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revisiting WW1 and WW2

The popular British narrative about the First World War is that it was wasteful and futile - the verdict of a handful of poets who fought in the trenches. This view grew to prominence in the 1960s and continued to flourish during the recent centenary of the conflict.

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But this is not a view shared by professional historians. Over the last twenty to thirty years, using new approaches and fresh sources, they have transformed the picture of 1914-18 that we  have been used to for so long. In books that came out to mark the centenary, they showed that this first global war was altogether stranger, more complex, and more modern, in every sense, than we've been led to believe.

 

In Unknown Warriors, ten leading historians of the First World War tell us how their work challenges the traditional wisdom, offering new perspectives and overturning old myths.

 

If you think you know about the First World War, this series will make you think again.

A First World War commemorative statue in bronze called The Homecoming showing a British Tommy returning victorious from the front.

Photo credit: 

The Homecoming © cambridge2000.co

The popular British narrative about the First World War is that it was wasteful and futile - the verdict of a handful of poets who fought in the trenches. This view grew to prominence in the 1960s and continued to flourish during the recent centenary of the conflict.

​

But this is not a view shared by professional historians. Over the last twenty to thirty years, using new approaches and fresh sources, they have transformed the picture of 1914-18 that we  have been used to for so long. In books that came out to mark the centenary, they showed that this first global war was altogether stranger, more complex, and more modern, in every sense, than we've been led to believe.

 

In Unknown Warriors, ten leading historians of the First World War tell us how their work challenges the traditional wisdom, offering new perspectives and overturning old myths.

 

If you think you know about the First World War, this series will make you think again.

Created by

Michael Baker

Michael Baker

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An Understanding History Podcast

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