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WW2 Tweets From 1939: Alwyn Collinson Recreates World War II History Up To The Hour
The Huffington Post Tara Kelly
First Posted: 11/14/11 09:43 PM ET Updated: 11/14/11 09:43 PM ET
Forget the museum. History buffs with a fascination for World War II can now follow the perils of the conflict on Twitter.
An Oxford history graduate is helping to relive World War II by tweeting in real time the key historical events from the Second World War, reports the BBC.
With up to 40 tweets a day, Alwyn Collinson first began his project on August 31, a date that coincides with the eve of Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939. So far, @RealTimeWWII has attracted 108,000 followers. The number of followers more than doubled in the week leading up to Veterans Day.
"I'm using eyewitness accounts, photographs and video to give the feel these tweets are coming straight from 1939," said Collinson in an interview with the BBC.
Collinson told The Star his aim is to connect people to the past in a way that emulates the Arab Spring's use of social media.
The 24-year-old will tweet the entire 6-year war, which includes the capturing of his paternal grandfather by the Japanese during the fall of Singapore in February 1942, reports the Telegraph.
"I'm updating the feed on my own at the moment, but there are already volunteers translating the tweets into Spanish, Portuguese and Russian," Collinson also told the Telegraph.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/14/real-time-world-war-ii-twitter_n_1093345.html?view=print&comm_ref=false
The Huffington Post Tara Kelly
First Posted: 11/14/11 09:43 PM ET Updated: 11/14/11 09:43 PM ET
Forget the museum. History buffs with a fascination for World War II can now follow the perils of the conflict on Twitter.
An Oxford history graduate is helping to relive World War II by tweeting in real time the key historical events from the Second World War, reports the BBC.
With up to 40 tweets a day, Alwyn Collinson first began his project on August 31, a date that coincides with the eve of Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939. So far, @RealTimeWWII has attracted 108,000 followers. The number of followers more than doubled in the week leading up to Veterans Day.
"I'm using eyewitness accounts, photographs and video to give the feel these tweets are coming straight from 1939," said Collinson in an interview with the BBC.
Collinson told The Star his aim is to connect people to the past in a way that emulates the Arab Spring's use of social media.
The 24-year-old will tweet the entire 6-year war, which includes the capturing of his paternal grandfather by the Japanese during the fall of Singapore in February 1942, reports the Telegraph.
"I'm updating the feed on my own at the moment, but there are already volunteers translating the tweets into Spanish, Portuguese and Russian," Collinson also told the Telegraph.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/14/real-time-world-war-ii-twitter_n_1093345.html?view=print&comm_ref=false
