Professor Richard Overy - Writing the History of the Second World War: Anything More to Say?

On 9 March 2015 the Sir Michael Howard Centre hosted Professor Richard Overy for a lecture on the Second World War and the age of imperialism. Professor Overy discussed the major challenges faced by today's historians of the Second World War and how the age of imperialism best accounts for the war’s origins, course and consequences.
Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. From 1980 to 2004 he taught at King's College, London, where he was made professor of Modern History in 1994. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (1977), Fellow of the British Academy (2000) and Fellow of King's College (2003). In 2001 he was awarded the Samuel Elliot Morison Prize of the Society for Military History for his contribution to the history of warfare. His most recent books are ‘The Bombing War: Europe 1939-1945’ (2013), ‘The Third Reich: A Chronicle’ (2010), ‘The Morbid Age: Britain between the Wars’ (2009), and ‘1939:Countdown to War’ (2009).
Since its inauguration in August 2014, the Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War has organised a series of seminars and lectures. You can listen to them by visiting the War Studies Soundcloud page: / warstudies
DISCLAIMER: Any information, statements or opinions contained in this podcast are those of the individual speakers. They do not represent the opinions of the Department of War Studies or King's College London.

[@matthewmcleod7064]

Studied under Overy at Exeter, in his yearlong class called The Dictators, Hitler and Stalin, where he told me he enjoyed my writing particularly in its aesthetic value, but took exception to my sources, which were extremely outdated. The key to understanding the period was essentially newness. Cutting edge scholarship. This was the spring of 2005, and he delivered this dressing down in his office, which was covered in garish pastels, shag carpet, and basically everything short of a framed photo of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Needless to say I loved the man and always will; he's the living embodiment of a brilliant anachronism.

[@yampk1]

Lovely story, and very good advice!

[@kenzeier2943]

You do write with some style.

[@opencurtin]

Richard Overy is always popping up in WW2 documentaries nice to hear him speaking here his knowledge of WW2 is one of the most definitive .

[@MSM4U2POM]

I've got a lot of time for Professor Overy. I don't agree with him on everything, but his scholarship is of the highest standard and he has a knack for explaining complex issues in a simple and engaging fashion. A truly great historian.

[@readingforwisdom7037]

Overy's 'War: A History in 100 Battles' is a great read.

[@MrKen-wy5dk]

To get to the meat of the matter, skip to 5:00. Five minutes of introductions and accolades are too much for mere mortals.

[@opencurtin]

THANKS FOR THAT )

[@Conn30Mtenor]

I especially like Overy's work on the Battle of Britain and his destroying the myths around that event.

[@robertpalin2161]

is it possible to acquire a REPRODUCTION of Prof OVERY's lecture?

[@DaveSCameron]

Why ask when it's abundantly clear that you can watch it here at will, until utoob cull it that is...

[@johngluck6938]

I just read his boo k. Very fascinating.

[@Sheehan1]

Excellent as always Prof Overy. Silly name, but his research tends to set the focus for historiographical discussion for the next decade or so. Tooze clearly relies very heavily on Overy's economic history, for example

[@robertbarbour4245]

Interesting that Spain, Franco and the civil Spanish war are not mentioned. The fear in all the European communities was that similar civil stresses could occur in their countries. The fact that fascism came in vogue was not because it was liked but because of fear of class conflict. Strange that he doesn't see that as a factor. Also strange that he talks about liberation of the proletariat but really as in the Soviet Union it was simply the replacement of one power with another and there was no liberation but instead more restriction and incarceration than ever before.

[@judithsochor9755]

Robert Barbour

[@robertorochin1559]

I was convinced that he would say financing and aiding Franco's uprising in Spain was the Reich's "first move" like Manchuria was for Japan, but alas. Valuable reframing of the chronology of ww2 and clearly very erudite, though I'm a little frustrated by how vaguely he uses imperialism in a few bits of the lecture

[@mesofius]

I'm from eastern Europe and was unimpressed by the lecture, nothing was mentioned of the Stalin -Hitler pact and the fact that the Russians were the same sort of empire as the Axis powers.

[@robertorochin1559]

I also noticed that. I liked his general approach of prolonging the chronology of WW2 and linking it to Imperial competition, but at the same time he seemed to use "empire" to specifically denote French and English empire. He seemed most nuanced when he mentioned mercantilism and the Axis' intent to capture resources and protected markets. But for that matter, weren't the us and Soviets also interested in controlling key resources and markets , not shying from using military means agaisnt sovereign states to obtain them? (Soviet invasion of Finland, Us occupation of Phillipines + all kinds of colonialism in Latin America for example

[@DaveSCameron]

Comment comments etc

[@McIntyreBible]

20:40, Avery's real intention of his lecture.

[@michaelweston409]

This old man is so funny bruh. I be just watching his commentary’s on WWII & I just start dying out laughter. He’s so like non-chalant about history I love it. History repeats itself. So what. Either evolve or die.

[@locyfelix]

Truly interesting exposition, and very logical explication of WWII, except that Professor Overy has not considered the British mandate and the intricate, greatly varied Christian theologies underpinning several great powers involved in the period all the way from WWI to WWII, as the main driving force of the Great War and its part two, the Second World War. And also Professor Overy has not considered how Protestant Germany was not made an ally of the Allied camp and how it became a turncoat at that point under Hitler, but they said it was not Austria that caused it. One issue was that many modern theology books tell us Germany was a Protestant, but in fact it was only half so by the advent of the Great War - historical sources tend to say "Germany" back then was still 300 or so princedoms, some Palatinate and some Hohenzollern. And internally, they painstakingly battled it out every so often - a few times since Martin Luther, often having to face the Austrias' opposition. The problem besetting the whole period from WWI to WWII, simply put, was that the Catholics, as the original supporter of replacement theology, did not support Herzl's vision of Zionism, but the Zionists insisted they forge ahead to create their long-expected state in Palestine, eventually even successfully bringing the British and their vast empire on their side. This was the main cause of the outbreak, the second conflict being the rise of communism in Germany itself, which caused the Germans to fear for the future statuses of their church and private property. All these came to a head. But of course, the Americans are worthy of a mention, too. The rumblings caused by Fat Man and Fat Boy in the east, although not actually heard and felt by the Germans directly, did cause Hitler's forces to surrender quickly and retreat in no time probably due to the effects of the newswires and radio broadcasting, still a novel technologies in those days, that carried the rumblings the horrors far and wide. But given more than 60 years have passed since WWII and already, with decolonisation seemingly completed by the European powers, up till now there is still one part of the world heavily colonised, but the academic world has remained hush hush and not really dared make mention of it as such. But I think the reason is more to do with the fact that they don't want to study that area as such (as it may not yet be the right time for that to do so, or for whatever reasons), and they don't care to bend it into the western mould and have allowed its own way of doing things as distinct from the western way. So, that area is currently heavily involved in production of western goods at the moment, is not thought of (at least not yet) as necessarily having to copy the west in other ways. Many have written copiously about how the political changes are optimistic and imminent, which has so far never happened. However, there is one exception in that country: there is a part in it there which has been placed under its mandate for 50 years (a mandate of preserving its British character and capitalism), but that part still legally belongs to Britain, and Britain can turn up any time after the 50 years have passed. I guess so with much educated guess.

[@ralfrath699]

The history of the Second World War was one tragedy after another - so today we can only describe ww2 history but we will never understand - why? The Answer of this Question give us today history: We have to learn from history how we can make our world today better.

[@MarlboroughBlenheim1]

Ralf Rath Arguably, war of that scale was in the human species and had to be fought twice so as never to be fought again. At least it was fought mainly before the advent of nuclear weapons.

[@MarlboroughBlenheim1]

Ralf Rath was the defeat of the Nazis a tragedy?

[@opencurtin]

I'm afraid the human species is very good at reproducing its greatest mistakes.

[@ludvigeh]

So, little known fun fact. If you - a partner in a stable, long term relationship - for some related reason happened to be having a baby, and invited Professor Overy and his wife into the delivery room at the time of conception, you could exclaim “oh, look it’s the Overies” and it would be an absolute smash hit.

[@frednesbittjr.7862]

Didn't "say"much of anything...

[@vstoussaint]

WW2...90% EASTEERN FRONT

[@RemoteViewr1]

Tell 8 million dead Chinese.

[@jjmatashi]

Lord this man is boring. Back to Max Hastings I go...

[@Joe-og6br]

Good books but if people are really honest he's a bad public speaker.

[@roguedrones]

MUH RACISM

[@roguedrones]

MUH JEW GOLD

[@roguedrones]

''empire was dismantled post war'' tell that to the islamic empire, expanding into europe for decades, and now poised to destroy europe. Hahahhahahahahaha. Intellectuals ey? This lecture is making me not want to waste my time with this war studies course.

[@roguedrones]

and then to finish off, michael howard, someone who's arguably pro white genocide.

[@arcticgrayling105]

Cmrd Knightmarez .....You sir, are right on the money.

[@johnstevenson1709]

Racist moron