Fighting Fascism in 1944 and 2024 – Watch Some Powerful Videos And Read Compelling Articles!
Table of Contents
Fighting Fascism: The Liberation of Paris
The 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Paris was held in August.
I am currently reading a book about the Liberation of Paris. It is a very interesting book.
D Day had occurred on June 6, 1944. So many people thought that the war in France was basically over, but it took over two months of ferocious fighting just to get to Paris.
Dwight Eisenhower originally did NOT want to spend the time to liberate Paris.
According to the National WWII Museum:
In August 1944, as the Allies gained the upper hand in the battle of France, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower had to decide what to do about Paris. When the Allies invaded France on June 6, 1944, they intended to bypass the historic city. Engaging in a protracted urban battle in Paris would risk destruction of the city’s key historical and cultural sites, slow down the advance toward Germany, and require significant resources to secure and sustain the civilian population. Bypassing Paris and its garrison would leave the German soldiers in the city isolated, with no outside support and few options. From a military standpoint, liberating Paris offered no advantage to the Allies.
The French people, however, saw it differently.
Watch History As It Happened
Much as I love to read books, sometimes the best way to see what happened is to watch films.
This great film explains the journey from D Day in June 1944 to the Liberation of Paris in late August 1944.
This following film below has no narration but there are divided into chapters with titles, which you can see at the bottom of the screen.
At 2:44 you can see the great French Resistance fighter Simone Segouin. She lived to be 97 years old!
I find this film astonishing. You can actually see French Resisters fighting in the streets of Paris!
Fighting Fascism In The United States
Here are some great articles on the troubling rise of American fascism.
Fascism shattered Europe a century ago — and historians hear echoes today in the U.S.
The scenario is historically accurate, but to which country does it apply? Italy in 1923? Germany in 1933? Or the United States today, nine weeks before the presidential election?
The answer, according to some UC Berkeley scholars, is that the scenario applies generally to all three: Italy during the rise of Benito Mussolini, Germany as Adolph Hitler maneuvered his way into power, and the United States, deeply polarized and tense as the MAGA movement led by former president Donald Trump moves to reclaim the White House.
Is Fascism Coming to America? | Opinion
Yale University professor and author of the bestseller How Fascism Works, Jason Stanley, recently put it this way: “We have a classic fascist situation in this country right now. Trump is a fascist leader who intends to overthrow the country and democracy—and he’s very good at it.” Leading commentator and former United States Labor Secretary Robert Reich likewise asserted there are “alarming parallels between Nazism and MAGAism” and concluded that “Donald Trump is a fascist.”
‘Infested,’ ‘Bloodbath, ‘Vermin’: A Guide to Trump’s Fascist Rhetoric
Donald Trump has embraced fascist rhetoric and made bald declarations of his desire for dictatorial powers as he seeks a return to the White House in 2024. This is not politics as usual. The inflammatory language puts Trump a world apart from any major-party nominee in modern American memory. And it’s getting worse.
THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT FASCISM IN THE UNITED STATES IS TO VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS.
Further Reading
Sedition Hunters: How January 6th Broke the Justice System by Ryan J. Reilly (2023) | Book Review
Letter From A Birmingham Jail (1963) – A Powerful Message Of Resistance!
An Exciting Two Weeks Of Reading, Writing, and Working For Elections 2024 | Sunday Wrap-Up
A Night at the Garden: A Frightening American Nazi Rally in 1939
John Oliver On A Terrifying Second Trump Term Using Project 2025
Hamilton Broadway Cast Presents A Wonderful and Amazing Song About The Election of 2024!
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Is Bringing A Powerful Message Of Joy In 2024!
Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich Was Released From A Russian Prison On August 1, 2024
State of the Blog Address 2024
Heronfield by Dorothy Balchin | Book Review
Marie: A True Story by Peter Maas | Book Review
How the Good Guys Finally Won: Notes From An Impeachment Summer by Jimmy Breslin | Book Review
All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein | Book Review
and some of my book reviews:
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich | Book Review
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith | Book Review
Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp | Book Review
Diary of a Mad Housewife by Sue Kaufman | Book Review
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath | Book Review
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker | Book Review
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey | Book Review
Check out my posts on my other blog, New Jersey Memories!
The Historic and Lovely Town of Belvidere, New Jersey
Littell-Lord Farmstead | Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
First Presbyterian Church of Oxford at Hazen and the Spooky Graveyard 2023 | Belvidere, New Jersey
The Historic Cooper Gristmill | Chester Township, New Jersey
Grovers Mill And The War of the Worlds | West Windsor, New Jersey
March For Our Lives in Morristown!
Thank you for reading The Literary Lioness!
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