Life After WWI: In Colour (2019)
A documentary that originally aired on More4
(a sister channel to Channel 4).
The series uses vividly colourised archival footage
to chart the aftermath of the First World War.
An oft overlooked period as the focus tends to be,
understandably, on the two world wars.
The "Big Four":
The documentary highlights many things I hadn't really thought about
such as the millions of orphans and the fate of "surplus" young women
who were left in a world with a limited supply of young men.
Georges Clemenceau's unrealistic demands for German reparations
paved the way for Adolf and the Nazis and the arbitrary carving up of territories ,
pretty much, guaranteed future conflict .
When they say "10 dead/100 injured" on the news during any conflict
I'm tempted , maybe subconsciously, to consider the injured as being lucky
or at least luckier.
The shocking reality of some of these injuries is sobering.
We tend to be shown a sanitised version:
The hero who has lost a leg/the Vet who shows you his bullet hole scar.
Many casualties featured here put paid to such romanticised nonsense.
My Dad was born in 1914 and my Mum in 1918
so, for me, this is an insight into the world they grew up in.
regards
Titus
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