A talk, To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild, is organised as part of London Met Connect Week
Date: 17 October 2014
Photo: Cleator Mill Strike Committee, 29 April, 1915. TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University.
As part of London Met Connect week, American journalist and international best-selling author, Adam Hochschild, will be discussing the support and opposition to the First World War
In year that marks the centenary of the start of the War, Adam, who is the author of King Leopold’s Ghost and Bury the Chains, will talk about his most recent book To End All Wars, which focuses on feminists, philosophers, trade unionists and notable left-wingers opposed to the Great War.
The talk, To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild, is organised by the TUC Library where much of the source material Adam refers to in his book is available.
To End All Wars
The book is a story of how the international socialist movement collapsed in the face of wartime nationalism and how groups and individuals questioned the war’s legitimacy throughout its duration in light of the alarming death-toll of soldiers from around the world across Europe’s battlefields.
“Adams book is a very original piece about the opposition of the war which is very topical now with the 100 years from the start of it.
“It is a very human version of the events that puts the emphasis on stories with emotional value, like the sacrifice of many families who encouraged their sons to go to war,” said Jeff Howarth, the TUC an Academic Liaison Librarian from London Met.
The talk will take a closer look at the life of people touched by the horrors of the war on the home-front and on the battlefield.
“The talk examines the propaganda and literature for both pro- and anti-war actions. The home-front lives of the railway workers, who maintained the massive effort and cost of war, but also the pacifist and trade union movements who opposed it,” Jeff said.
‘World War I was supposed to be the “war to end all wars.” Over four long years, nations around the globe were sucked into the tempest, and millions of men died on the battlefields. To this day, the war stands as one of history’s most senseless spasms of carnage, defying rational explanation.’- To End All Wars
TUC Library
London Met’s Learning Centre offers students a comprehensive amount of material and support to explore this era of history. The TUC Collections are unique to the University.
The Library has recently applied for funding to start a process of digitalising and publishing pre-war propaganda from the collection and other substantial material from the period.
More information of the First World War has already been collected and published on the TUC Library’s website for everyone to view.
The TUC also produce a regular blog and Twitter feed.
For more information about other events in London Met Connect Week, please visit our website.
Event details
A talk by Adam Hochschild
London Metropolitan University
Room TM1-45 - Tower Building,
166-220 Holloway Rd,
N7 8DB London
United Kingdom
Friday 24 October 2014
From 1.00pm to 2.00pm
To book your ticket for this talk, please go to: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/to-end-all-wars-the-story-of-the-first-world-war-a-talk-by-adam-hochschild-tickets-13628277545.
For more information about this story, please contact Ida Aari, i.aari@londonmet.ac.uk
