Every documentary I have seen are all from the "winning" side and it seems like every WWII documentary is the same.
I'd love to see documentaries from Germany, Japan, Italy and see their reasons, motives, whatever.
That's one of the reasons why I've said that if I win the lottery I would like to audit history classes in Universities all over the world. I think it would be really interesting.
shareSounds like something I would do!
I'm always looking for inconsistencies, or retractions (which most don't see), and a team of people who are only interested in truth.
I was just going to add that I'm not really interested in history that has no film, no archives. I actually like to see "everyday" life in even the most catastrophic circumstances, because most of us know the horrific events.... Although, I'd love to read letters written between people as far back as possible.
I've also looked (unsuccessfully) for early telephone calls between people. Could you imagine a database of the "first" phone calls, and how people reacted to each other. I'm also curious what people talked about, their use of language (something I can find in older books) and contrast it with today.
I especially love your idea of auditing universities all over the world, since they cover universal events, but seeing what they display and what they omit would be interesting in of itself. And if you or I had unlimited funds, we could gather people to have these discussions between different countries, and try to "negotiate" the truth. One side could have evidence that corrects another.
There is a WWII museum in Japan that has a "Japanese only*" wing. A friend of mine on vacation there snuck into that wing and saw that it had some different ideas about how things went. She got the stink eye from the employees and thought she was about to get kicked out. Their attitude about her changed when they saw how she worshiped the Zero there on display.
*Not an uncommon sign in the country. Restaurants etc.
> ["Japanese only" is] an uncommon sign in the country. Restaurants etc.
When I vacationed there I was backpacking alone. I spoke Japanese well enough to fumble along as a tourist but was illiterate for kanji. I went to one thing I knew was Japanese only that I wanted to see, but left when it became clear they were uncomfortable with me being there and since I didn't speak the language well enough to understand what the guide was saying anyway.
I might have gone to some restaurants like that as well. I was determined to not have the typical tourist experience, seeing the country from a tour bus surrounded by other Americans, but instead meet real Japanese and experience real Japanese things. When I saw a restaurant crowded with Japanese who were obviously enjoying their food, that's where I ate. I was never told to leave but instead was an object of curiosity. Like your friend, I was usually welcomed once I explained why I was there and the people realized I was OK with the curiosity, since I was just as curious about them as they were about me.
Once I had a truly bizarre experience. When handed the menu -- which was in kanji only -- a girl walked over from one of the other tables and asked in English, "would you like some help?" I thanked her and said I could use all the help I could get. (Usually, in this situation, I'd end up pointing to someone else's dish at another table, checking the price with the waiter, then ordering that.) After suggesting some things from the menu then translating for the waiter, she stayed and chatted for a few minutes. She was about fifteen, and although not fluent, her English was quite good. She explained that she had recently returned from the US, where she had spent a year as an exchange student. I asked where, and it turned out to be in the same small city where one of my college fraternity buddies was now working as a lawyer and CPA. I told her that and said that although it was a long shot, I had to ask -- had she met him while there? Turned out that she had! -- he did some financial work for the school and although they had only met once, they had been introduced. Wow!
Love this story.
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