The Weekend Historian
Hitler's American Gamble: Pearl Harbor and Germany’s March to Global Warby Brendan Simms, Charlie Laderman My Rating: ★★★★ World War II was a cataclysmic event that reshaped and redefined the world in the 20th century. The United States found itself at the center of the global stage when it was "suddenly and deliberately attacked" by… Continue reading Book Critique: “Hitler’s American Gamble”
While doing research on some other Allis-Chalmers topics, I stumbled across an interesting article in the A-C Scope, an employee publication from Allis-Chalmers. It highlighted the visit of the delegation of manufacturing representatives and government officials from the Soviet Union. Here is a transcription of the article from the November/December 1959 issue of the publication.… Continue reading The Soviets at the West Allis Works
Revolutionary Russia, 1891 - 1991: A History by Orlando Figes My rating: 3 of 5 starsI enjoyed this book. My interest in this topic started after my last red, The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941. I picked Figes' book to get my feet wet and discover some history of the Russian Revolution that… Continue reading Book Critique
I received one of the coolest Easter gifts ever last Sunday. We had the whole family up for dinner at our home, and my father-in-law says, "come out to the car and help me with something." First he hands me a small, glass tabletop and then the big surprise. He pulls out a 1962 Civil Defense… Continue reading My Easter Basket
Wow, I cannot believe the Olympics are here again! My wife got me interested in the 2012 Olympics held in London, so I was excited about these winter games. Of course, there always seems to be some controversy or some sort of political activism. But that is not what astonished me about these Olympic games.… Continue reading Distorted Russian History: 2014 Winter Olympics
I have been working on a history project that I hope will get some of my fellow Wisconsinites involved in. I started a page on Facebook that is geared towards the Wisconsin experience of the Cold War. There are publications and scholarly works done on the Cold War, but I would like to hear the first-hand stories… Continue reading Mapping Wisconsin Shelters
Most universities have procedures in place for just about any emergency event. The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's emergency information can be found in the Emergency Procedures Guide (EPG). It outlines almost any emergency procedure that could happen on campus or the surrounding area. Two emergency categories that seem very extreme, but also very relevant to our… Continue reading Taking Shelter at UW-Oshkosh
My recent work on historical projects related to Civil Defense and the Cold War era are strikingly similar to the events unfolding in North Korea. According to USA Today, North Korea is planning to launch a multi-stage rocket that is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. CNN reports that North Korean officials stated that the missile… Continue reading Blast From the Past
As a follow-up to my previous post, I would like to fill you in on some new information that I received from the National Archives. I sent an inquiry to the archives about Allis-Chalmers' involvement with the development of the National Emergency Alarm Repeater system (NEAR). If you haven't read that post yet, click here.… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers & Civil Defense Part II
I am beginning to turn up some very interesting material for my History Seminar project. I've gone through boxes upon boxes, folders upon folders. papers upon papers, and I have run into Allis-Chalmers a few times in the old Wisconsin Bureau of Civil Defense information. The company played two interesting roles in Wisconsin Civil Defense. One was devising a CD plan… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers and Civil Defense
Austin M. Frederick 