November Blog: Armistice and Anniversaries
Wednesday 8 November 2023
Armistice Day
We have discussed Armistice Day several times over the years and the opportunity that this gives for History DP students to play a role in explaining to the rest of your school the significance of this event.
There are many different themes that can be explored in discussing the war: this PPT gives some suggestions of content and video clips that could be used in an Assembly:
The video links for the videos in the PPT above are:
The BBC site also has Assembly resources that can be used:
Armistice Day Resources (BBC)
A collection of content to use with Primary and Secondary pupils to mark Armistice Day.
Armistice Day also gives the chance to talk about all wars - not just those which have ended but also ongoing conflicts - Ukraine and Gaza being the most prominent at the moment - and to remember soldiers and civilians who have died, been injured, or are still caught up in these wars.
This article from the excellent Foreign Affairs Magazine links the Ukraine War with the First World War in terms of the horrors of trench warfare:
Back in the Trenches (Foreign Affairs)
New technology hasn’t revolutionized warfare in Ukraine.
Note that it is worth your institution getting a subscription to Foreign Affairs - there are many articles linking history to politics of the present. And essential for students studying Global Politics!
Site update
We are continuing to add content and activities to existing pages; also updating the layout. This month we have completed Paper 2, Wars, First World War and Paper One, PS2, The Conquest of Mexico and Peru:
Anniversaries
This month sees the 60th Anniversary of the assassination of JFK. See our last month's blog for new evidence that has been found about the assassination. Indeed, this event is one of the most discussed and investigated events in History. And the anniversary has led to yet more programmes on the subject including One Day in America on National Geographic and Disney+, What the Doctors Saw on Paramount Plus and this one on UK's Channel 4:
Watch JFK: 24 Hours That Changed the World | Stream free on Channel 4 (www.channel4.com)
Created for the 60th anniversary of the assassination of John F Kennedy, this is a unique, moment-by-moment view of the tragic events in Dallas on 22 November 1963
The end of October also saw the 100 year anniversary of modern Turkey: The low-profile affair shows the far-reaching impacts of the bloody Israel-Hamas war, but also brings up uncomfortable divisions within Turkish society over the state’s secular legacy, elements of which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to challenge:
Turkey quietly celebrates 100-year anniversary (Al Jazeera)
Many festivities have been called off against the backdrop of Israel’s escalating attacks in Gaza.
History in the news
Meanwhile, the Taiwan issue continues in the background:
The US is quietly arming Taiwan to the teeth (BBC News)
America is using its own money to send weapons to a place it officially doesn't recognise.
And other useful resources...
Linked also to the First World War, a recent BBC In Our Time episode, with historian Margaret MacMillan, discusses the influential book John Maynard Keynes wrote in 1919 after he resigned in protest from his role at the Paris Peace Conference:
 | Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Keynes' influential attack on the Treaty of Versailles |