Details:
Hardcore History 27- Ghosts of the Ostfront I
Part one covering the conflict between the Germans and the Soviet Union in the Second World War. Dan gives an introduction to the subject and discusses the causes and opening moves of Operation Barbarossa.
Publish Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2009
Duration – 1:05:54
Hardcore History 28 – Ghosts of the Ostfront II
In Part Two of the Ostfront series covering WW2 on the Eastern Front, Dan looks at the attempt to take Moscow and the many compelling stories surrounding the momentous1941 German offensive.
Publish Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009
Duration – 1:28:30
Hardcore History 29 – Ghosts of the Ostfront III
In Part Three of the Ostfront series covering WW2 on the Eastern Front, Dan looks at the situation in the U.S.S.R. during 1942 and early 1943, including the dreadful Battle of Stalingrad.
Publish Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2009
Duration – 1:30:19
Hardcore History 30 – Ghosts of the Ostfront IV
In the final episode of the horror story that is the Eastern Front the tale descends into unimaginable darkness as vengeance is called down on Germany. This graphic episode is not for young ears.
Publish Date:Sat, 10 Oct 2009
Duration – 1:39:34
Dan’s research and book list:
The Forgotten Soldier
When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler (Modern War Studies)
Blood, Tears, and Folly: An Objective Look at World War ll
The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West
The Second World War
Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front
Barbarossa: The Russian-German Conflict, 1941-45
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943
1812: Napoleon’s Russian Campaign by Riehn, Richard K. (1990) Hardcover
Books not sold on Amazon:
1. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
2. Berezina by Ira Meistrich from The Experience of War
3. A Lousy Story by Vladimir Lemport from The Experience of War
Heikki –
This was amazing. I got introduced to Dan by Sam Harris, Tim Ferriss and countless others and Im glad I was. Can´t wait to hear more of these.
Justin –
Engaging. Balanced. No political bias. Status quo for Hardcore History.
Dan’s humbling reminder of the thin shell of civility we live under was perhaps most powerful.
The depths of human sufferring and deprevity described left me with a dark feeling of oppression. This was further exasborated when thinking about the children and women that actually had to live through this nightmare complete with real monsters.
Could war ever be this horrible again? I don’t believe so as a nuclear holocaust would probably have been a welcome reprieve to those that suffered through the atrocities of the eastern front. However, the sad truth is that we will probably find out when the thin shell inevitably cracks…again.
J –
Breathtaking. In the truest sense of the word.
My Granddad was on the Ostfront as a medic for the Wehrmacht, while he was “lucky” enough to survive by having his arm shot to pieces, I think shortly before reaching Stalingrad (as a kid, I always thought his prosthesis was kind of scary but cool), he never stopped telling stories until his last days – usually, the same few horrible stories over and over (he died some 15 years ago).
I think the picture Dan paints is very real, so much so that I had to wipe tears from my eyes several times.
pfincent –
Amazing!
Erik –
I stumbled across Dan Carlin through the Joe Rogan podcast. I started with ” Blueprint for Armageddon”, and then decided to venture into the eastern front. It is a harrowing account of what war between two evil governments looks like. Dan does an excellent job of describing the events.
The fact that the eastern front on it’s own accounts for the most number of deaths in any war is on it’s own astounding. I grew up in the west and we hear so little about the eastern front. A true tradgedy. You. Must. Buy. This.