320: Operation Weserübung

Mark Podcast

The German cruiser Blücher sinking in the Oslofjord as Germany invades Norway.

With neither side taking the initiative on the main front, Winston Churchill pushed his plan for intervening in Norway, for the purpose of denying Germany the use of Norwegian waters.

At the same time, Germany was preparing to invade and occupy Norway.

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Ja, vi elsker dette landet” (National anthem of Norway.)
Composed in 1864 by Rikard Nordraak. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

319: Winston Is Back!

Mark Podcast

German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.

In the last months before the war broke out, Winston Churchill’s view of Nazi Germany seemed increasingly prescient, while Neville Chamberlain’s became increasingly embarrassing.

Chamberlain stubbornly resisted calls to invite Churchill into the Cabinet until the war began; then he was given his old job of First Lord of the Admiralty, the same post he had held at the outbreak of the previous war.

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Serenade for String Orchestra
Composed in 1892 by Edward Elgar. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Army Strings. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

318: The Calm Before the Storm

Mark Podcast

2003 German postage stamp, honoring Georg Elser, the would-be assassin of Adolf Hitler.

Hitler wanted to begin a western offensive as soon as possible, but bad weather continued to force delays. In January 1940, a copy of the battle plan for the upcoming offensive fell into Allied hands.

Also, in November 1939, Georg Elser (pictured above) attempted to assassinate Hitler and came very close to succeeding

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Fantasie from Die Walküre
Composed in 1870 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

317: The Winter War

Mark Podcast

A Soviet T-26 tank advances into Finland during the Winter War.

With France and Britain at war with Germany, the Soviet Union was free to do as it pleased in the East.

When Finland refused to consider allowing Soviet military bases on its soil, the USSR invaded. Most thought Finland would quickly collapse, as Poland had just two months earlier, but in Finland the outcome was different.

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Maame” (The informal national anthem of Finland.)
Composed in 1848 by Fredrik Pacius. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

316: Nazism Unleashed

Mark Podcast

The Polish town of Wieluń, near the German border. The Luftwaffe bombed it on the first day of the war, despite the absence of any legitimate military target.

First Germany, then the USSR, invaded Poland in September 1939.

Even the Germans were surprised how quickly the Polish defense collapsed. The occupation of Poland allowed the Nazi Germans and the Soviet Communists the freedom to do with the nation and its people as they pleased.

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Komm, süsser Tod” (“Come, Sweet Death”)
Composed in 1736 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Public domain.
Performed Laurindo Almeida. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

315: Lessons Learned IV

Mark Podcast

This memorial stone stands outside the building in which Adolf Hitler was born. The text translates as: FOR PEACE FREEDOM/AND DEMOCRACY/NEVER AGAIN FASCISM/MILLIONS OF DEAD GIVE WARNING.

That the Great War would lead to a Great Depression was probably inevitable. That the Great Depression would lead to another world war was not.

Before we dive into the narrative of the Second World War, we pause to consider what lessons can be drawn from the Jazz Age.

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Violin Concerto in G minor, “Summer”
Composed in 1723 by Antonio Vivaldi. Public domain.
Performed by the Modena Chamber Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5. Photograph by Jo Oh, used pursuant to a Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 license. Source.

314: Here We Go Again

Mark Podcast

Soon after Germany’s surprise occupation of Bohemia and Moravia, Adolf Hitler set his sights on Poland, relying on the “tried-and-true method” (his words) of protesting alleged mistreatment of minority Germans in that country.

Hitler believed that the leaders of France and Britain would be too cowardly to go to war, but he understood it was a possibility. Still, he believed Germany was better prepared for war than were the Allies. Here we go again…

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Funeral March from Siegfried
Composed in 1871 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

313: What Guarantee Is There?

Mark Podcast

General Secretary Josef Stalin meets with German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop in Moscow in August 1939 to negotiate a non-aggression agreement.

Following the occupation of Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939, Adolf Hitler immediately set his sights on Poland, intending to use the same tactics he had used against Czechoslovakia: the “tried and true” method, as he put it.

In Moscow, the Soviet government sought an alliance with France and Britain aimed at containing Germany, but the three nations could not overcome their mutual distrust. So Stalin chose instead to cut a deal with the Germans.

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Sabre Dance
Composed in 1942 by Aram Khachaturian. Public domain.
Performed by Markus Staab, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

312: It Don’t Mean a Thing

Mark Podcast
Duke Ellington and his orchestra perform “Take the ‘A’ Train” in the 1943 film Reville with Beverly.

Electronic amplification allowed singers to sing more softly, by simply getting closer to the microphone, producing a more intimate sound. This style, known as “crooning” soon dominated popular music.

Hollywood musicals of the 1930s, and especially Fred Astaire, popularized dancing and dance bands, which led to the creation of “big bands” and swing, a new style of jazz music.

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“My Blue Heaven”
Composed in 1927 by Walter Donaldson and George A. Whiting. Public domain.

Closing Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

311: We Shall Not Forget You

Mark Podcast

Spanish Nationalist demonstrators march through Salamanca, bearing portraits of Francisco Franco, as spectators offer Roman salutes.

By the beginning of 1938, it was clear that the Spanish Nationalists were likely to win the civil war. Only the USSR came to the Republic’s aid, but the Soviet aid favored pro-Soviet Communists at the expense of anti-Soviet elements in the Republic.

The Republicans continued to hold out hope that Britain and France would come to their aid, but those countries were more interested in maintaining peaceful relations with the Nationalists’ allies, Germany and France.

  • Listen now:


Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Rapsodie Espagnole
Composed in 1908 by Maurice Ravel. Public domain.
Performed by the University of Chicago Orchestra, directed by Barbara Schubert, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme


Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.