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The Monuments men: recovered history

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About trecentoquarantacinque people between men and women from thirteen different countries served, among the 1943 and the 1951, service at the section Mfaa (Monuments, Fine Arts and Archive Program): their task, approved by Roosevelt and Churchill, was to penetrate to the heart of Europe at the mercy of the Nazis and then the biggest treasure hunt ever: retrieve all artworks looted by Hitler. These heroes went down in history as the Monuments men, the men of monuments.
In 1943 Americans and British established the Mfaa; in the spring of the following year there was the first meeting in Britain, where at Shrivenham was established the base camp for military trainings: the heroes ofMfaa they were mostly intellectuals and artists, Museum Directors and art experts, without any military cognition.
After landing in Normandy with other troops in early June of ' 44, the Monuments men began to reach castles, churches and convents where hung the famous sign bearing the inscription "Off limits. To all military personnel: historic building!"and began a series of interviews involving pastors, Museum Directors and local people to understand where the works could have been transported and hidden.
Many of the works in the Louvre were taken by the Nazis in Bavarian Castle Neuschwanstein Castle; the structure contained so many artworks that Monuments men needed six weeks to recover all. The real surprise was however when in the salt mine of Altaussee, in Austria, were found in ' 45 well 6.500 paintings, statues and minor works. Among the artistic treasure was found even the Madonna and child by Michelangelo, the only sculpture of the Tuscan artist to have left Italy while he was still alive, in 1506. Were found in the same place also crates with unexploded bombs inside them, This is to facilitate the so-called Operation Nero: in the event of defeat, the order of Berlin was to blow up everything and deprive humanity of European artistic treasure.
All the recovered artworks were brought to the station set up by the allies in Munich: from here began a difficult task of locating owners and restitution, operation still in progress and far closer to the conclusion.
It is thanks to the work of these heroes that we can still appreciate masterpieces by great artists like Leonardo, Donatello, Vermeer and Rembrandt.

Maria

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Sunday Bloody Sunday

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The 30 January 1972 in Derry, dell city’ Northern Ireland, the 1st Battalion of the parachute regiment of the British army fired against a crowd of demonstrators for civil rights, by attacking 26. Tredicidi died soon, the fourteenth died a few days later from his injuries. It was Sunday and this tragic event went down in history as Bloody Sunday. Behind this Act there is a bitter conflict between the two main dell’ Northern Ireland or the Unionists British and Protestant wire array on one side and the Republicans Irish and Catholic wire across. The first faction descended from British colonialists occupied the Irish soil from the 16th century and numerically were two-thirds of the Northern Irish space. They held political and economic control of that area. L’ the other faction was the remaining third of Northern Ireland, But even the majority of Ireland. In 1970 He was born an armed group called IRA, Irish Republic Army, which ran guerrilla Northern Irish police and British army. The latter defended the unionists while l’ IRA defending Catholics. In this land of bloody fight had sent police to arrest and hold in custody without trial those stained by acts rioters using a measure called Internment. This situation of refusal before the law did move the protest of Derry, a peaceful protest, but over in the blood due to the disproportionate response of the British paratroopers. For years the leaders of that’ Act remained unpunished. A first Board, chaired by Lord Widgery and wanted by the British Government, acquitted British army leaders involved. Then a second Commission of inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville, with the help of 900 witnesses and years of difficult investigations came to recognize the responsibility of the 1st Battalion of the parachute regiment of the British army, and that the victims were incapable of causing damage to the English military. Prime Minister Cameron said that it was an act of unfair and unjustifiable. Only in 2015 It was the first arrest of one of English military blamed for killing one of the victims. Bloody Sunday instead of quelling the protest he encouraged and strengthened the IRA and confrontations in later years. In 1983 U2 released the song "Sunday Bloody Sunday" to remind everyone that tragic Sunday and to ensure that the rhetoric of “Hopefully not happen again″ you face reality soon.

Hector Parker

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Lest we forget: talking is not enough, need to listen

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In a contemporary time always moving, dominated by the word and the image, Today it is important to stop and listen to the echoes of history. We want to do with the poem written by Primo Levi, He opens his book “If this is a man”. And’ the story of a man locked up in concentration camps, who fought for survival. And’ the same story of millions of men, women and children.

You who live safe
In your warm homes
You who found coming night
Hot food and friendly faces:
Consider if this is a man,
Working in the mud
That knows no peace
Struggling through bread
Dying for a Yes or a no.
Consider if this is a woman,
Without hair and without name
No more strength to remember
Empty eyes and cold the womb
Like a frog in winter.
Meditate that this was:
I command these words.

Carve them in your heart
Standing in the House going to away,
Coricandovi rise:
Repeat them to your children.
Or face the House,
The illness prevent you from,
Your born children turn your face from you.

Roberto Rossetti

 

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Federico Fellini before becoming

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Federico Fellini was born in Rimini at 21.30 of 20 January 1920, by urban and Ida Barbiani. His father was a salesman and housewife. He was a quiet child with a flair for design. In 1925 While in Italy he assumed the fascist dictatorship the young Frederick started the school elementara by the Sisters of St Vincent. He had to declare perhaps inspired by Charlie Chaplin, its landmark in cinema, as a child ran away from home to find refuge in a circus. In 1936, year of the Spanish civil war broke out and the proclamation of’ Empire by Mussolini, attended a State of the art camp and dabbled in cartooning. The following year with his friend the painter Demos Bonini created a portrait shop called Phoebus. The 1939 It was a tremendous year for the world, Hitler's troops invaded Poland and World War II broke out, the Franco regime, forces win the Spanish civil war, l’ Italy invaded’ Albania, Pius XI died and ascended to the papacy Cardinal Pacelli, Pius XII. In that’ year was the turning point in the life of Frederick, He moved to Rome with the pretext to enroll in the Faculty of law. In Rome, Fellini began frequenting that will influence all his later cinematography. Developed partnerships as an illustrator for magazines such as Cine Shows, Rugantino, Cinemagazzino, the small and the Marc’ Aurelius. In this latest tested met Ruggero Maccari and Stefano Vanzina (Steno) with whom he, not accredited, the first screenplays Lo vedi come sei? and Defendant stand up! directed by Mario Mattoli. In the early years 40 l’ Italy entered the war, the international situation was plunged into the depths more tragic. At that time was a decisive encounter for its entry into the world of theatre that is with Aldo Fabrizi. In 1942 managed to avoid the call to arms for a dramatic episode how lucky for him, a bomb exploded in the’ dell store’ Forlì hospital shortly before check-up. In 1943 He met a young Roman actress Giulietta Masina, who played Ball on the radio, a character invented by Fellini for the Marc’ Aurelius. After a brief engagement they were married he entered l’ year, the 30 October, staying together forever. That same year he recorded the first fall of Mussolini at the hands of the fascist Grand Council on 25 July, l’ Armistice signed by Badoglio and then the outbreak of the civil war in Italian. A’ other important meeting was with Roberto Rossellini. He participated in the writing of the screenplay Rome, Open City, Rossellini's Neorealist masterpiece of 1946. In 1945 He lived the tragedy of the loss of his son a few weeks after birth. In that’ year World War II ended and slowly l’ Italy began to rise from the rubble. In 1946 continued collaboration with Rossellini also writing the screenplay for Paisà. In 1950 began his directing career when he directed together with Laidlaw movie Variety lights. Fellini's youth is not easy to identify because he has always colored by his mystery, He elaborated in his films sometimes dreamlike character dilating and grotesque. However thanks to the tangle of personal lives intertwined with domestic ones were born Italian and world capavolavori that characterized the cinema for the next fifty years.

Hector Parker

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Would you buy a used car from Richard Nixon?

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Richard Milhous Nixon was born on 9 January 1913 in Yorba Linda, California. The second of five sons of Frank Nixon and his wife Hannah Milhous. His family wasn't wealthy source, but it was animated by an ironclad sense of religiosity. Two of his brothers died of disease in his youth. For this amount of reasons the life of Dick (the nickname was in family) He was always in a rush, the departures lounge and starts uphill to reach their goals. He was a brilliant student, but that doesn't esimette him from collecting his first electoral defeat when he introduced himself as candidate for President of the student body. However he majored in law and not without mishaps bureaucratic devoted himself to advocacy. He served his military service in the Navy and rose to the rank of Lieutenant during World War II while not take a direct part in the fighting. After the war he entered actively into politics by standing in the Republican party. In 1946 He was elected to the House of representatives by defeating the candidate Helen Gahagan Douglas in’ the occasion called him Tricky Dicky (Dick the lazy) nickname that accompanied him all his life and who was to point out the ambiguity of Nixon. His politics and his oratorical talent soon drove him to impose itself as one of the most interesting young American political political and especially of the party. In 1952 He was vice presidential candidate of the United States Dwight Eisenhower. He was a young man with his Vice President 39 years and highlighted for special incaricari showed her dowry oratory and an international relief was from the famous “kitchen debate” all’ International exhibition in Moscow in 1959 where did not fail to point out the great American innovations in the technological field. Then from 1960 began a losing streak before all that at the presidential 1960 against John Kennedy. It was the first tv election clash and was burning for him, in fact, uttered the following sentence “Americans see in Kennedy what they want to be and they see in me than they really are”. Curious was the wall that displayed the Democratic Party to emphasize the lack of trust that emanated Nixon “would you buy a’ used car from this’ male?”. Then in 1962 He presented himself for election to become Governor of his State, California and lost. Another phrase that expressed his resentment and his sense of inferiority that surfaced in the early 1980s 60 was given to the media that they were underestimating “from now on you will no longer have a Richard Nixon to kick around, This is my last press conference” and returned to his legal practice. A curious item which in retrospect made effect was recorded in Texas in November 1963 When Kennedy arrived (where he died a few hours later), Nixon was leaving after a business meeting. In retrospect almost a harbinger of a relay race to the White House postponed, that was then in the 1968 When Johnson gave up a run after the violent polemics about the war in Viet Nam and fate would remove from the race to the White House Robert Kennedy. Nixon won easily in 1968 promising a “Mr peace” in Viet Nam and by focusing on a silent electorate of conservative composition disinclined to movements young hippies with whom she is in contrast. President Nixon was full of important events such as the shipment of’ Apollo 11 the Moon in 1969. Played a role behind the scenes of the Chilean coup of 1973 Pinochet. In 1971 was the protagonist of’ abandonment of the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate where they abolished the. Was introduced to the allocation of funds to treat cancer. He was the proponent of normalization of relations with China. He promoted a new environmental policy. Another epochal element was given by’ introduction of the health insurance system. Then came the scandal of Watergate in the 1972 and then resigned in 1974. And’ was the only President of the United States forced to resign. Nixon had gained such power that he abused and this led him to make mistakes and to act naughty. Watergate was a building that housed the headquarters of the Democratic Party in the election campaign 1972. Some men were arrested for having sneaked illegally in’ building, investigations learn that this was not a third-rate burglary as wished to believe White House Press Secretary. It was an operation that involved all employees of Nixon in the hierarchical scale. A’ operation that sought to undermine and obstruct the Democratic Party. After this bitter abandonment of political life spent the latter part of his life to take care of the library that bears his name.

Hector Parker

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