History Off the Page

In this episode of our series on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict we examine the period of the British Mandate, essentially the moment when the split between the Jewish and Arab communities of Palestine began to become more permanent.  On the one hand, increased Jewish migration combined with the development of Jewish institutions like the Histradrut (labor union) and Haganah (defense organization) provided the basis for an independent Jewish state - eventually Israel.  On the other hand, Arab economic growth and political development made the case for accepting Jewish refugees less persuasive.  Further driving the two sides apart were periodic episodes of violence such as the Nebi Musa riots (1920) and the Waling Wall riots (1929).  In the end, these moments of violence and the general political inertia proved stronger than any of the attempts to bind the communities together in a single state.  
 
 Topics covered in the episode (with jump links) include:
 Intro (0:50); the Peace Process in Palestine (8:46); Complexities of Palestinian politics (14:11); emergence of Palestinian society (30:30); the 3rd and 4th Aliyot (37:53); emergence of a Jewish statelet (40:30); the League of Nations' Mandate (47:01); the Haganah (55:25); the Irgun, Etzel and Lechi; the Histradrut (1:15:20); missed chances (1:20:21); violence (1:25:32)

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

This episode explores the history of Israel/Palestine during the First World War - a time when divisions between the local Jewish and Arab communities began to harden. On the one hand, both peoples suffered under the strain of the war and repression under the Ottoman governor Jamaal Pasha. On the other hand, the war brought together Zionist and British policy goals, culminating in official British support for a Jewish national homeland in Palestine (the Balfour declaration). 

Specific topics covered include (click on the number to jump to that section):

Intro (0:50); Start of the war (1:59); Hussein of Mecca and the Arab Revolt (8:35); Chaim Weizmann and the Balfour Declaration (17:11); effect of the war on the local population (30:40); The Jewish Legion (50:56); consequences of the war for identity (1:04:16); postscript: Faisal, Greater Syria, and the origins of Jordan and Saudi Arabia (1:07:20); conclusion (1:116:19)

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

In this second episode, we start to explore the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, starting with the initial wave of large-scale Jewish migrations in the early 1880s. The episode highlights the complexity of identities in the region, including the multi-faced relationships between Ottoman, Arab, Palestinian and Jewish/Muslim/ Christian belonging. We'll explore the critical role played by the Ottoman Empire in the story, including the passage of the 1858 Land Reform Act that lies at the heart of the conflict over the land. In the end, we'll see how the current friction between the two groups was not inevitable, but how historical forces set the two peoples of separate paths of national development in the years before World War I.

To jump to a specific section:

Intro (0:50); Ottoman Palestine and Identity (5:28); Origins of Zionism (36:30); Origins of Palestinian National Identity (52:39); Palestine in the 1880s (1:10:33); The First Aliyah (1:17:41); The Second Aliyah (1:26:31); the Kibbutz (1:40:20); modern Hebrew (1:42:00); Arab perceptions of Zionism (1:47:25); violence and the Jewish response (1:54:16); conclusion (2:06:26)

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

In this episode, the first of several on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we reflect on some of the dominant narratives being used to understand the current crisis in Israel/Palestine.  Topics include the complicated nature of politics and identity in the region, flaws in both the decolonization and anti-Semitism narratives, the lack of Palestinian agency and failures of Palestinian leadership, problems with Wilsonian notions of national rights to territory and much more. 

The perils of selective historical narratives (4:42)
Complications of the conflict: other actors in the story (9:30)
Varieties of Palestinian experience, politics and identity (16:43)
Varieties of Israeli politics and identity (28:28)
Problems with the anti-colonial narrative (37:32)
A refugee story?  (1:02:28) 
Problems with the anti-Semitism/"Jew-hatred" narrative (1:07:43)
The lack of Palestinian agency (1:18:15)
Failures of Palestinian leadership (1:22:14)
Dehumanization and social theory (1:31:02)
Problems with Wilsonian notions of national territory (1:37:57)
Israeli and Palestinian history: a mirror image? (1:45:22)

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

A brief discussion of books to help you understand the causes of the current crisis in Ukraine.  Topics covered include: Intro & significance of the topic (0:50); Honorable mentions: Timothy Snyder (8:58); Anne Applebaum (15:02); #1 Ukraine and Russia: From Civilized Divorce to Uncivil War (17:39); #2 Gates of Europe: a History of Ukraine (24:16); #3 The Man Without a Face: the Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin (30:32).  

To find links to these books and more check out our blog: https://historyoffthepage.com/3_books_ukraine/  and/or check out other episodes in our series on Modern European History including episodes on the causes of the war and the Soviet Union.

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

 Fascism.  The name has long been understood as the antithesis of  democratic society.  In this episode - the first of several exploring  the topic, we examine the rise of fascism in Italy in the early 1920s.   Topics covered include: the Intro (0:50), What is Fascism (14:58),  Italian Nation-building (25:39), Italy in World War I (32:32), Postwar  Italy (42:30), Gabriele D'Annunzio (1:05:48), Benito Mussolini  (1:14:36), the March on Rome (1:21:46). 

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

Before 1900, few Europeans associated sexual preferences or desires with identity. One engaged in a variety of sexual acts with various partners, some licit (like your spouse in order to procreate), some illicit (outside of wedlock, a prostitute, someone of the same sex, etc.). But generally speaking the idea one was homo or heterosexual did not yet exist. How and why sexual preferences evolved into identities is the subject of this episode. Among other things, topics discussed include the politicization of sex and the body in the late 19th century (17:27), the Eulenberg Affair in 1907 and the role of scandal in driving identity awareness (19:58), the rise of sex researchers such as Magnus Hirschfeld (35:39), and postwar reactions to the new public face of homosexuality (46:15). Also see important clarifications at (5:21), or skip the intro here (0:50).

Point of clarification: the episode describes trends taking place from about 1890-1930. Public displays of male homosexuality became increasingly prominent in urban centers after 1890, becoming more common after 1918. So like many of the modernity-related phenomena we've discussed, one can find traces of these developments that predate the war.

find out more on our website www.historyoffthepage.com or support us on https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

 Continuing on the theme of change and modernity, this episode focuses on the evolution of gender expectations across the beginning of the Twentieth Century. In particular the episode charts the emergence of the "New Woman," who began to behave in more masculine ways than her Victorian auntie: she was slender and athletic, was openly sexual, and lived for her own pleasure rather than the needs of her family. Most importantly, she also became a powerful consumer, frequenting department stores to buy things she wanted and to be attended to by men. The episode ends with a brief discussion of the fashion designer Coco Chanel, who in so many ways embodied this new ideal of femininity. Topics covered include: Intro (0:50), Victorian ideals of gender (17:12), the first feminists (26:36), the impact of the Great War (37:04), postwar political victories (51:27), woman as consumer (59:28), changes to marriage (1:06:44), and sexual behavior (1:14:57), and lastly Coco Chanel (1:24:37).

find out more on our website www.historyoffthepage.com or support us on  https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

After a nice summer History Off the Page returns for season 3!   This short update talks about future episodes in the upcoming season (1:03), ways to support the show (6:12), Spotify's new Q&A feature (8:27), book and movie recommendation "shorts" (9:10) and Instagram reels (10:39).

links:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/history_off_the_page/
Patreon: patreon.com/historyoffthepage 
Twitter/X: @HistoryOTP 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HistoryOffThePage

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

In the first half of this episode (Part I) we discussed how new inventions like the airplane restored Europeans' faith in the power of science, rationality and more broadly European civilization.   In the second part of the episode, we explore similar trends related to the invention of the automobile and the radio.  Topics covered include: Intro (summary of previous episode) (0:50), meaning of the car (1:50), Benz, Daimler and the first cars (14:53), Henry Ford and the Model T (33:03), the meaning of radio (54:13), Hertz, Marconi and the invention of radio (57:39)

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

Living at the start of the digital age, it's not hard to imagine the ways in which new technologies lead to social change.  This episode charts perhaps the three most important inventions of the 20th century: cars, airplanes and radio.  For these devices not only opened new ways of doing things, they were proof in an age of cynicism of the power of science and rationality.  Thanks to technology, Europeans did the impossible.  In the episode, you'll hear about things like the first flight across the Atlantic, and find out why fliers such as Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart became such a global superstars. Also learn about the origins of modern automakers such as Ford, Fiat, BMW, Mercedes, Peugeot, Citroen, as well as the birth of commercial aviation. Topics covered include: Intro (on modernity and technology) (0:50), the meaning of flight (9:27), The first fliers (18:01), Lindbergh, Earhart and other heroic fliers (31:37), the rise of commercial air travel (45:21) .

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

This episode continues our theme of the emergence of modernity in 1920s, focusing on the rise of the metropolis. As we'll see, the metropolis was more than just a big city, it meant experiencing mass society for the first time. For some, this was thrilling, as individuals enjoyed the glitz and glamour made possible by modern life. For others, it provoked deep anxieties about the future, as the individual disappeared into a sea of humanity. Topics covered include: the Dilemma of Life in the Big Apple (0:50); continued urbanization (14:42); Art Deco (21:31); Skyscrapers (27:14); Mass Transit (32:56); Crime (41:59); Fritz Lang's "M" (48:47); Georg Simmel (53:36); Advertising (1:02:29); The Department Store (1:15:46); Mass Entertainment (1:23:45); Dance Clubs (1:26:58) and movie "Metropolis" (1:32:58). 

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

In our last two episodes we looked at how waves of political violence swept over post-World War I Europe.  But not all revolutions are political.  In this episode, we investigate revolutions in art, architecture, film and music - movements that dramatically altered the European cultural landscape.  Topics covered include: Josephine Baker (4:49), Dada (17:00), Surrealism and Dali (27:22), Marc Chagall (32:04), Writing and James Joyce (35:36), Architecture and Erich Mendelsohn (45:22),  Walter Gropius and Bauhaus (54:00), Film and the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (100:16), Der Blaue Engel (108:33) and Jazz (112:17).

note: website will be updated next week.

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

 As we saw in our last episode, the foundation of European society after World War I was supposed to be national self-determination. All peoples would be free to form their own national states, and nations would treat each other equally, eschewing the competitiveness of Great Power politics that had lead directly to the war. Yet as this episode demonstrates, far from achieving lasting peace, the years immediately after World War I were filled with more war and violence across most of Europe. Topics covered in the episode include the fundamental problem of measuring nationality (4:14), the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918-19 (9:20), the Irish War of Independence (22:53), Violence in the early Weimar Republic (28:25), Hungary and Bela Kun (34:56) and the Spanish Flu (39:50). 

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

In January 1918, American President Woodrow Wilson laid out his vision for a durable peace settlement that would end the Great War. Abandoning traditional diplomatic practices that called on losing powers to make territorial concessions to the victors, Wilson's vision suggested a new Europe built on mutual respect and democratic principles. In doing so, his idealism gave the Entente war efforts renewed purpose, and laid the foundations for the postwar era. But how effective would Wilson's ideas be? This episode examines the reception of Wilson's ideas and the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, noting some of the ways his ideals salvaged 19th century European society.  We'll also discuss some of the conference's failures, including the treaties it produced.

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

In the second episode of our series on Stalinism, we try to get a better sense of what everyday life was like outside of repression.  In particular, we'll focus on Stalin's attempt to industrialize the Soviet Union, to transform it in the span of five to ten years from a backwards country to a futuristic society through central planning and collectivization.  The episode argues that it was this push for modernity that led ordinary citizens to justify/accept the extraordinary violence and repression of the 1930s.  Topics discussed include: the Moscow Metro (9:53), the Soviet Economy (17:15), the Five Year Plans (25:10), Alexei Stakhanov (30:13), Soviet work culture (32:02), Magnitogorsk (35:49), shortages (55:07),  and the (Soviet) civilizing mission (102:01).

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

Born as Ioseb Jughashvili, this son of a cobbler would strike fear in the hearts of millions as the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. In the first episode of this two part series, learn how Stalin built perhaps history’s most ruthless dictatorship, why it became a living nightmare for those who lived through it (especially for members of the Communist Party).  Among other topics, the episode discusses the leadership battle to succeed Lenin (20:39), the Great Purges of  1930s (43:00), the establishment of GULAGs (1:05:30), Collectivization (1:17:23) and the Holodomor – a Holocaust-like planned famine that targeted Soviet Ukraine (1:21:21).

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

As previously discussed, the Enlightenment envisioned a future where reason could be used to stamp out the imperfections of human society, creating lasting peace and prosperity. But can reason go too far? In this episode we examine some of the contradictions of the Enlightenment, noting how they led to an artistic and cultural revolution known as Romanticism. Among other topics, we'll discuss: Frankenstein, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Notre Dame, French fashion during the Napoleonic period and the painters Jacques-Louis David and Caspar David Friedrich.

Contradictions of the Enlightenment: Toleration, Jewish Emancipation (11:01); Race (23:13); Jean-Jacques Rousseau (26:06); Immanuel Kant (33:25); Johann Gottfried Herder (35:50); Neo-classicism (39:39); Romanticism (51:52); Architecture: Gothic, Notre Dame (Paris) (54:04); Literature: Frankenstein (56:57); Painting: Goya, Caspar David Friedrich, (1:02:28)

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

In our last episode, we saw how Christmas by the early modern period (c. 1600) had become a raucous affair, a time when social relations inverted and moral standards were  usually relaxed.  This is a far cry from our modern, family-centered Christmas.  This episode charts the reforms in the 18th and 19th century that gave birth to the modern version Christmas we all know and love.  Topics covered include the origins of Santa Claus and Christmas Trees, Dickens' Christmas Carol and Hoffmann's Nutcracker, the evolution of Christmas presents and more!

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.

Christmas: perhaps the most anticipated day of the year. A time for faith and family, for Santa Claus, Christmas Trees and a warm glass of eggnog or glühwein consumed whilst listening to carolers sing classic songs. This is the modern Christmas celebrated around the globe on Dec. 25th each year. But it was not always this way. Over its long life span, Christmas has been many things - not all of them what you might expect. In this - the first of two episodes on the history of Christmas, we examine the origins of this wonderful holiday - both its pagan and early Christian roots. In addition, we'll discuss how Christmas evolved into a raucous time for debauchery and mischief during the medieval period - so much so that it was actually banned by the Puritans several centuries later.

For more information on History Off the Page, check out our website www.historyoffthepage.com! Or you can support the show via Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/historyoffthepage?fan_landing=true.