June 18, 1940. Giornale Italie No. 049. The island of Malta, claimed by Italy. Shown are ships of the Royal Navy (probably HMS Warspite, HMS Malaya, and the escort carrier HMS Eagle). An unveiling of a bust in honour of Fortunato Mizzi, founder of the pro-Italian movement on Malta.
To the Greeks, Smyrna represents the ‘Hellenic Genocide’; to the Turks, the ‘National War of Independence’. Independence, or ‘liberation’, this may certainly have been, an achievement now fully-ingrained in the mythology of secular Turkish nationalism, symbolized by the steely-eyed portrait of Kemal Ataturk in military uniform staring down at you from every public and not-so-public edifice throughout modern-day Turkey. But it was, nevertheless, a ‘liberation’ born of a tragedy so riveting that it is as difficult as it is disturbing to perceive or to portray. Some historical film footage and photography survive in the public domain of the Smyrna shore-line bellowing smoke like a colossal furnace, almost completely destroying what was for millennia a prime centre of Hellenistic, later Roman and Christian culture, before the advent of Islam, the crusades, the fall of Constantinople and the rise of the Ottoman Empire, at its height in the sixteenth century. The ancient sites of Pergamon and Ephesus still partly stand, and are not too far.[1]
Between the summer of 1940 and the end of 1942, Malta became one of the most bombed places on earth.
Fliegerkorps X was an experienced anti-shipping unit that had fought in Norway and Denmark. 200 bombers and sixty-six fighters were pitted against the beleaguered Maltese defenders.
The RAF and Royal Navy's desperate fight to retain control of the diminutive Mediterranean island, and the defiant courage of the people of Malta, is one of the epic stories of World War Two.
Malta. officially the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, 80 km (50 mi) south of Sicily, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya, with Gibraltar 1,755 km (1,091 mi) to the west and Alexandria 1,508 km (937 mi) to the east.[8] Malta covers just over 316 km2 (122 sq mi) in land area, making it one of the world's smallest states.[9][10][11] It is also one of the most densely populated countries worldwide. The de facto capital city of Malta is Valletta; the largest town, Birkirkara. The main island comprises many towns, which together form one Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with a population of 368,250 according to Eurostat. The country has two official languages, Maltese (constitutionally the national language) and English. This was filmed in SD and has been Upscaled to HD. http://youtu.be/PDvEIx1RaN0 Kevin Kilpatrick
There are more Maltese outside the Maltese Islands than there are citizens residing in the country itself. The Maltese outside Malta are either emigrants or descendents of emigrants. The countries which have most traditionally hosted the Maltese diaspora are Australia, Canada, the U.S.A., and Britain. Nevertheless, there are Maltese living in virtually every country around the world and this blog will travel the world in hopes of bringing the Maltese back to Malta.