People's History of Australia

People's History of Australia


Ep 5 – The hidden history of Australia in World War I

October 28, 2020

Few periods of Australian history are as heavily mythologised as World War I. From school textbooks to Anzac Day ceremonies, we're told that Australia was born as a nation on the shores of Gallipoli and that the country united as one behind our gallant diggers, who gave their lives to defend our freedom, our democracy, and our way of life. In this episode we explode these myths, and talk about how Australia was ripped apart by World War I - tens of thousands of Australian died in the trenches of Europe, inflation and unemployment devastated working class living standards, opposition and anti-war organising was ruthlessly criminalised and suppressed, and workers fought back by conducting what was probably the largest strike wave in Australian history.