The History of Alaska is a documentary film which premiered in 2020. A German version was shown on German television (ZDF) in 2022.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Director: Charles Colville
** Production company: Arrow International Media
** German title: Damals in Amerika: Die Geschichte Alaskas
** German version produced by Phoenix
** German narrator: Nina Goldberg
** Run time: 43 minutes
This film covers the history of Alaska for more than nine decades, more precisely from 1867 to 1959; the time when Alaska was an American territory:
** 1867 is the year when Russia sold Alaska to the United States.
** 1959 is the year when Alaska joined the American union and became the 49th state.
This film presents the land and the people who live there. This film covers both major and minor events in the history of this land during the time when it was an American territory but not yet a state, not yet a full member of the American union.
I will not mention all events here, because the complete list is too long. I will focus on four events:
# 1. The gold rush
The gold rush around the year 1900 is a major chapter in the history of Alaska. In fact, there are three separate cases where we can talk about an Alaska gold rush around the year 1900:
** 1896-1899 = The Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike is in Yukon, in the northwestern region of Canada, but it is close to Alaska, and many people who joined the gold rush travelled through Alaska to get to Klondike
** 1899-1909 = The Nome Gold Rush
Nome is in Alaska
** 1903-1911 = The Fairbanks Gold Rush
Fairbanks is in Alaska
# 2. The Aleutian Islands
During World War Two, Alaska became involved in the conflict, even though this land seems to be very remote and far away from all other places.
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the US declared war on Japan.
In June 1942, Japan invaded and occupied two of the Aleutian Islands (Kiska and Attu).
The Aleutian Islands are a chain of 14 large islands and 55 small islands which are located between Alaska and the Kamchatka Peninsula.
This chain of islands acts as a border between the Bering Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south.
Most of the Aleutian Islands are a part of Alaska and thus a part of the US, but a few of them are a part of the Kamchatka Peninsula and thus a part of Russia.
In June 1942, when Japan invaded and occupied two Aleutian Islands, Alaska became involved in the war.
The Japanese occupation of Kiska and Attu were the only invasions of the North American continent during World War Two.
During the war, Japan also invaded and occupied Guam, Wake Island, and the Philippines, which were American territories in the Pacific Ocean.
The climate and the weather in this part of the world is often dangerous and harsh. It took a long time for the US to send a military force to defend this area. The Japanese invaders were defeated in July and August 1943.
# 3. A volcanic eruption
Alaska contains more than 130 volcanoes. More than 50 of them have been active within historical times (since 1760).
On 9 July 1953, one of these volcanoes (Mount Spurr) erupted. Volcanic ash was pushed up into the sky. After a while, it began to rain down on the surrounding area.
Anchorage, which is located 80 miles from Mount Spurr, was covered by volcanic ash. Fortunately, nobody was killed by the unexpected eruption.
# 4. Statehood
For almost a century, Alaska was an American territory but not a state.
The road to statehood was
quite long. The first suggestion was made in 1916 but nothing happened. A new
effort was made in 1943. Again nothing happened.
A formal proposal was presented to Congress in 1947 and again in 1950, but since it was opposed by powerful southern members of Congress, it could not be passed until 1958.
In that year, President Eisenhower signed the act into law, and Alaska became a state in January 1959.
This is where the film comes to an end. Events after 1959 when Alaska became a state are not covered in this film.
The following four events are not covered in the film, because they are outside the time frame 1867-1959:
# 1. The earthquake
The Great Alaska Earthquake happened on 27 March (Good Friday) 1964.
The earthquake, which reached 9.2 on the Richter scale, is the most powerful earthquake ever registered in North America and the second most powerful earthquake ever registered in the world.
The number of casualties was quite high: 131 persons lost their lives.
# 2. The swimmer
On 7 August 1987, the British swimmer Lynne Cox was the first person to swim from the US to the USSR. She swam from the Little Diomede (Alaska) to the Big Diomede (USSR).
The distance between the two islands is 3.7 km or 2.3 miles. The British swimmer covered this distance in two hours and six minutes.
The water in this part of the world is extremely cold, even during the summer. This feat had never been done before and has never been done since.
# 3. The oil tanker
On 24 March 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef only 2.4 km or 1.5 miles west of Tatitlek (Alaska) and spilled more than 10 million US gallons of crude oil over the next few days.
This event is one of the worst environmental disasters which ever happened in US waters.
# 4. The politician
In 2008, presidential candidate John McCain (a Republican politician) picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate, his choice for vice president. At the time, Sarah Palin was the governor of Alaska.
Sarah Palin was praised by some but criticized by others. She was ridiculed by many when it became evident that her knowledge about American and global history was quite limited.
The McCain-Palin ticket lost the presidential election in November 2008. The Obama-Biden ticket won.
What do reviewers say about this film about Alaskan history? This question is not easy to answer. The film is not listed on IMDb. There are no user reviews. The film is not available on Amazon. There are no customer reviews.
What do I think? The topic is interesting and deserves to be covered. In this film, it is done quite well. Old photos and old film clips have been found and they are used to illustrate the historical account.
According to the narrator, the old clips are extraordinary because they are in colour. This is not quite true. The old clips are in black-and-white. Before they were used in this film they were restored and colorized in a modern laboratory.
The campaign for statehood during the 1950s is covered in the film. This is good. The history of the sale of Alaska in 1867 is not covered in the film. This is not so good.
The time frame chosen is quite limited. The historical account stops in 1959 when Alaska becomes a state.
In my opinion, the time frame is too limited. I think the film should cover the history of Alaska all the way from 1867 until today.
Perhaps it was not possible to do this with one film. If this is the case, I think the director should have produced a second film in order to cover the time from 1959 until today. He did not do that.
My conclusion: this film is good but not great. There are some flaws which cannot be ignored. I have to remove one star because of these flaws. This is why I think it deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
RESOURCES
# 1. Films from PBS
Alaska Gold
A documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2012. An episode of the long-running program Frontline. Run time = 53 minutes
The Klondike Gold Rush
A documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2015. Produced by WNED. Run time = 56 minutes
# 2. Videos available on YouTube
Alaska: The Outpost State
28 minutes
Klondike Alaska: A Rail History
89 minutes
A History of the Alaska Railroad
29 minutes
The Great Alaska Earthquake
48 minutes
Alaska at War
59 minutes
The Forgotten Battle of the Aleutian Islands
45 minutes
Alaska Highway
35 minutes
Alaska Highway
58 minutes
# 3. Books
Alaska: A History of the 49th State by Claus-M. Naske and Herman E. Slotnick (first edition 1979) (second edition 1987) (third edition 2011) (paperback 2014)
The World War II Black Regiment that Built the Alaska Military Highway by William E. Griggs (edited by Philip J. Merrill) (with an introduction by Douglas Brinkley) (2002)
The Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians by Brian Garfield (2004)
The Storm on Our Shores: One Island, Two Soldiers, and the Forgotten Battle of World War II by Mark Obmascik (2019) (2020)
*****
A street in Klondike, Yukon, Canada
Next to Alaska
Around the year 1900
*****
A map of Alaska
The 49th state
*****
The Aleutian Islands:
A chain of islands located
between Russia and the United States,
between the Kamchatka Peninsula and Alaska
*****
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