9/26/2007

EU is 50 years old !

In 1957, the treaties of Roma founded the Union between six countries : Benelux, Germany, France and Italy. Today, its counts 27 States with the East Europe enlargement.

This techno-clip sums up the main steps of European Union history and explains in which fields its contributes to make our lives better.

9/25/2007

Auschwitz through the lens of the SS: Photos of Nazi leadership at the camp

This is the introduction of the topic covered on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website.

"In January 2007, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received a donation of a photograph album. The inscription "Auschwitz 21.6.1944" on its first page signaled the uniqueness of the album—there are very few wartime photographs of the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, which included Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi killing center. Though his name does not appear anywhere in the album, the dates of the photographs and various decorations including adjutant cords on the uniform of the album's owner, indicate that the album almost certainly belonged to and was created by SS-Obersturmführer Karl Höcker, the adjutant to the commandant of Auschwitz, SS-Sturmbannführer Richard Baer. Höcker was stationed at Auschwitz from May 1944 until the evacuation of the camp in January 1945."

Click on the first image to explore the album ! You'll discover the daily life of the SS. Many of the most remarkable photographs are taken at Solahütte, a little known SS resort some 30 km south of Auschwitz on the Sola River.

A "sing-along" during a social gathering of the SS hierarchy at Solahütte. The front row consists of (left to right): Karl Höcker, Otto Moll, Rudolf Höss, Richard Baer, Josef Kramer, Franz Hössler, and Josef Mengele. —United States Holocaust Memorial Museum #34739

The SS female auxiliaries (Helferinnen) react when it begins to rain on their day trip. —United States Holocaust Memorial Museum #34587

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website also displays the famous and terrible Auschwitz Album.
A photograph of a selection, from the Auschwitz Album. —United States Holocaust Memorial Museum #77234, courtesy of Yad Vashem

9/22/2007

The Cinematic Geography of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, is known as the capital of Cinema Industry. In the following clip, you can see the main movies shooting in different places in L.A. ! If you love Geography, History and cinema, you'll be overjoyed !

I've haven't watched all of them yet, but my favorite ones are The Big Lebowsky, L.A. Confidential and Back to the Future !



Intersection Highway are very imposing. Using satellite imaging, this clip shows the widespread area of L.A.

Click on the image below to know more about L.A. Geography (in french).

Welcome to WikiProf !

Since Friday, Eurosection students have become new WikiStudents, by logging to WikiProf, an interactive and collaborative board. If you want to know more about their school work, click on the image below.


Students have created their own pages on the wiki where they can work alone or together on different topics. We have started by the Parthenon Debate. Should the marbles go back to Greece or stay in British Museum ?

For the moment, it's just the beginning ! Pages will become richer from month to month.

9/15/2007

Photos of 19th and 20th America's centuries

On Shorpy, the 100 year-old photo blog, you can travel by pictures in America's space and time.

Its design copies an old newspaper. You can browse using the different galleries, like cities and streetscapes, civil war, education, factories, industry and public works, sports and recreation, World War II and many more !

These few examples will show you its interest !


"Bill Norton, the bathing beach policeman, measuring the distance between knee and bathing suit on woman in Washington, D.C. Col. Sherrell, the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds, issued an order that bathing suits at the Washington bathing beach must not be over six inches above the knee. Photo from the National Photo Company Collection, 1922.""Gen. John F. Hartranft reading the death warrant to the four condemned Lincoln assassination conspirators (Mrs. Surratt, Payne, Herold, Atzerodt) on the scaffold at Fort McNair, Washington. July 7, 1865"


"Worker in bombardier nose section of a B-17F Navy bomber at the Douglas Aircraft plant in Long Beach, Calif. October 1942. The B-17F "Flying Fortress" is a later model of the B-17."


"Celebration on Wall Street upon the news of Germany's surrender in World War I. November 1918."

Thank you to this virtual collegue for the link

The world population growth

These two following websites show you two main features about world population. Click on the images to link.
  • its substantial level

One person represents one pixel. You'll have to scroll left and right te see how we represent a so tiny fraction of world population !


  • its fast-growing
See world statistics up-dated live before your eyes ! How many peole born and die every second ?





I found this resources on Geography : My Places and yours. I advice you to visit this amazing blog.

9/09/2007

Lesson of Geography in English

Watch this Geography lesson teached to foreigners students in Columbia University. Even if you wonn't learn a lot about Geography, it will be very usefull to know how to use the adjective superlative form, what is very current when comparing differents countries.



This is the second part of this instructive lesson. Check your knowledges at the end !

Democracy in Athens

Click on the image to enlarge

AngliaCampus features interesting and easy-accessfull webpages about Ancient Greece. You'll find out many articles concerning our topic : democracy in Athens, and more about greek civilisation. (food, clothes, religion, soldiers...).

These two following diagrams sums up the lesson ! They should be very usefull !

Click on the image to enlarge

Click on the image to enlarge
Source : Historia del Siglo 20.org

9/08/2007

Forest fires in Greece

Flood in England and Switzerland, forest fires in Greece (and many more places in Mediterranean area) : natural hazards stroke Western Europe this summer confirming global warming dangerous effects on population.


"This image of southern Greece shows the widespread impact that recent devastating fires have had on southern Greece. In this kind of satellite image, vegetation appears bright green and burned areas appear brick red. Numerous large burn scars sprawl along the western part of the Peloponnesus Peninsula. Other parts of the country are dotted with burned areas as well."

Source : Nasa Earth Observatory



Since June more than 3,000 fires have razed more than 200.000 hectares of forests and scrubland across the country (nearly triple last year's total), destructed dozens of village and killed 64 persons at the end of August -- according to officials.

On the following pictures, "smoke rises in ancient Olympia, close to the archaeological site in western Peloponnese. An elderly woman cries in front of her burned stable in the Platania village in Peloponnese on Sunday."

Source : CNN