The Silver Screen Oasis

Oh that sounds good! There are so many WWII stories that seem completely unreal, the defense of Greece, the way that Hollywood helped create a completely fictional D-DAY landing in a different place so the Germans would be fooled, I'm sure there are others but those come immediately to mind.

I do like conspiracy theories

My brother thinks total strangers are plotting to break into his house. Doesn't matter that they don't know where he lives. They can follow him home. He sees a lot of the news reported as a "liberal agenda." Things they want us to believe because it furthers their purpose. Clearly, he doesn't watch FOX!

I haven't read many of Lincoln's speeches, but I wish today's statesmen would strive for more eloquence. Even compared to the rhetoric of Carter and Reagan, not to mention all those Kennedys, the language is deliberately casual. They don't need to talk like the average person. They're not talking about average things. Even politicians I support sound more like Facebook than Vital Speeches. "You know, my opponent is like, whatever..."

You're right, they actually strive to sound like everyday folk. I personally think Obama is one of the best speakers of our time, but I don't want to get political here, and yet, even he does the 'you know, whatever' thing.

I immediately loaded up another recommended book on 4 more of the SOE operatives, this time concentrating on 4 women who died in a French concentration camp. Then there's the memoirs of Vera Atkin the woman who sent all the agents off to France and spent time after the war finding out what happened to them.

One of the most memorable war stories for me was the dead body dropped in (I think) the Med with plans for the invasion of Europe. He had been given an identity and these secret plans that were decoys, the corpse was actually a recently deceased vagrant. The German's believed it and was another reason that they concentrated their resources away from Normandy. I think it was called Operation Crossbow.

charliechaplinfan wrote:I immediately loaded up another recommended book on 4 more of the SOE operatives, this time concentrating on 4 women who died in a French concentration camp. Then there's the memoirs of Vera Atkin the woman who sent all the agents off to France and spent time after the war finding out what happened to them.

One of the most memorable war stories for me was the dead body dropped in (I think) the Med with plans for the invasion of Europe. He had been given an identity and these secret plans that were decoys, the corpse was actually a recently deceased vagrant. The German's believed it and was another reason that they concentrated their resources away from Normandy. I think it was called Operation Crossbow.

It was not Operation Crossbow ... but OPERATION MINCEMEAT ...

OPERATION CROSSBOW LINKS

General Information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossbow

1965 Movie Starring George Peppard and Sophie Loren
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059549/

here is two links ...

OPERATION MINCEMEAT ... General Info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Never_Was

The Man Who Never Was ... 1956 War Film
Starring Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049471/

Well, that's what happens when you ask your husband, he told me what it was, I can never remember the operation names unless it's the big ones. You knew what I was referring to straight away, it must be a pretty famous story.

My book on the SOE girls continues to be enthralling.

Have you read any about the WOMEN'S LAND ARMY Alison? I only just discovered it's existence and find it fascinating.

No, I haven't read about the Land Army, I had a great aunt who was a land girl, she loved it. I can see myself reading about Land Girls though, it's the type of social history that fascinates me.

It sounds silly, but I've learned so much of the social history of Britain in WWII from Foyle's War. It's clued me in on several things I never even had heard of... and have since looked up and read about. I love history, but I realize my knowledge of what it was like there in Europe for regular folk is sadly inadequate.

I think the knowledge here is inadequate too. I grew up listening to my Grandma, she'd lived through it but now for a child to hear it first hand they would have to be talking to someone very elderly. I can't remember learning about the war and what happened, it was just always there. I'm still learning all the time, the Call The Midwife books were an eyeopener for me, although set in the 50s I had no idea of the deprivation still suffered by many people, I thought it was just as few but it was thousands. The SOE girls and men, I knew about them but didn't know too many of the details, the deaths of 4 of hem is too brutal to describe.

It's fascinating the way books and movies set in the 1950's always have something to do with the war. Effects on culture. Returning veterans. Family issues. There's always something. It changed everybody's life in one way or another.

My mother in law came to this country in 1956, and they were still feeling the effects of the war in Germany at that time.

Does your mother in law ever talk about that time? I often wonder what it must have been like for the ordinary German. They were bombed to nothing in some areas but they had the guilt of losing and they must carry that to this day, even the youngsters, they are taught about it according to my sister in law, to stop it ever happening again.

I've now moved on to a book about Sophie Scholl, I know there is a movie about her which I haven't yet seen. In fact I don't know much about her. Whilst I'm reading about Sophie Scholl Libby is reading Anne Frank's diary, I was worried that she might be a little young, not for the outcome but to read a diary, I've not said anything, I'm proud that she'd chose to read something so serious.

Allison, it's wonderful that she's chosen to read Anne Frank's diary. If she's chosen to read it, she must be ready to learn about it!

Curiosity is a great motivator.

Thanks Christy, she's a voracious little reader but this is a new direction for her. I read it when I was young but I was a little older, more of Anne's own age, she's no stranger to what went on. We took them to Dachau last year when we were on holiday, what a destination but somehow it wasn't a place you could drive past.