Tag: Noah’s Ark

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“National History Day: Breaking Barriers in History”

I’ll bet most of you have never heard of National History Day. No, it’s not the same as the Congressional proclamations for National Donut Day, National Bobblehead Day, or even National Fruitcake Toss Day (these all fall in January so make sure you mark your calendars for next year).

National History Day (NHD) is a non-profit organization dedicated to offering year-long academic programs for middle- and high-school students (6th to 12th graders). The largest NHD program is the National History Day Contest which encourages students to conduct historical research, interpretation, and creative expression on a topic of their choice. Each year, a theme is chosen, and the students pick their topic based on the theme, which is then presented as either a paper, exhibit, performance, documentary, or website. Think of this like the Science Fair projects but only on history (I received an “Honorable Mention” on mine). The student will enter their project at the local and affiliate levels, with the top projects advancing to the National Contest. NHD teaches critical thinking, writing, and research skills and boosts the students’ performance across all subjects. Past winners include Guy Fieri, Food Network’s television personality.

Young contestant in the National History Day Contest. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). National History Day: www.nhd.org
Young contestant in the National History Day Contest. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). National History Day: www.nhd.org
Young contestant working on his exhibit for the NHD Contest. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). National History Day: www.nhd.org
Young contestant working on his exhibit for the NHD Contest. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). National History Day: www.nhd.org
Guy Fieri, Food Network personality. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of the Food Network.
Guy Fieri, Food Network personality. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of the Food Network.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the greatest compliment I have been given in regard to writing the walking tour books was from one of my members in the Southeast Business Forums which I founded and ran in Nashville?

This gentleman had a daughter in high school who hated history. She refused to open or read any book having to do with history (you can imagine what that did to her GPA). He bought one of my French Revolution books, handed it to her, and said, “Just flip through this.”

He told me that she sat down with the book and read it from cover to cover in one sitting. When his daughter was finished, she came to him and requested that he buy the other books for her to read. The end result, or so he told me, was that his daughter developed a love for history, started bringing home A’s in her history class, and was considering becoming a history major in college.

That’s what keeps me going.

The theme for the 2019-2020 National History Day Contest is “Breaking Barriers in History.”

So, how do I know about NHD, its current theme, and the fact that some television celebrity who likes hot food is a past winner? I received an e-mail from Tristan H. asking me if I would agree to be interviewed in conjunction with the project she is working on for the 2020 National History Day Contest. Tristan informed me that her project was going to highlight the exploits of the female spies in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. Tristan is in the 7th-grade in Southern California and frankly, after receiving four or five e-mails from her, I don’t think I’ve ever run across a 7th-grader who writes as well as Tristan.

I suggested she put together a list of questions and e-mail them to me. I would respond and then, if she wanted to follow-up with a discussion over the phone, I would make myself available.

The purpose of this blog is to make you all aware of the NHD as well as share Tristan’s questions (and my answers) with you.

 Tristan’s Questions

How did the women acting as spies break gender barriers at the time?

Probably the biggest barrier they broke was by being assigned to what I would consider the “front-line.” Although their assignments were non-combat related (i.e., typically as radio operators), if they were caught, the penalty would certainly have been terrible torture (Odette Sansom is a good example) and in many cases, execution at the hands of the Gestapo, SS, or the Milice (e.g., Violette Szabo). However, some women did participate in actual combat against the Germans (read Nancy Wake’s story, The White Mouse here). All qualified SOE agents, men and women, were trained in hand-to-hand combat as well as how to handle weapons and sabotage materials. So, this tells me that women agents were expected to be ready for combat if it came their way (Women Agents of the SOE, read here). Read More “National History Day: Breaking Barriers in History”

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Memorial of Fighting France

I am delighted to have Mr. Paul McCue as our guest blogger today. Paul is an accomplished author and expert on the British-led Special Operations Executive (SOE). He is a trustee of the non-profit organization, The Secret WW2 Learning Network which is dedicated to making better known the activities of clandestine warfare during World War II. His organization works closely with the Paris-based Libre Résistance which exclusively covers SOE’s French Section and its agents. Paul recently attended a memorial ceremony for the French Resistance of World War II. It was held at Fort Mont-Valérien in a suburb of Paris and like the annual 18 June memorial event, it was a very solemn event and attended by many dignitaries. The ceremony carries a significant message to all of us concerning the brave men and women who actively fought the Nazis and those who paid the ultimate price.

Did You Know?

Did you know the image I’ve included here of the four resistance members being executed was one of three photos discovered in December 2009? These are members of the Manouchian group named after its leader, Missak Manouchian. It was one of the deadliest and more successful resistance groups which made up the FTP-MOI, a resistance réseau (network) comprised of European immigrants, principally Jews. Manouchian’s group specialized in assassinations, bombings, and general disruption of the German occupation forces (the Nazis called them “The Army of Crime”). The group was betrayed, and the Gestapo arrested twenty-three members. A public trial was held and twenty-two were executed by firing squad at Fort Mont-Valérien on 21 February 1944 (the only woman was taken to Germany where she was beheaded in May). No photographs were allowed of any executions. However, Clemens Rüter, a German soldier, stood on the crest of the hill overlooking the clearing where the four men were tied to stakes in front of the firing squad and he took three snapshots. Rüter went back to Germany after the war and the camera, with the film still in it, was left untouched for forty years. Shortly before he died, Rüter told someone about the camera and the three images. The person he told his story to worked for the Franz Stock Association. The camera and film were turned over to the association which had the film developed. Serge Klarsfeld identified the four victims as members of the Manouchian group. Franz Stock was the German priest assigned to Fort Mont-Valérien to administer to the condemned men. He was known as the L’Archange de enfer or, “The archangel in hell.” Franz Stock will be the subject of our 2 March 2019 blog post.

Before Paul talks about his first-hand experience in late September, allow me to give you a brief background on the Mémorial de la France combattante or, Memorial of Fighting France, it’s annual ceremony, the Companions of the Liberation, and Fort Mont-Valérien. By tying these together, you will have a better appreciation for Paul’s blog.

 Mémorial de la France Combattante

Almost immediately after the liberation of France in August 1944, General Charles de Gaulle decided to formally pay tribute to the members of the French Resistance who had died. He visited Fort Mont-Valérien where resistance members were executed by firing squad, Fort Neuf de Vincennes where other executions took place, and finally, Cimetière Ivry-sur-Seine (aka Cimetière Parisien d’Ivry) where many of the victims were buried including Missak Manouchian.

Missak Manouchian two days after his arrest by the Gestapo. Photo by anonymous (18 November 1943). PD-70+. Wikimedia Commons.
Missak Manouchian two days after his arrest by the Gestapo. Photo by anonymous (18 November 1943). PD-70+. Wikimedia Commons.
Execution of four members of the Manouchian Group. Marcel Rayman is on far right. Photo by Clemens Rüter (21 February 1944). Courtesy of Friends of Franz Stock Association.
Execution of four members of the Manouchian Group. Marcel Rayman is on far right. Photo by Clemens Rüter (21 February 1944). Courtesy of Friends of Franz Stock Association.

Read More Memorial of Fighting France