POLL: Pick the Next Extra History Series! "Breaking the Rules""

The Extra History Series poll is here! In order to help keep things on schedule for Rob's paternity leave, this poll will be stretched over June & July! We're just breaking all kinds of rules. Have these 4 topics that are just a bit past the usual dates.

The Spanish Civil War: Prelude to WWII?

The Spanish Civil War has often been called a prelude to WWII, the first time the ideologies of democracy, communism, and fascism battled on a grand scale—and where both Nazi and Soviet forces honed the tactics they would later use. But to tell the story this way is to sell it short. The Spanish Civil War was no prelude. At the time, it was the international story. One that pulled in war correspondents like Ernest Hemingway, or foreign volunteers like George Orwell. In reality, this so-called "clash of ideologies" was in fact a confused war of political coalitions who often argued and broke with each other—one where its most famous figure, Francisco Franco, only obtained command after all other Nationalist leaders were killed. 

Czech Resistance: Prague Burning

Reinhard Heydrich was considered Hitler's possible successor. He was an architect of the Holocaust, known as "Heydrich the Hangman" and "The Butcher of Prague"—and in 1941, the Czechoslovak government-in-exile decided it wanted to kill him. Teaming with the British Special Operations Executive, they trained two Czech operatives to parachute into occupied Czechoslovakia and kill Heydrich. Incredibly, they succeeded—leading to both a countrywide manhunt and violent reprisals. In 1945, with the Americans approaching on one front and the Soviet Red Army on another, the Czech Resistance saw its moment had arrived. In a massive rising, it turned Prague into a battleground, fighting from street barricades against panzers, and turning cathedral spires into resistance radio nests. Their hope? To surrender the city to the western allies rather than the Red Army—and become, arguably, the only city in Europe to liberate itself.

American Mafia: Forming the Commission

It's 1930, and the Castellammarese War is raging as multiple outfits vie for control of New York. Yet as the gunsmoke clears, a group of mobsters led by Charles "Lucky" Luciano propose a better way forward. They will abolish the title of "Boss of Bosses" and instead form The Commission, a governing body consisting of New York's Five Families, the Chicago Outfit under Al Capone, and the Buffalo Crime Family. Like any new government, there are growing pains—though most new governments don't solve those disputes with bullets to the gut. But Luciano's patriotism, and debt to society, will land him somewhere odd—as an agent for the U.S. Navy in "Operation Underworld," a covert relationship between American intelligence and the Mafia meant to tamp down on dock strikes and pave the Allies' way into Sicily. But despite all that, it will be Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel who will change America most, by essentially founding its fastest-growing city: Las Vegas.

Japanese Militarism: The Path to Destruction

In 1932, an ultranationalist Buddhist preacher developed a kill list and distributed pistols to followers. Each man had a target, whether a liberal politician or trading company tycoon. One man, one kill. When bullets began flying and the plot was discovered, it shook Japan—particulalry after an associated group assassinated the Prime Minister. But the trials of these men did not go as anticipated, instead rallying public support for their "patriotic actions." It was the start of Japanese political norms eroding, paving the way for an era of bloody political violence, hyper-partisanship, and increasing military control that would put the Japanese government, as it then existed, irrevocably on the path to destruction in the Second World War. While much attention is given to the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany, there's very little popular exploration of how Japan descended from a democracy governed by a constitution to what amounted to miltiary control. Consider this a companion to our "End of the Samurai" series, taking the story through its next logical step.

What series would you like us to air on Extra History? Cast your vote(s) below and let us know!

Friendly reminder: You can vote for as many choices as you want! This style of voting helps us see what people are most interested in without having to make tough decisions between a couple of close favorites. The poll will end at 11:59 PM PT on Monday, July 5th.

Current Schedule: Vlad the Impaler --> Rasputin --> Conquest of India --> Your Vote!