Nazis and Commies: Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics in 1936 and 1980

When the 1936 Olympics in Berlin began, a record 110,000 people entered the stadium to see the opening ceremonies. The large record-shattering crowd probably shocked athletes, spectators, and businessmen alike. Nazism was everywhere, from postcards to stamps to blimps. The masses revered Hitler and gave him a 110,000 strong salute when lighting the torch. Take for example the the following image, the German track runner on his way to light the Olympic flame is surrounded by Nazi flags and banners.

No doubt the hammer and sickle infiltrated the propaganda of the 1980 games. Lenin’s face became commonplace to be seen around the Olympic grounds, in posters, stamps, and even in a massive demonstration during the Soviet routine in the closing part of the games. However, other parts of Russian culture and well wishes were on display as well. The opening and closing ceremonies usually features a cultural demonstration featuring dances, cultural heritages and traditions, and classical or typical uniforms and dress patterns of each respective culture. The Soviet ceremony was no different. Mixed in with their socialist propaganda were bears, greetings and salutations, and an overall grand welcoming into the games. Somehow, a massive teddy bear with flowers and the phrase I wish you success (Zhyelayu Uspekha) seems less intimidating than a massive and reverent salute to Hitler. To be clear, the Soviets did place a great amount of importance on the propaganda factor of the games. It does not however, seem to have had as aggressive of an influence as in the Nazi opening ceremonies. This cannot stand alone as separating the two games, but it does make an interesting starting point.

Sources

http://propagander2.tripod.com/index-16.html

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1268484-the-1936-olympics-a-necessary-reflection-and-the-value-of-a-single-human-being

http://crooksandliars.com/gordonskene/August-3-1980-closing-ceremonies-moscow

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/07/sport/olympics-2012-moscow-boycott-1980-don-paige/

Dealing with the Huguenots

Europe in the seventeenth century was a time of religious upheaval. Protestants argued that there was corruption within the church and that it needed to be reformed. The protestant movement started, as the name implies, as a protest against the corruption alleged by Martin Luther's Ninety-five Thesis. In some countries violence ensued between the Protestants and Catholics. In others, they were able to live together peacefully.

The Huguenots in France, one such Protestant group, was not so lucky under the reign of Catholic King Louis XIV. Louis XIV asserted that his reign was guaranteed by God. It makes sense why any king would believe this, especially in a time dominated by Christianity.

The Bible states: "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord .... He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision, then he shall speak unto them His wrath .... Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear." (Psalm 2:1-11)

Therefore, it makes sense why a king ought to take a firm stance against heresy within their realm. It also makes sense why a king might be set up by God, if they only serve as king at the mercy of God's judgment.
   
Beik makes a similar argument. He argues that in order for Louis XIV to claim sacred authority that necessitated religious uniformity within France. In France the protestants were roughly 10% of the population and this resulted in a generation of religious war. King Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes in order to end these wars. The Edict of Nantes gave the Huguenots official legal status in France. It allowed them to own property, to establish churches where they had already been established with the exception of Paris, and it allowed them the right to trials in court. (Beik p.183) 

To a Catholic zealot this must have looked like surrender. It would have been an insult to God to claim that you are God's representative in France and allow heresy to exist in France. Therefore, Louis XIV had to revoke the Edict of Nantes. The revocation occurred on October 25, 1685 and some of the text is as follows:

1. All temples of the Hugeunots situated in our kingdom, country, lands and all seigneuries within our obedience be immediately demolished. 
2. Our subjects of the supposedly reformed religion are not to assemble for worship in any place or house for any reason. 
3. Ministers of the supposedly reformed religion are to convert or leave the kingdom within fifteen days and are not to preach or perform any functions in the meantime, or they will be sent to the galleys.  
8. Children of parents belonging to the supposedly reformed religion are to be baptized by the chief priests of their parishes and raised as Catholics, and local judges are to oversee this. 


Sources:

Beik, William, editor. Louis XIV and Absolutism: A Brief Study with Documents. Bedford: St.

Martin’s, 2000

Holy Bible, Scofield Reference Bible

 

Debate about Narrowing

Although I would like to stick to the theme of the key role of children in the Civil War I am thinking about narrowing it down to one side.  I see several pros and cons for taking the Union side and taking the Confederate side.  I feel like it would be easier to prove that children played a more pivotal role in the Confederate army though due to the conscription acts the Confederacy had, the second conscription act lowered the age to 17.  This was towards the end of the war when the Confederacy was in desperate need of soldiers due to death and the Union's decision to no longer exchange prisoners.  Although ultimately the children soldiers of the Confederacy did not win the war, it is because of the them that some key battles were won and the war prolonged.
The Union had more child soldiers that would be deemed as "heroes" and Johnny Clem would be used by Confederates as propaganda to show how immoral the North was by using boys (Wisler, 5).  Both sides employed children as drummer boys but the majority of drummer boys that took up arms or had a big impact on a battle seem to be from the Union.
Both sides have colorful sources that could be very useful in proving an argument while making a paper more interesting.  For the Confederacy there is the image of Andrew Chandler and his slave Silas both fully armed.  For the Union their is Johnny Clem.  As of the moment I tend to be leaning towards Confederate children soldiers. 

Wisler, G. Clifton.  When Johnny Went Marching: Young Americans Fight the Civil War.  New   York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2001.

Private Affairs and Public Opinion

With today’s accessibility, public figures are sometimes exposed for their private affairs. Negative private affairs can certainly have negative effects on the image of these figures. Paul Tillich was not part of the twenty-first century where anything and everything one says and do will be used against oneself. He was, however, not without controversy. This controversy came after his death, through his wife. She wrote a tell-all biography From Time to Time that exposed the supposed extramarital affairs Tillich had with various women. This hurt his image, especially since he was a Christian. His close friend and notable psychologist, Rollo May, came to his defense and wrote a biography Paulus that portrayed him more as a hero and remarkable figure. He said in an interview with Elliot Wright that “I don’t think Hannah’s [Tillich’s wife] book presents an accurate picture of Paulus… Hannah also distorts Paulus’s life by saying almost nothing about his intellectual greatness, nothing about his being an impressive writer, nothing about his ecstatic reason. The things that make Tillich significant are left out. What this does, unless a reader already knows him, is to give a warped portrait; another dirty old man” (Wright, 530). The “ambivalent, perhaps bizarre” portrayal of Tillich is why some “convinced me [May] it was important to finish my biography and provide two versions of Paul Tillich” (Wright, 531). Given that Hannah Tillich is telling some truth, albeit exaggerated and out of proportion, should one look at Paul Tillich and his works differently, especially since he was a Christian?

Wright, Eiliott. “Paul Tillich as Hero: An Interview with Rollo May.” Christian Century (1974): 530-533

Joan in Outline Form

As I begin to outline for the upcoming week, I am left with questions regarding context and historiography, particularly how much to include within my paper. Joan's own life story, what historians can know from the records, is vital to understanding the context of the Inquisition Trial. For example, the 100 Years War was ongoing during Joan's life , as the English and French fought one another for territory and royal claim. Joan was loyal to the French but captured by French sympathizers to the English known as Burgundians. Also seemingly important to context is Joan's heavenly visions or revelations - a topic that needs more introduction than its context within the Trial. Likewise, Joan's military successes coincide with her cross-dressing, another large topic within the Trial.

Historiography is also central to my paper. Indeed historians typically include a section of historiography within their work, but I am unsure of how much it should include. Unlike some topics, there are literally centuries of debate and analysis regarding Joan, and although not all of the historiography is pertinent to my particular argument, I am wondering how much is enough. I would love the comment section to be ripe with suggestions regarding how much weight I should give context both of Joan's life as well as the historiography.

Barbara Blaugdone: Stopped by No One, Not Even a Wolf-Dog

For this week, I wanted to pursue another primary source voice in the form of Barbara Blaugdone, a Quaker woman who lived in Bristol and was a schoolteacher there (Mack 191). Blaugdone wrote an autobiographical account of her life in 1691, titled, “An Account of the Travels, Sufferings, & Persecutions of Barbara Blaugdone.” The text is comparable to the testimony given by Elizabeth Stirredge in terms of the age of the writers- both Stirredge and Blaugdone were both in the last stages of life when writing their experiences on paper. However, as her title indicates, Blaugdone perhaps established her writing more so in the sufferings aspect of experience that the scholar Catie Gill refers to as one of the four main categories of expression in Quaker women’s writings. Phyllis Mack additionally classifies Blaugdone’s text as a portrayal of “extreme asceticism,” something Stirredge’s account does not entail. I believe Blaugdone’s writing will add to the other writings I have looked at, as well as broaden viewpoints in my paper.

Hence, here are some interesting points from Blaugdone’s account. In the beginning, the author summarizes her experience with suffering, “People were so offended with it, when I went into their Publick Places and Steeple-houses to speak, that they took away their Children from me, so that I lost almost all my Imployment; and they kept me in Prison a quarter of a Year at a time” (Blaugdone 275). This fits Gill’s assessment that “when women were taken into custody it was regularly the result of preaching to a resistant crowd” (Gill 43). Nonetheless, Blaugdone conveys a sense that she did little to shy away from the public preaching that landed her in prison no less than three months a year. Although possibly an embellishment of the punishment meted out regularly to her, specific tales of prison in her account leave no doubt that Blaugdone was imprisoned in multiple instances for her public behavior. In the various travels described, she continuously highlights the trouble she encounters wherever she goes, whether simply antagonistic feelings towards her actions or more dangerously, risks to her life. In one instance, her speaking to the Priest of a town caused her to be expelled from the local inn and forced to sleep in a pig trough, if she notes that it was clean (Blaugdone 278). Another encounter depicts her attempt to speak to long-held friends of the nobility, an Earl and Lady of Bathes, who less than desiring to hear her preachings had their “Wolf-Dog” try to scare her away. The scary protector of the house did not deter Barbara as the “Power of the Lord smote the dog” and the Countess had to listen in the end (Blaugdone 277). Some of her worst experiences were in Ireland, as her travel and preaching there produced accusations of witchcraft, as well as a butcher swearing to “cleave [her] Head in twain” (Blaugdone 281). Overall, Barbara’s account leaves a sense of the varied trials that the author went through in the name of God and for the Quaker movement. Persistence becomes the narrative of her travels and trials. Therefore, her account will be firstly useful to an examination of how Quaker women remained in the public sphere, in spite of counteractions taken against them. Additionally, her account provides such a unique variety of experience, as I have slightly highlighted above, that it will prove advantageous to how Quaker women manifested their spirituality in the daily proceedings of the seventeenth-century.

 

Blaugdone, Barbara. "An Account of the Travels, Sufferings, & Persecutions of Barbara Blaugdone." Hidden in Plain Sight: Quaker Women's Writings, 1650-1700. Edited by Mary Garman. Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill Publications, 1996.

Gill, Catie. Women in the Seventeenth-century Quaker Community: a Literary Study of Political Identities, 1650-1700. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005.

 

Mack, Phyllis. Visionary Women: Ecstatic Prophecy in Seventeenth-Century England. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.