jomicallahan's MyC-SPAN

Antony Beevor talked about his book, Ardennes 1944: The Battle of the Bulge, about one of the last World War II battles in the European theater, the Battle of the Bulge, which began on December 16, 1944. In his book, the author reports that over the course of six months the German attack on Allied forces in Belgium resulted in the participation of over 1,000,000 men and led to 200,000 causalities.

Peter Slen interviewed Antony Beevor in London about his research and writings on World War II.
Antony Beevor has written 10 non-fiction books: The Spanish Civil War; Inside the British Army; Crete; Paris After the Liberation, 1944-1949; Stalingrad; Berlin: The Downfall, 1945; The Mystery of Olga Chekhova; The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-39; D-Day: The Battle for Normandy; and The Second World War.

Antony Beevor talked about his newly released historical narrative, The Second World War. He spoke about the origins of the conflict spanning from before Hitler’s invasion of Poland to the aftermath of the war, and its global impact on the major powers of the day. He described Adolf Hitler’s dark and chaotic final days, including his marriage to Eva Braun and the couple’s subsequent suicide. He outlined the origins of the war, and he discussed actions taken by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur to suppress information at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal in 1946. He also focused on the research process and efforts to write the book.

Participants debated the question “Was Winston Churchill more a liability than an asset to the Free World?” Historians and political analysts took positions in favor of, and against, the question to debate the legacy of Former British Prime Minister Churchill. Among the topics they addressed were war policies during World War II, the impact of the war on Britain and Europe, and Churchill as a politician in the post-war era. They responded to questions from the audience.

Antony Beevor discussed his book, The Mystery of Olga Chekhova, published by Viking Press. Mr. Beevor related the tale of how one family survived the Russian revolution, the civil war, the rise of Hitler, the Stalinist terror, and the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. He spoke about how people survived under the terrible pressures of a totalitarian age. He noted a confusion of courage, idealism, fear, self-sacrifice, opportunism, and betrayal. He also spoke about playwright Anton Chekhov, a close relative of Ms. Chekhova.

Antony Beevor discussed his latest book The Fall of Berlin 1945, published by Viking. He chronicled the period of World War II from January to May of 1945 when Soviet troops battled with the Nazi army in the closing days of the war. He described how the Soviet army’s siege of Berlin cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides and would leave its scars on the city for years to come. After the presentation, the author answered questions from members of the audience.