80th Anniversary of the End of the Battle of Stalingrad

Today is the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad.  It lasted from 23 August 1942 to 2 February 1943.  The Battle of Stalingrad was the largest and deadliest battle ever known with approximately 2 million people killed on both sides. 

The Battle of Stalingrad was the first major defeat for Hitler's army and is regarded as the turning point in the war in Europe.

In 1925, Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad, after the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.  In 1961, the city was renamed Volgograd.

Here's a five-minute YouTube video about the Battle of Stalingrad.

©Simple History

There have been a few movies about the Battle of Stalingrad.  Stalingrad was a German language film released in 1993.  It follows a platoon of German soldiers transferred to the Eastern Front in WWII and they find themselves fighting in Stalingrad.  Here's the movie trailer with English subtitles.

©Strand Releasing

Another well-known film is the 2001 release of Enemy at the Gates.  

It tells the story of Vasily Zaitsev, a young sniper who killed over 225 enemy soldiers.  Here's the movie trailer.  

©Paramount Pictures

Vasily Zaitsev was a celebrated Hero of the Soviet Union for his service in WWII, which in Russia is known as "the Great Patriotic War".  Following the war, he settled in Kyiv and lived there until he died in 1991, just 11 days before the Soviet Union broke apart.  He was buried in Kyiv but he had wished to be be buried in Stalingrad so in January 2006 he was reburied in Volgograd.

Volgograd has been on my list of places to visit.  At the Stalingrad Museum his sniper rifle is on display which I'd like to see one day.  However, I don't think that it's going to be anytime soon.

Apparently Russia is glamorising Stalin again and have put up a new bust of him in Volgograd.  Although he was responsible for the deaths of 6-9 million people.

©EuroNews

Who knows how Putin will try to spin the 80th anniversary into a propaganda event trying to further justify his war in Ukraine.

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

Update:  Here's two minutes of CCTV coverage of the anniversary.

©CCTV

People's Republic of China

In October is our long-awaited trip back to Asia.  After last year's visit to Hong Hong and Macau we wanted to check out China.  Pretty much everyone needs a tourist visa to visit China and for Americans it costs $140.  However, if you're only stopping through Beijing on your way to another country then you can visit the city for up to 72 hours visa free.  The plan is to spend three days in Beijing and then it's on to South Korea.  So here's a bit about China.  

The People's Republic of China, 中华人民共和国, was established in 1949 as a communist state after more than two decades of civil and international wars.

China is the largest country in Asia and the fourth-largest in the world after Russia, Canada, and the USA.  It borders Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Vietnam, plus the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

Geographically China covers five time zones but the entire country is on China Standard Time which is GMT+8.

China is slightly smaller than the USA (counting Alaska and Hawaii).  With over 1,379 billion people it is the world's most populous country.  Beijing is the capital city and Shanghai with more than 23,7 million people is the largest city.

China is home to one of the world's earliest civilisations.  China was traditionally ruled by dynasties which were basically hereditary monarchies.  The last dynasty was replaced by a republic in 1912.  There was a civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists that was interrupted by WW2.  However, it continued after the war until the Communists took the mainland in 1949 and the Nationalists fled to Taiwan.  Here's a short 3-minute video I found out on YouTube about the Chinese Civil War.

©Jabzy

In 1978, economic liberalisation began and has given China one of the world's fastest-growing economies.  It is the world's largest exporter and the second-largest importer of goods.  China is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.  It also has the world's largest standing army.  Here's a video about how powerful the country is.

©Test Tube News

The official name of China's currency is Renminbi which translates to "the people's currency".  A unit of Renminbi is the Yuan (¥).

China is a huge country and it is home to around 290 languages.  The Beijing dialect of Mandarin Chinese is the official language.  About 70% of the country's Chinese speakers speak Mandarin. The written characters have been used for thousands of years.  Even if people speak two different versions of Chinese, and can't understand each other, they can still communicate and be understood through writing.  Traditional characters are still used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas Chinese communities.  Simplified characters were introduced by the government in 1956 to replace the traditional ones.

  

In 1979, China implemented its one child policy in order to deal with its growing population.  In order to address the country's now rapidly ageing population and economic needs, as off 2016, couples are now allowed to have two children.

China has recently been building new islands in the South China Sea for military bases which are causing territorial disputes with neighbouring countries.  Here's a bit more detail about it.

©Vox

China and Czechland have pretty good relations.  The presidents of each country have visited the other over the past couple of years and there's a strategic partnership agreement in place.  Here's a bit more about the economic relationship.

©CCTV

Plus there's the Great Wall of China which is probably the best known symbol of the country.  No visit to China will be complete without a stroll along the wall.

Update 2025:  Here's a short video I found on YouTube about how China acquired nuclear weapons.

©History Matters

Ukraine

Ukraine has been in the news quite a bit over the last couple of years.  The country sits between Europe and Asia.  It is positioned between the European Union (and NATO) and Russia.  Україна is the second-largest country in Europe; a little smaller than Texas or about four times as big as Georgia.  It is home to about 44.3 million people.  Kyiv is the capital city.

Between the EU and Russia

Ukraine is in Eastern Europe and sits on the Black Sea.  It borders Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova.  The Moldova part includes the break away republic of Transnistria.

Over the centuries, the area of modern Ukraine has been ruled by Lithuania, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Russian Empire.  It was an independent country for a few years following WWI but then became the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and a founding member of the USSR.

Under Stalin, Ukrainian nationalism was put down.  Forced collectivization and unrealistic quotas for farmers caused Holodomor, the Great Famine, where millions of Ukrainians were starved to death.  Another 7 - 8 million more people died during WWII.

Hryvnia (₴) is the official currency

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine gained independence in 1991.

©NutshellEdu

©The Daily Conversation

Ukraine sits on the border of the European Union.  This is part of the current problem.  In very simplistic terms, the western part of Ukraine wants to be part of Europe while the eastern part of the country wants closer ties with Russia.

The country's official national language is Ukrainian.  However many people also speak Russian.  In the east, Russian is an official regional language but not the national language.  Most people in the east can't speak Ukrainian. 

When the Soviet Union broke up Ukraine was a nuclear power.  In 1996, Ukraine surrendered all of its Soviet-era nuclear weapons to Russia.  This was under the condition that Ukrainian territory would be respected.  Yet Russia has annexed Crimea. 

©CCTV News

 

©Sky News

Terrible fighting has been going on in the eastern part of the country.  Ukrainian forces have been fighting Russian backed separatists and more than 5,000 people have died with many more people displaced from their homes.  

Czech Republic has a large Ukrainian population and I work with a few.  One chap's parents live near Donetsk where fighting has been an everyday occurrence for quite some time.  I can't imagine what it must be like for him.  I just hope that a peaceful solution can be found soon.

Update 2025:  Here's a short video I found on YouTube about the Holodomor.

©History Matters

Update 2025:  Here's a short video on why Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons.

©History Matters

2011 Graz Christmas Market

Christmas time in Graz is really beautiful. First, there's the traditional Christmas markets which are always fun. With all of the lights and the cold weather it really puts one in the Christmas mood.

Then there's the Grazer Krippenweg (Graz Nativity Trail). As part of the Advent festivities, the shops on Stempfergaße street put up lights and roll out the red carpet.
Many of the stores incorporate various types of nativity scenes in their window displays. Participating stores have a gold star but sometimes the challenge is finding the manger scene in the window.

The real draw is the Eiskrippe (ice crib). Since 1996, sculptor Gert Hödl has been producing life-sized ice nativity scenes in the Landhaus courtyard. This year's nativity scene used 54 tons of ice. The design varies a bit each year so it is always unique. It remains on display until January 6th. Here's a video from CCTV that I found out on YouTube.

©CCTV