History is the big myth we live

Action was the newspaper of the British Union of fascists under Oswald Mosley from 1936 until 1940. This cover promotes the  "stand by our king" campaign, which stood against the National government's calls for monarch Edward VIII to abdicate, who was, at the very least, complimentary towards Hitler's Nazi Germany, Hitler himself was quoted directly by Speer as having reported the regrettable situation of Edward's abdication, insisting that, had he maintained the throne, "friendly relations" would have continued.  As for Edward himself, upon the outbreak of war, he stated that "it would be a tragic thing for the world if Hitler was overthrown," and historians argue that if his position as king be maintained, Anglo-German relations would have aided the success of the Nazis in the second world war, and following this, allow Edward to continue a puppet monarch under a Nazi Britain. This appeared to be his intention, having said that;"after the war is over and Hitler will crush the Americans...they (the British) don't want me as their King, but I'll be back as their leader."    

Although the Easter Rising was unsuccessful, following the 1918 election, a Sinn Fein victory asserted the legitimacy of the Republic, and it continued to assert sovereignty over Ireland during the War Of Independence. It ceased to exist as an entity after the ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and the subsequent creation of the Irish Free State.

The conduct of the Black and Tans still sticks in the minds of the Irish population, even those who weren't alive during the war (With my granddad referring to them as "Those tan bastards"), and in many ways advanced the cause of the IRA and Sinn Fein, as they now had the support of the population in attacking the British administration that had allowed such atrocities to be inflicted on them.

please do, it wouldn't be nasty of you, it'd just help to patch up the holes in our knowledge :) any sharing of your knowledge of the subject would be greatly appreciated.

The Ranters were alleged to be one of many religious sects in the early modern English Commonwealth (the seventeenth century), and were regarded as heretical by the established Church of that period. They were promoted as such, with pamphlets and other materials condemning the group, along with other religious so-called sects such as the Anabaptists and She-preachers. The Ranter’s beliefs centred on the concept that God itself, as a spiritual entity, existed only within ones person, and not as an outside force, and so denounced religious institutions. They embraced antinomianism, believing that moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation. Because of this, the Ranters gained an unfavourable reputation, seen as hedonists known for their excesses with drinking, smoking, sexual practices etc, such as the image suggests, with (controversially for the time) women presented as prominent members of the community, lewd sexual practices, and nudity. Pamphlets such as this one helped to marginalise the group, and due to their distinct lack of a plan of action, very little are known from evidence in print of the Ranter’s actual nature. 

Tomorrow is 11/11, when Britain and the Commonwealth remember the dead of World War One and honour the sacrifice of soldiers in subsequent wars, and when I participate in the 2 minute silence, my thoughts will be with all those suffering in the world, and it will be my fervent hope that 2012 is the year in which the world seeks to repair the damage done by armed conflict.

The Legislation that followed more or less destroyed the Highland way of life, banning traditional weapons, tartan and bagpipes, as well as confiscating the land of many resident; and to me indicates a sadder truth about British Imperialism. As much as we look back on the history of Empire and remark on how it has made us a multicultural nation, tolerant of all the cultures we have encountered, it is impossible to ignore incidents where entire ways of life were annhilated when they came to be at odds with ours.

The changes that Methodism brought about in society are still felt today, the idea that a working man, or even an impoverished beggar could communicate with God inspired people to demand political change, the bible study sessions enabled workers to learn how to read, and the idea of a mass movement of workers defying the traditional establishment contributed to the ideals of Socialism (Although John Wesley is spinning in his grave as I type these words)

The Hohenzollern candidature incident involved the transferral of power to a new monarch following the abdication of queen Isabella of Spain in 1868. Leopold, a member of the dynasty, was suggested to take the appointment. Wilhelm of Prussia was encouraged by the French to refuse the position to him, as it would have meant increased hostilities between the two nations as the essentially German candidate would be expected to propose anti-French policy from Spain if his candidature were to be secured. Wilhelm approved Leopold's position, who then refused it. in order to secure the extension of Prussian power, Bismarck sent large sums of money as bribes to ensure Leopold took the position, and following this, Leopold agreed. French anger ensued, and again Leopold withdrew his position. Bismarck was enraged by this, and upon receiving a telegram from the French about the matter, struck out sentences and words of the telegram, known as the Ems Telegram, in order to make it appear as an angry response to French rejection to the rule of Spain by the Hohenzollern candidacy for all time. The receiving of this telegram would be such a slight upon French honour that Wilhelm would state, with insight, that "this is war."

This case serves to remind me, if not all of you that even though WW2 seems like centuries ago, the implications are still with us, and they are as tangible as a legal battle over a house. History often feels like something that lives in the past, but that's far from the truth, we live with it every day.

The fighting spread across Dublin, but the superior forces of the Free State eventually ended the uprising, but started a war that would create more devastation than the War Of Independence.

In post WW1 Britain, unemployment reached two million as men returned from the military in search of work, and war contracts were completed. The resulting unrest included the strike of workers in Glasgow, whereby over 100,000 workers turned out to attend demonstrations, to demand prevention of further job cuts and the maintenance of wages that could be alleviated by the reduction in work hours. The name “bloody Friday” had been given to the event, after police forces enforced a baton charge upon the allegedly peaceful crowds, starting large scale violence between protesters and police officers.

It's difficult to imagine what possessed Asquith at this point, he continued with his much berated 'wait and see' policy, hoping that Carson and Craig would eventually concede ground and allow Home Rule to continue, despite the creation of a paramilitary force and almost half a million ulstermen binding themselves to god in their conviction to destroy Home Rule.

Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi and SS senior storm-unit leader, and was an infamous leader of proceedings during the holocaust. Eichmann was charged by Heydrich with the organization of the mass deportation of Jewish populations to ghettos or concentration/extermination camps from areas of Eastern Europe occupied by Germany. Following his serving in the general SS, Eichmann applied to, and was accepted in the active duty regiments of the SS, and was promoted to squad leader, whereby he was delegated to an administrative position in the Dachau concentration camp. However, following this, Eichmann was later promoted to the SS security service, and head squad leader. Eichmann was also involved in the assessment of the possibility of Jewish emigration from Germany to Palestine. The British refused German entry to Palestine to negotiate with leaders over the issue of emigration, and the Arab population objected to a Jewish state in Palestine, so the possibility of the deportation of all the European Jews to Palestine was abandoned. Eichmann would be offered the authority to form the central office for jewish emigration upon his promotion to 1st lieutenant with his organization of SS forces in Vienna following German occupation of Austria with the Anschluss of 1938. During ww2; Heydrich disclosed to Eichmann in 1941 that the entirety of the Jewish population in German-controlled Europe were to be murdered. Eichmann was put in charge of all the trains that would carry Jews to the concentration camps in the territory of German-occupied Poland, and Hungary, from which 430,000 people were killed. In the closing stages of ww2 it was ordered by Himmler that evidence of the extermination camps and the deportation of Jews to be destroyed, following this, Eichmann went against orders and continued work in Hungary. Following the soviet invasion of Hungary, Eichmann fled and avoided being called up for active service duty by maintaining false identities that allowed him and his family to relocate to Argentina. During the nineteen fifties it was revealed that the CIA had intelligence on the whereabouts of Eichmann, but did not act upon it, stating that "While the CIA has a continuing interest in the whereabouts and activities of individuals such as Eichmann, we are not in the business of apprehending war criminals, hence in no position to take an active role in this case; that we would, however, be alert for any information regarding Eichmann's whereabouts and pass it on to appropriate authorities (namely the West German Government) for such action as may be indicated.”

Interestingly, in the bottom right corner of the picture, it appears as though there is a cross by Germany's bedside. As a cross is a weapon believed to fight against vampires, the artist may be signalling his/her belief that Germany could still fight against France (as many Germans did at the time)

The latter day saints trace their origins from the teachings of the alleged prophet Joseph Smith jr, in the eighteen-twenties, the various churches of the latter day saint movement are based primarily in Mormonism. The church maintained its bases in Ohio, followed by movement to Missouri and eventually Utah. Brigham Young would be the successor of Young following his assassination in eighteen-forty-four. The church itself has encouraged controversy, over the practice of polygamy within its communities. The work of Ann Eliza Young following her excommunication from the church to speak out against her ex-husband, Brigham Young, the church of the latter day saints, the bondage of Mormonism and polygamy itself went some way in raising the profile of the church, in condemning its practices and she gained infamous status as “wife no. 19,” with her autobiography of the same name.