...

The Match Seller by Otto Dix The Weimar Republic is hands down one of my favourite periods of history, which makes sense since I researched the period for my undergraduate dissertation. One of my favourite things about the Weimar Republic is the culture that it produced, particularly in terms of art. There was an increased freedom of expression during this era including a freedom to criticise society. The art was produced during this period often gave a broad view of Weimar culture as a whole and the new modern features it developed. End of Censorship The strict cultural censorship implemented under Kaiser Wilhelm had been lifted and Article 118 of the Weimar Constitution explicitly stated, "Every German has the right, within the limits of the general laws, to express his opinion freely by word, in writing, in print, in picture form, or in any other way. [ . . . ] Censorship is forbidden. [ . . . ]" - The Constitution of the German Empire 1919 (via GHI) Metr...

          You may have heard of Josephine Baker. When you hear her name you probably imagine a seductive '20s flapper dancing in a banana skirt. Whilst this is true, Baker has an interesting historical role. I see her as a sort of Forest Gump figure. By this I don't mean she loved to run and was awesome at ping pong, I mean that she was often at the forefront of pivotal historical moments, including the East St Louis race riots, the Roaring '20s, the French resistance and Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech. The more you read about her, the more you can appreciate what an incredible and interesting life she led. A St Louis Girl Freda Josephine McDonald was born in St Louis, Missouri in 1906 to a family of performers. However her parents struggled to find stable careers in performance and instead had to take alternative work. When she was 8, Josephine took odd jobs, such as scrubbing floors, to help the family income. To support her income, she a...

 ‘Stalin takes care of each of us from the Kremlin’, Viktor Govorkov, 1940, Iskusstvo (Moscow, Leningrad) via Australian National University  In today's post we're going to get close and personal with Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin. Here are 10 weird yet wonderful facts you probably didn't know about Stalin. 1. Joseph Stalin was not his real name. He was actually called Josef Dzhugashvili, or Soso to his family. He first used his pseudonym 'Stalin' when writing for the St Petersburg based Bolshevik newspaper, Pravda, in 1912. Many historians believe that he took the name as it was similar to 'Lenin'. The meaning of 'Stalin' is steel or man of steel which I can never get out of my head when I think of the famous Superman movie, Man of Steel .  2. He came from a violent family. Given Stalin's violent nature, it probably wont surprise you that he was beaten by his father as a child.    However, his violent upbringing goes further than t...

Anton von Werner, The Proclamation of the German Empire (January 18, 1871) – Palace Version (1877) © Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz  When we think of German history, we often think of the First and Second World Wars and its division after 1945. This is all for good reason as they are some of the most major events over the last 100 years but what was Germany like before the war? Today we're going to be looking at what was going on with Germany from 1800-1871. Please bear in mind that this is a brief history and if you are looking for more details, I'd recommend checking out the Further Reading section at the end of the post. The Final Moments of the Battle of Waterloo (La Belle Alliance) on June 18, 1815 (19th Century) © Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz  Pre-Unification Before 1871 Germany wasn't much more than a collection of states who all spoke the same language. Each state had a different type of ruler, system of rule as well as differing cultures and c...

Grigori Rasputin Colorized by Marina Amaral Grigori Rasputin is well known for his connections with Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra and their family. Overtime, he has gained the reputation of a being mad monk with healing powers and undeniable sexual allure. But is that true? Here's 5 facts about Rasputin that you didn't know before. 1. He was a mystic healer. Well, sort of. He was of the Orthodox Christian faith and was incredibly spiritual. He claimed to have had a religious experience and travelled the country teaching faith gaining him the reputation as a wandering mystic. He came into contact with Tsar Nicholas and tried to help heal his son, Alexei, of haemophilia and it seemed to work. There is dispute over whether this was down to his mystical powers, hypnosis or simply change of medication. The Russian Royal Family During the First World War © IWM (Q 69052) 2. He did not, as the cartoon Anastasia suggests, kill Tsar Nicholas and his family. Rasputin ...