Remagen and Roosevelt

Two very different presentations that were both full of information I did not know.

The Remagen presentation was really able to shed some light on a battle that I'd heard of and seen bits of in movies, but didn't really understand very well. It is always strange to watch a once-great military start to crumble towards the end of the war, especially in this one where there wasn't one decisive battle that knocked Germany out of the war. To think that their communications had become so fouled that they couldn't even agree to destroy the bridge or defend it (instead opting to weakly defend it and then attempt to blow it at the last moment) is quite a testament to the Allied bombing campaign which had been busy for the last year or so destroying much of the German infrastructure. But in response to some earlier posts, I believe one of the reasons the Germans were planning on waiting til the last minute to blow the bridge was the stream of refugees, good German citizens, that were still streaming over the bridge to escape the moving front lines.

As for the presentation of Eleanor Roosevelt, I'd always heard that there was more to her than the typical first lady of her time, and the presentation outlined that nicely. She was certainly a stronog-willed woman and I suppose she has inspired the political ambitions of women since then. She showed that you could go out and get things done, much like the women in the factories were proving, best personified by "Rosie the Riveter" and others like her. I find it equally important to study the homefront, since the sentiments and values back there tend to affect the troops on the front lines. A nice change of pace.