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Andrew Fox...and others...did you know that WW II REALLY HAPPENED?


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There was an excellent series on UK Television about a year ago entitled 'The second world war in colour'

It really is amazing how much more real it seems when you see colour film footage. I distinctly remember one scene in spring 1945 that showed a German officer desperately trying to organise a defensive position whilst anticipating the inevetable arrival of the Russians, one of those bits of film that really makes an impact.

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I am led to wonder how much of the pro-German bias we see in gamers and others who find interest in WW II is due to more and better photography on the German side. It makes it easier for those of us who have grown up in a media-dependent age to identify with them.

Michael

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Originally posted by Michael Dorosh:

Gasmasks.

I've heard from several sources that they often carried their bread ration in them. They would be the right size and shape and their rigid construction would protect it from crushing. If there was a good seal, they would also keep it fresher, especially in arid climates, but as I haven't checked for that I'm only speculating.

Michael

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All these color photos have an incredible pathos that the b&w ones lack for the most part...it's just my own jaundiced eye, no doubt, but after so many thousands of b&w WW2 photos have etched themselves into my eyes, the color ones are a jolt and get me to really looking close. Its more visceral, somehow. Probably because we're wired to see/think/remember in color. Or somefink.

[ May 29, 2003, 12:04 AM: Message edited by: gunnergoz ]

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I think the disconnect comes from black and white looking so gloomy. It's supposed to be dreary, it's a damn war.

Then you see a colour photo with bright blue sky, green fields, yellow sunflowers, jaunty red ribbons and colorful uniforms, and you try and convince yourself the dudes in the picture are going off to exterminate other human beings. Hard thing to wrap one's mind around - luckily enough.

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Originally posted by Michael Dorosh:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ales Dvorak:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Dorosh:

It's a lot easier to believe it when you can look at contemporary colour photos.

Hmmm.. where is my turn? </font>
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Originally posted by Ales Dvorak:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Dorosh:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ales Dvorak:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Dorosh:

It's a lot easier to believe it when you can look at contemporary colour photos.

Hmmm.. where is my turn? </font>
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Originally posted by Ales Dvorak:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Dorosh:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ales Dvorak:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Dorosh:

It's a lot easier to believe it when you can look at contemporary colour photos.

Hmmm.. where is my turn? </font>
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Another way to shock yourself into the realization that THIS REALLY HAPPENED is to get your hands on the "Then and Now" and "Through the Lens" series out of Britain. One picture of a roadside with a burning Panther and bodies strewn about, and beside it a photo of the exact same spot 50 years later showing a Toyota Corolla parked next to a MacDonalds.

[ May 29, 2003, 11:19 AM: Message edited by: MikeyD ]

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Wow, I wasn't aware of that! Thanks for enlightening me, Michael! tongue.gif

Seriously, it is a little odd to see color footage and photographs of the second big one, as (as a number of posters already mentioned) we see it as a "black and white" war. Growing up watching 1960s and 1970s color war movies where the people all still look like they're from the 60s and 70s (like this bizarre movie I saw the other morning around 3 am with Burt Lancaster and Peter Falk and crazy Bruce Dern) adds to the strangeness.

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Originally posted by Andreas:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by sgtgoody (esq):

Is it just me or do color photos of WWII seem wrong somehow. I know its silly but I always picture it in black and white. Too many newsreels I guess.

Not just you. I am having the same problem, and so does a friend of mine. </font>
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