Voices of the Armistice: German soldier'...

Extracts from the Treaty of Versailles that ended the war between Germany and the Allied Powers. Original document catalogue reference: FO 93/36/76 

The announcement of the Armistice in China and details of celebrations and commemorations. Original document catalogue reference: CO 873/547 

The proceedings and evidence from the case of a private, shot for desertion and pardoned in 2006. Original document catalogue reference: WO 71/671 

Many thought that Germany was capable of winning World War One until the very end. Unlike World War 2, in which the Allies believed that victory was inevitable as early as 1943, this was not the case with the Great War. It is also easy to assume that German defeat was inevitable ... Show More

Si le 11 novembre 1918 la guerre est terminée, il faut désormais établir une paix durable.  Et pour cela, une conférence de paix se réunit en janvier 1919 à Versailles.  Elle aboutit six mois plus tard à la signature d’un traité, le célèbre traité de Versailles. Il est supposé ré ... Show More

Most Americans are indifferent about the nation's involvement in World War One (under half say the U.S. had a responsibility to fight in the war; one-in-five say it didn't). Many figure it entered the conflict too late to claim much credit, or intervention was discreditable. Some ... Show More

Among the conflicts that convulsed Europe during the nineteenth century, none was more startling and consequential than the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. Deliberately engineered by Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the war succeeded in shattering French supremacy, deposi ... Show More

“No one can doubt that this world will one day be the scene of dreadful struggles for existence on the part of mankind. In the end, the instinct of self-preservation alone will triumph.”Hitler has been planning for war since 1928. However, the Treaty of Versailles has placed imme ... Show More

In the first episode of our podcast series The Big Questions of the Second World War, historian and broadcaster Laurence Rees explains some of the short and long term causes of the global conflict – from the legacy of the Treaty of Versailles to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi pa ... Show More

La signature du Pacte germano-soviétique, le 23 août 1939, provoque l’ultime crise qui mène au déclenchement de la guerre. La France décide alors de soutenir militairement la Pologne en cas d’agression probable de l’Allemagne. Le 1er septembre 1939, Hitler, tirant prétexte d’un i ... Show More

80 years ago this month (thats May 2020, if you're reading this from the future) the Germans finally surrendered to the Allies. While there were a number different surrender ceremonies the 8 May 1945 was declared by the Western Allies to be Victory in Europe Day, VE Day (the Russ ... Show More

Was the USA already a superpower when it joined the Second World War? How did it turn from an isolationist nation to a force ready for action?  Today Don is joined by Craig Nelson to find out how President Franklin D. Roosevelt manoeuvred the country from the isolationism of the ... Show More