WW2 timeline

1939

•Hitler invades Poland on 1 September. Britain and France declare war on Germany two days later.

1940

•Rationing starts in the UK.
•German 'Blitzkrieg' overwhelms Belgium, Holland and France.
•Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain.
•British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk.
•British victory in Battle of Britain forces Hitler to postpone invasion plans.

1941

•Hitler begins Operation Barbarossa - the invasion of Russia.
•The Blitz continues against Britain's major cities.
•Allies take Tobruk in North Africa, and resist German attacks.
•Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the US enters the war.

1942

•Germany suffers setbacks at Stalingrad and El Alamein.
•Singapore falls to the Japanese in February - around 25,000 prisoners taken.
•American naval victory at Battle of Midway, in June, marks turning point in Pacific War.
•Mass murder of Jewish people at Auschwitz begins.

1943

•Surrender at Stalingrad marks Germany's first major defeat.
•Allied victory in North Africa enables invasion of Italy to be launched.
•Italy surrenders, but Germany takes over the battle.
•British and Indian forces fight Japanese in Burma.

1944

•Allies land at Anzio and bomb monastery at Monte Cassino.
•Soviet offensive gathers pace in Eastern Europe.
•D Day: The Allied invasion of France. Paris is liberated in August.
•Guam liberated by the US Okinawa, and Iwo Jima bombed.

1945

•Auschwitz liberated by Soviet troops.
•Russians reach Berlin: Hitler commits suicide and Germany surrenders on 7 May.
•Truman becomes President of the US on Roosevelt's death, and Attlee replaces Churchill.
•After atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrenders on 14 August.



WW2

Inglorious Basterds

In Inglorious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino typically uses aspects of post modernism that are almost barely recognisable in terms of contradicting time eras, settings etc.
The first post-modern element we become aware of is the choice of music. For example, whilst Shosanna is doing her hair and make up for the cinema event, a David Bowie song is being played. This song was released in the 1980's and contradicts the 1940's era the film is portrayed to be set in. However, this still works effectively for the scene.
Another example is when brad pitt and the basterds are 'scalping' in the woods and spaghetti western music is being played, this is an unusual choice of music, as a 'cowboy' genre of music seems inappropriate to signify a war film, however again it strangely works effectively.
In terms of the setting, when Shosanna leaves her room for the cinema event, the camera angle changes to a birds eye view. As she walks through the door, the camera goes above the door making us aware that the cniema is simply a set not a real building which should in theory take away the authenticity of the film as it urges the audience to suddenly 'snap' back into reality and make the film less believable as a true story. However, the depth of the film makes this almost unrecognisable for it's audience, and even once noticed, strangely doesn't effect the sense of reality of the film just like the other post modern elements.
Finally, the film begins with 'once upon a time', a typical opening to a fairytale film. It's followed up by splitting each section of the film into 'chapters' which creates a sense of a fictional story instead of documenting an event such as world war two. However this I feel adds to the humour of the film and works effectively in challenging the conventions of a normal war film.