Premise.

The series centers around the adventures of three teenage girls from Beverly Hills—Sam, Alex, and Clover—who live a double life as spies working for the World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP). The girls are recruited by the organization's leader, Jerry, to solve worsening crime conditions that arise across the globe. Their primary missions involve dealing with disgruntled and vengeful criminals who have been wronged in some form during their past. Other missions have some same villains plotting revenge on the spies by ruining their personal lives. Framing each episode is a subplot that focuses on the girls' daytime lives as high school (and later university) students, dealing with relationships and their longtime high school rival Mandy. Each of the three girls has a spy suit with a heart-shaped silver belt and spy suit with different colours (red, yellow and green) and high-heeled shoes.

Development and production.

The show's conception came from the rise of girl band and female singers in the music industry. Wanting to capitalize on the niche, David Michel and Vincent Chalvon-Demersay put their idea into development, which later shifted into production within a year. According to Michel, the series' animation style was intended to incorporate anime influences. The production company, Marathon Media, intended on building on the series brand by forming a three-piece girl band, utilizing German talk show "Arabella" to create it. Using a panel of judges, 20 demo videos were selected and the winners were selected based on the strength of their performance and the show's viewers. The band was selected and released a single in the spring of 2002, through EMI. According to managing director Dirk Fabarius, "The plan is to eventually create an entire album and establish and promote Totally Spies as a real band." While the idea did not materialize, the series was promoted through other merchandising. It was announced in the spring of 2001 that the series would air in the autumn on ABC Family, and would be distributed to the European countries in the following year.  In an interview with WorldScreen.com, Michel said that prior to his show, there were a lot of boy action-adventure shows and practically nothing for girls, yet in pop culture, there was Britney Spears and Spice Girls. He said that the characters are heavily inspired by the movie "Clueless" and wanted to mix that with a James Bond format. When they first pitched the show, it had a moderate response, but when the first season was broadcast, the "Charlie's Angels" film came out, and suddenly the market was full of girl show properties.  According to an article "Achieving a Global Reach on Children's Cultural Markets" by Valerie-Ines de la Ville and Laurent Durup, the series was originally designed to reach an American audience, but has garnered appeal from its humor "based on a stereotypical European vision of American references" while "appearing to be original and innovative to the U.S. audience". Producer and artistic director Stephane Berry said that the style "is a melting between the American style, which associates action and comedy, and Japanese design for the aesthetic environment and the emotions expressed through the large eyes of the characters." Some of the common references have included "Charlie's Angels", Beverly Hills, "The Avengers", James Bond and its gadgets, anime, and "Cat's Eye".  The head writers for the show were Robert and Michelle Lamoreaux who were based in Los Angeles, and who had worked on Nickelodeon shows. Demersay and Stephane Berry had both previously worked with Saban entertainment in Europe. In a GeoCities interview, Kate Griffin, who voices Alex, mentioned that the typical session for the three girls is that they would record as an ensemble, but through a phone patch, with Hale and Baker calling from Los Angeles, and herself in Toronto.  Following the end of the fifth season, the series's movie, "Totally Spies! The Movie", was produced and released to theatres in France on 22 July 2009. The movie received a television release in the United States, on April 25 the following year, coinciding with the airing of the series' fifth season there.  In August 2011, Marathon Media confirmed that production for the sixth season was underway and set to premiere in 2013. The sixth series would be produced solely by Marathon in association with TF1 and The Walt Disney Company France. It was later confirmed that 26 episodes would be produced and that the show would be licensed in Spain and Latin America, with European territories following suit. To coincide with the sixth season's premiere, Zodiak Kids CP Paris, in association with Château de Versailles Spectacles (CVS) and TF1, organized an event at the Palace of Versailles, taking place during the summer of 2013. The event would be preceded with activities including a screening of a special featuring the spies on a mission in the palace gardens.

Broadcast.

"Totally Spies!" premiered on November 3, 2001 on ABC Family (now Freeform). It later premiered in Europe on pay-TV and terrestrial channels such as Germany's ProSieben, France's TF1, United Kingdom's ITV 1 or the localised Fox Kids channels throughout the region during the spring of 2002. The show moved to Cartoon Network in July 2003 in the United States, where it attracted 1.6 million viewers (aged 4–10) daily and continued airing until September 10, 2010. Since 2019, the show currently airs weeknights on Universal Kids. "Totally Spies!" has attracted over one million viewers in France since its debut. It was re-licensed and its sixth season, along with "Totally Spies! The Movie" and the show's spin off "The Amazing Spiez!" The show aired its sixth season in France and is being broadcast around Europe. In Canada, season 6 began airing on September 7, 2014 on Teletoon, and on 6 September on Télétoon. The show has been broadcast worldwide on various networks, such as TF1 in France; Teletoon in Canada, Cartoon Network in the USA; Fox Kids, Jetix, Cartoon Network and Boomerang in Latin America and Brazil on pay-television; Rede Globo in Brazil on terrestrial TV; MBC 3, Spacetoon, Spacetoon English and ART Teenz in the Arab World; 4Kids TV, Jetix, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon channels in Asia, Africa, and Europe. In Australia, it was shown on Network Ten and later on 10 Peach (formerly Eleven) as part of their Toasted TV block. Seasons 3–4 was aired on POP in the UK from 2013. Season 5 started airing in 2015 and season six the following year. It was also briefly aired on its sister channel, Pop Girl. It was aired on BBC Alba in Scotland. Season 1 aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. It aired in the Republic of Ireland on RTÉ Two from 10 October 2002 until 2009.

Reception.

Joly Herman of "Common Sense Media" gave the series a mixed review, writing that "We think it's a decent show to catch once in a while, but anything more regular might give viewers the like, slightest headache." Joe Corey of "Inside Pulse" had a more positive review, calling the show "fun enough for small kids who want a Charlie's Angels undercover action show. The trio does their best to balance the fun of being in the espionage game without it being too risky." Matt Hinrichs of "DVD Talk" gave a positive review, calling the action in the first three seasons "decently written enough for adults to enjoy." The Parents Television Council, in their March 2006 report, noted that the show did not contain offensive language but expressed concern about the "nature of the violence of the show" in an episode where rats were released to psychologically torture Jerry and Clover, and the sexual content exampled by a sunblock ad by a bikini-clad woman.  The show was also described as risky because it had targeted girls with a genre typically associated with boys' shows and that it was animated when the girls were more interested in live shows. After four seasons, the show had reached over 130 countries and was met with enthusiasm among ages 6–11 that included both girls and boys, and had a Pokémon-like appeal to a broad range of age and gender. In an interview before season three, David Michel said, "The one thing that surprised us the most is the consistency in the male / female viewership split: from Brazil to Italy, we have a 50% boys 50% girls audience ratio, whereas everybody was predicting the show would score very low on boys." Scott Stoute of ScreenRant listed the show among his "10 Girl Cartoons (That Guys Secretly Love)" list.  The series has funding participations with TF1 and The Walt Disney Company France for season 6.

Media.

Home video and DVD.

Goodtimes Entertainment released the first twelve episodes of the show's first season on VHS and DVD in 2004 in three volumes: "Totally Spies Volume 1: First Secret Missions", "Totally Spies Volume 2: The Getaway", and "Totally Spies Volume 3: Spies Attack". Coinciding with the production and release of the show's sixth season, New Video Group/Flatiron Film Company acquired American DVD rights for the series as well as some digital rights for the first three seasons of the series. They've released the first and second seasons (in two volumes each), as well as a box set containing seasons one through three. The third season was finally released in two volumes on January 14, 2014. As of 2020, these DVD sets are now out of print and very hard to find. Totally Spies DVDs are also released in the UK by Sanctuary Visual Entertainment in 2005 and 2006, "Totally Spies – First Secret Missions" and "Totally Spies – Spy Gladiators".

Video games.

The "Totally Spies" series was initially followed up with two video games titled "Totally Spies!" and "". Both were developed by Mistic Software and published by Atari for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and/or Nintendo DS. IGN rated "Totally Spies! 2: Undercover" with a score of 4.0/10 citing poor overall game presentation. "Totally Spies! 3: Secret Agents" was released in Europe and Australia for the Nintendo DS. "Totally Spies! Totally Party" was released in North America, Europe and Australia for the PlayStation 2, Wii and PC.

Spin-off and crossover.

A spin-off series called "The Amazing Spiez!" features new characters as spies, retaining Jerry as a regular character in the show. While the series focuses on four young teenage siblings—Lee, Megan, Marc, and Tony Clark, the three spy girls make an appearance on the crossover episode "Operation: Dude Ranch Disaster" from season 1. The show had its world premiere on 15 March 2009, on Disney Channel Asia; and its US premiere on April 26, 2010, on Cartoon Network. In Canada, the show premiered on September 2, 2010 on Teletoon. Only the first season and ten Season 2 episodes aired in the US.  "Totally Spies!" also had a crossover episode in season 5 titled "Totally Mystery Much?" with "Martin Mystery", a Marathon-produced series that aired from 2003 to 2006.

Comics and books.

A "Totally Spies!" comics were released monthly in Sweden. Five books with about 90 pages came out in Brazil as well. Each book represents an episode from the series. There is another comic called "Totally Spies Unleashed"; this opens with "I Hate the 80s!", in which a bad guy, Boogie Gus, has invented a retro ray that de-ages people. The second story, "Attack of the 50 Ft. Mandy", turns their nemesis into a giant in a plot that involves a beauty contest and an escaped evil scientist. Chapter books have also been released.

Totally Spies! is an animated television series created by Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel and mainly produced by French company Marathon Media (and co-produced with Canadian company Image Entertainment Corporation for seasons 3 to 5). The show was made to resemble anime in artwork and was originally based on the concept of a girl group. It focuses on three teenage girls in Beverly Hills, California, United States, who work as undercover super agents.

Špionky (též Totally Spies – Špiónky, v originále Totally Spies!) je francouzsko-kanadský animovaný seriál, v České republice vysílaný na kanále Jetix a později i na kanále Disney Channel. Ve Spojených státech je vysílán na kanálech TF1, Teletoon, ABC Family, Cartoon Network a Kabillion. Seriál se měl původně vysílat od 3. listopadu 2001 do 1. června 2010, ovšem začátkem roku 2012 byla oznámena 6. série, která skončila 3. října 2014. Celkem bylo do 3. října 2014 odvysíláno 156 dílů v šesti sériích. Každá série má přesně 26 dílů. V roce 2015 byl uveden i celovečerní film, který popisuje začátek celého příběhu a na který navazují jednotlivé série, vypráví příběh o tom, jak se Sam, Clover a Alex daly dohromady.


Historical background.

The ECI has its origins in the Constitutional Convention on the Future of Europe in 2002-2003. Thanks to the campaign work of activists and Convention members the ECI was introduced in a last-minute act into the Constitutional Treaty.  In 2005, the Constitutional Treaty was rejected by the citizens of France and the Netherlands in two national referendums. As a consequence of that, Intergovernmental Conference prepared the Treaty of Lisbon. The treaty ratification was delayed due to referendum in Ireland where it was initially rejected in June 2008 by the Irish electorate, a decision which was reversed in a second referendum in October 2009.  On 13 December 2007, the Treaty of Lisbon was signed by all the EU Member States. On 11 November 2009, the European Commission published a Green Paper on the European Citizens’ Initiative, launching a public consultation process on the ECI.  The Council and the Commission came up with a preliminary compromise on 14 June 2010. After it produced several drafts and opinions that were discussed in the Constitutional Affairs and Petitions Committees, the European Parliament, on 15 December 2010, finally voted on the ECI Regulation. After one year of negotiations, all three main EU institutions (the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament) agreed on a final ECI Regulation, on 16 February 2011.  The initiative was inspired by Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU. The country has several tools of direct democracy such as the federal popular initiative (since 1848) and the optional referendum (since 1874).

Legal basis.

The legal basis of the citizens' initiative is set out in Article 11, Paragraph 4 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and Article 24, paragraph 1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Both articles were newly introduced with the Treaty of Lisbon. The ECI complements the existing right of petitioning the European Parliament and the right of appeal to the Ombudsman as set out in the Treaty of Maastricht (1993). Petitions and the ECI are fundamentally different however in terms of function, addressees and conditions.  The practical arrangements, conditions and procedure of the ECI have been determined in the Regulation 211/2011 on the citizens' initiative, which has been applicable since 1 April 2012. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1179/2011 lays down technical specifications for the ECI's online collection systems.  The regulation requires a review by 1 April 2015, and every three years thereafter. In the review process, the Commission presents a report on the implementation of the ECI regulation with a view to its possible revision, to which the European Parliament reacts in a report with further recommendations.

Initiatives.

Before entry into force.

Greenpeace collected one million signatures in December 2010 for a petition, hosted by Avaaz, against the authorisation of new GM crops in Europe. Although Greenpeace has called the petition an ECI in the media, it has never been formally registered with the Commission, which would not have been possible before 1 April 2012, and so can therefore not be regarded an ECI, as introduced by the Lisbon Treaty.

First registered initiative.

The European Commission chose the symbolic date of 9 May 2012 (Europe Day) to officially launch the first ECI. It turned out to be Fraternité 2020, which had been announced by Vice-President of the Commission Maroš Šefčovič via his Twitter account one day earlier. Fraternité 2020 was officially registered on 9 May and boasts registration number ECI(2012)000001. The initiative failed to reach the required number of signatures.

First five successful initiatives.

Right2Water.

On the 21 March 2013, Right2Water became the first ECI to collect more than a million signatures and it reached the minimum quota of signatures in seven countries on 7 May 2013. It stopped collecting signatures on 7 September 2013, with a total of 1,857,605 signatures. The initiative was submitted to the Commission in December 2013 and the public hearing took place on 17 February 2014 at the European Parliament. In March 2014, the Commission adopted the Communication in response to the Right2Water initiative. On 1 July 2015 the Roadmap for the evaluation of the Drinking Water Directive was published.

One of Us.

On 28 February 2014, One of Us was submitted to the commission as an ECI, having gathered 1,896,852 signatures (so far the highest number of signatures per ECI). A public hearing on the initiative took place at the European Parliament on 10 April 2014. On 28 May 2014 the European Commission adopted the Communication on the European Citizens' Initiative "One of us".

Stop Vivisection.

On 3 March 2015, the third European Citizens' Initiative to gather the required number of signatories, Stop Vivisection, was submitted to the Commission. The campaign collected 1,326,807 signatures. On 11 May 2015, a public hearing at the European Parliament took place. On 3 June 2015, the European Commission adopted the Communication on the European Citizens' Initiative "Stop Vivisection".

Ban glyphosate and protect people and the environment from toxic pesticides.

The initiative was submitted to the Commission on 6 October 2017. By that date, 1,070,865 signatures from 22 Member States had been checked and validated. The Commission adopted a Communication on 12 December 2017, setting out the actions it intends to take in response to the initiative.

Minority Safepack.

A package of 9 proposals (initially 11, 2 blocked by the Commission) aiming "to improve the protection of persons belonging to national and linguistic minorities and strengthen cultural and linguistic diversity", and submitted to the Commission on January 10, 2020. Supported by FUEN.

Active ECIs.

More initiatives have later been registered by the Commission and include, among others, the following initiatives active as at December 2019:

Rejected ECIs.

While the first few ECIs have been approved, a few have been rejected. Among these are:

Withdrawn ECIs.

A number of ECI's have decided to withdraw after being approved. Among them for example:

Procedure.

There are a few steps absolutely necessary to organise an ECI:  For tips on how to organise a successful ECI campaign go here. Check out also practitioner's checklist.

Weaknesses.

Problems in the design of the ECI have heavily burdened ECI campaigners in the process. These include legal constraints (such as liability issues over data protection and insufficient advice regarding the appropriate legal basis of ECIs), technical issues (the online collection system is not user-friendly and does not let campaigners access email addresses of signatories to keep them informed), and bureaucratic hurdles (each member state has different data requirements and signature forms). Very few citizens are aware that the ECI exists. Moreover, there is little guarantee that a successful ECI will have an actual impact on EU legislation, as the three first ‘successful’ ECIs have shown.  The review process will offer a reflection over the successes and failures of the ECI during its first three years. Many civil society organisations, ECI organisers and Members of the European Parliament are advocating for a major reform of the ECI regulation.  The ECI Campaign, an organization exclusively working for the successful introduction and implementation of the European Citizens’ Initiative right, has proposed 12 concrete ways to make the ECI work. Those suggestions were the result of the publication entitled "An ECI That Works. Learning from the first two years of the European Citizens' Initiative".  In order to support and help ECI organizers The ECI Campaign offers a new and improved software to collect signatures called OpenECI.  The ECI Support Centre, a joint initiative of Democracy International, the European Citizen Action Service und the Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe, has developed an ‘App’ for Android smartphones, which informs users of the latest European Citizens’ Initiatives. The Centre recommends the EU Commission to develop an ECI-App, which should enable mobile signing and can help raise public awareness of the ECI.

The on-line signature collection system.

The ECI process allows organizers to also collect statements of support on-line. The first versions of the software provided by the European Commission have been heavily criticized by some developers. Some organisers have also criticized the security regulations regarding the ECI collection process and the number of technical errors during the collection period. In 2016, a new, fully bottom up online collection software has been provided by The ECI Campaign.

Reform process 2015-2016.

According to the ECI Regulation 211/2011 every three years the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of the Regulation. In mid 2014, the European Parliament presented a new ECI study entitled "European Citizens‘ Initiative – First lessons of implementation". The analysis was conducted at the request of the AFCO and PETI Committees, and tried to identify difficulties faced by organisers when setting up and running an ECI.  In October 2014 Mr. Frans Timmermans became the newly elected Commissioner responsible for the ECI. During the question and answer session in the European Parliament he avoided giving any concrete answers regarding the use or reform of the ECI. A few weeks later The ECI Campaign organised a workshop "An ECI For the Next Generation". Many participants felt that the ECI was "at a crossroad" and needed reform.  In December 2014 the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organised a conference entitled "ECI Legal Framework – Need for Reform?". During the conference the findings and recommendations of a study undertaken by ECAS and the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer on the legal basis of the refused ECIs were presented and discussed. The overall conclusions of the study are that the legal admissibility requirements are applied in a too narrow fashion by the Commission, that decisions to refuse registration were arbitrary and that reasons given for rejection were often incomplete.  On 26 February 2015, the Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) and Petitions (PETI) committees of the European Parliament organised a public hearing on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). This marked the official start of debate on the review of the ECI regulation. Despite security restrictions limiting attendance, the hearing attracted a standing-room only crowd. Present were key ECI stakeholders: the European Commission, Parliament and Council, EESC, civil society organisations and ECI organisers. Three and a half hours of discussion led the participants to the conclusion that the ECI needed reform. Speaking at the hearing, Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission, stated that the ECI has not worked well enough and took personal responsibility to improve it so that it would not disappear.  In March 2015 the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, made proposals to strengthen the role that ECI play in democratic political debate at the European level. The Ombudsman called for better guidance for ECI organisers, a stronger involvement of the European Parliament and the Council and increased pressure on the Member States to make sure that all EU citizens can sign an ECI, regardless of where they reside. Emily O'Reilly explained in her statement: "The Commission has done a lot to give effect to the ECI right in a citizen-friendly way. However, more can be done to ensure that ECI organisers feel that their efforts to mobilise one million signatures are worthwhile and that political debate at the European level takes account of their initiatives, even if specific initiatives do not lead to new EU legislation. We need a more effective dialogue with ECI organisers at different stages of an initiative as well as more transparent decision-making as regards what action the Commission takes on ECIs." The Ombudsman's full list of suggestions is available online.  On 31 March 2015, the Commission adopted the Report on the application of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 on the citizens' initiative, which constitutes an important element of potential ECI reform.  On 13 April 2015, third edition of the "ECI Day" took place in the European Economic and Social Committee. The conference was entitled "Review, Renew, Reset!" and focused on the EC's and Ombudsman's reports. During the event The ECI Campaign presented an open letter to European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans, signed by 21 ECI campaigns. It called on the Commission to propose a deep and meaningful amendment to the ECI's Regulation 211/2011.  In consequence of the above-mentioned conferences and reports Members of European Parliament (MEPs) on the Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) and Petitions (PETI) committees started to draft a report calling for a motion of the European Parliament on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). It asks the Commission to consider several ways to make the ECI both more impactful and easier to use. AFCO Rapporteur MEP György Schöpflin presented the draft ECI report for discussion in the 16 April 2015 AFCO committee meeting. During a lively 45 minute debate, many MEPs expressed their commitment to reform and strengthen the ECI. In consequence, after 2 months of in-depth analysis over 20 members of the AFCO committee came up with 127 amendments to the draft report. Additionally, PETI and JURI committees presented their own opinions on the ECI.  On 16 June 2015, the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Council General Secretariat and The ECI Campaign brought together stakeholders from EU institutions, member states and civil society to reflect on the future of the ECI. This was the first ECI conference hosted in the premises of the EU Council. Stakeholders expressed deep concern that ECI use declined dramatically since 2013 and that no ECI led to a legislative proposal. All agreed that the ECI is unnecessarily complex. Participants noted that significant changes to ECI procedures are urgently needed if citizen confidence in the ECI is to be restored and it is to fulfil its promise of participatory democracy.

Differences from referendums.

Citizen initiatives are democratic mechanisms that let citizens propose and vote on laws and policies. By gathering a certain number of signatures, citizens can demand a binding vote on a proposed policy or legislation. With the European Citizens’ Initiative, citizens can invite the Commission to look at the proposed policy or legislation; it is not obliged to act. Citizen initiatives differ from referendums in which citizens only can accept or reject a law or policy proposed by parliament. Also, it has been stated by the European Commission that an ECI can only be the subject of the acceptation/creation of a law, but it cannot ask to reject a law.

The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) is a European Union mechanism aimed at increasing direct democracy by enabling "EU citizens to participate directly in the development of EU policies", introduced with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. The initiative enables one million citizens of the European Union, who are nationals of at least one quarter of the member states, to call directly on the European Commission to propose a legal act (for example a Directive or Regulation) in an area where the Member States have conferred powers onto the EU level. This right to request the Commission to initiate a legislative proposal puts citizens on the same footing as the European Parliament and the European Council, who enjoy this right according to Articles 225 and 241 TFEU, respectively. The Commission holds the right of initiative in the EU. The first ECI, Fraternité 2020, was initiated on 9 May 2012 (Europe Day).

Evropská občanská iniciativa je jednou z hlavních inovací obsažených v Lisabonské smlouvě a nástroj sloužící k posílení přímé demokracie v Evropské unii. Umožňuje jednomu milionu občanů EU, mezi nimiž jsou zastoupeni občané alespoň čtvrtiny členských států, požádat Evropskou komisi, aby navrhla legislativu, která spadá do některé z politik Unie. Komise má v EU exkluzivní právo zákonodárné iniciativy.


Plot.

A novice named Viridiana (Silvia Pinal) is about to take her vows when her only living relative, her uncle Don Jaime (Fernando Rey), invites her to visit him. She has met him only once, and is reluctant to comply. Her mother superior pressures her to accept.  Don Jaime is a recluse living on a neglected farm with a few servants: Ramona (Margarita Lozano), her daughter Rita, and Moncho. When Don Jaime sees his niece, he is struck by her strong resemblance to his deceased wife.  On her last night Viridiana, grateful for her uncle's longtime financial support, reluctantly complies with his odd request for her to don his wife's wedding gown. When Ramona informs her that Don Jaime wants to marry her, she's aghast, and her uncle seems to drop the idea. Ramona secretly drugs Viridiana's drink and Don Jaime carries the unconscious girl to her room intending to rape her, but at the last minute he stops. However, the next morning he lies and tells her that he "took her virginity", so she cannot return to her convent. When she insists that she must go back, he confesses that he lied, leaving her uncertain about what had happened.  At the bus stop, the authorities prevent her from leaving. Her uncle has hanged himself, leaving his property to her and his illegitimate son Jorge (Francisco Rabal). Deeply disturbed, Viridiana decides not to return to the convent. Instead, she collects some beggars and installs them in an outbuilding. She devotes herself to feeding and morally educating them. Disgusted, Moncho departs. Jorge moves into the house with his girlfriend Lucia and starts to renovate the rundown place. Lucia, sensing that he lusts after Viridiana like his father did, leaves. Jorge then makes a pass at the willing Ramona.  When Viridiana and Jorge leave for a few days to take care of some business, the paupers break into the house. At first, they just want to look around, but faced with such bounty, they degenerate into a drunken, riotous bunch and party to the strains of Handel's "Messiah". The beggars pose around the table for a photo in which they resemble the figures in Da Vinci's "Last Supper".  The rightful owners return earlier than expected and find the house in shambles. The miscreants excuse themselves one by one and leave. Jorge confronts one of them, who pulls a knife. Another beggar strikes his head with a bottle, knocking him out. Viridiana enters the room and hastens to help Jorge who is lying on the floor. The first man grabs her. As Viridiana resists sexual assault, Jorge regains consciousness. He has been tied up, but manages to bribe one beggar to kill the would-be rapist. The police finally arrive.  Viridiana is a changed woman and young Rita burns her crown of thorns. Wearing her hair loosely, Viridiana knocks on Jorge's door, but finds Ramona with him in his bedroom. As Ashley Beaumont sings "Shimmy Doll" on the record player, Jorge tells Viridiana that they were only playing cards and urges her to join them: "You know, the first time I saw you, I thought, my cousin and I will end up shuffling the deck together."

Censored ending.

The Spanish board of censors rejected the original ending of the film, which depicted Viridiana entering her cousin's room and slowly closing the door behind her. Consequently, a new ending was written; this turned out to be more suggestive than the first, because it implied a "ménage à trois" between Ramona, Jorge, and Viridiana.

Reception.

Today "Viridiana" is regarded by many critics as a masterpiece; reception was not, however, as adamantly positive on initial release. After the film was completed and sent by the Spanish cinematographic authority to the Cannes Film Festival, and awarded, the government of Francisco Franco tried unsuccessfully to have the film withdrawn and banned its release in Spain. "L'Osservatore Romano", the official newspaper of the Vatican, described the film as "blasphemous". The film was released there in 1977, after Franco's death, when Buñuel was 77 years old. However, the film was acclaimed at Cannes, winning the Palme d'Or. Buñuel later said that "I didn't deliberately set out to be blasphemous, but then Pope John XXIII is a better judge of such things than I am".  Not all critics of the day were in awe of it. Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" wrote:  The film was released by the Criterion Collection in the United States, on the Directors Suite label in Australia, and by Madman Entertainment in New Zealand. It won the Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association.  "Viridiana" was voted the 37th greatest film of all time in the directors' poll of the British Film Institute's 2012 "Sight & Sound" issue.

Viridiana () is a 1961 Spanish-Mexican film directed by Luis Buñuel and produced by Gustavo Alatriste. It is loosely based on the 1895 novel "Halma" by Benito Pérez Galdós.

Viridiana () je černobílé mexicko-španělské filmové drama z roku 1961 natočené Luisem Buñuelem a produkované Mexičanem Gustavo Alatristem. Příběh je koncipován volně na motivy novely Benita Péreze Galdóse "Halma" z roku 1895.


Early life.

Born in Horsens, Jutland, she was brought up in a bourgeois home together with her sister and five brothers. Her father died when she was only six after which her mother earned a living as a milliner. After her mother's death in 1874, she went to Hamburg to learn photography. Living with her uncle, Poul Friedrich Lewitz, and her aunt Juliane, she became an apprentice to her cousin Alfred Lewitz, also a photographer. In her diary she records how much she enjoyed her year in Hamburg with lots of excursions, evenings at the theatre and wonderful meals.

Working as a photographer.

After completing her apprenticeship in 1876, Frederikke Federspiel returned to Denmark where she was the first women to apply for a licence to trade in photography. She settled in Aalborg with her sister Sophie. While her sister exercised her trade in lingerie and embroidery in the living room, Frederikke set up a photographic studio on the top floor. There were already two photographers in Aalborg, one of whom was the well-established Heinrich Tønnies. She was aware of the competition but astutely publicized her business, always ensuring she kept up with evolving technology.  For extended periods, she managed to run the second most prosperous photographic business in the city. In 1878, she fell ill and spent eight months in hospital followed by a further three months at St. Oluf's sanitorium in Modum, Norway. She was to return to the spa several times in later years. With her sister, she spent her summer holidays at the new seaside resorts of Blokhus, Løkken and Fanø.  In 1883, Frederikke Federspiel and Nielsine Zehngraf from Randers were among the first women to become members of the Danish Photographers Association. Frederikke was an active member, contributing to the Association's membership album. In 1885, she won recognition for donating portraits. She also exhibited her work in Copenhagen, often participating in person as she did in 1888.  In 1899, she started to produce enamel jewelry and cufflinks embedded with photographs using direct positives produced with a four-lensed multiplicator camera. She had made special arrangements for the equipment to be imported from the United States to facilitate the work. The jewelry was shown at a Christmas exhibition at Copenhagen's Industry Association, attracting the attention of the royal family. As a result, she was able to count Princess Alexandra and Tsaritsa Dagmar among her clients.

Keeping abreast of technology.

Always interested in the latest technical developments, she was quick to start using dry plates which offered a safer and cheaper method of exposure and development. She was also one of the first to experiment with magnesium power for flash and she installed electric lamps in her studio when electricity came to Aalborg in 1901.  In the early 1900s, she began to sell cameras for amateur photographers. Among her students and assistants were Ernst Gøpel, Fritz Karner and Georg Bendtzen Holm who would later become leading photographers.

Overall assessment.

Frederikke Federspiel constantly adopted developments in photography although, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of her studio, she stated that her business had not evolved as she had hoped. Nevertheless, when she died in 1913, the Dansk Fotografisk Tidsskrift (Danish Photography Magazine) characterized her as "an unusually likable, honest and energetic lady whose work has been counted among the best."

Frederikke Jakobine Federspiel (1839–1913) was the first female photographer to practice in Denmark. For many years, she ran her own photographic studio in Aalborg, always keeping abreast of the latest developments. Among her clients were the Danish princesses Dagmar and Alexandra who were attracted by her photo enamel jewelry.

Frederikke Jakobine Federspiel (25. ledna 1839, Horsens, Jutsko – 16. června 1913) byla první profesionální fotografkou v Dánsku. Po mnoho let provozovala vlastní fotografický ateliér v Aalborgu a vždy držely krok s nejnovějším vývojem. Mezi její klienty patřily dánské princezny Marie Sofie Dánská a Alexandra, které zaujaly její smaltované fotografické šperky.


Geography.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (63%) is water. It is the smallest county in Michigan by land area.  Benzie County is located in the northwest of the Lower Peninsula, in the "little finger" position of the mitten-shaped peninsula and is considered to be part of the Northern Michigan region. Lake Michigan is to the west, Leelanau County and the Leelanau Peninsula are to the north. Grand Traverse County and Traverse City are to the east. Wexford County is to the southeast and Manistee County to the south. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore extends into the northwest portion of the county. Crystal Lake is a prominent physical feature of the area. The Platte River rises out of a lake district around Lake Ann in the northeast of the county and flows southwest and the northwest into Big Platte Lake before emptying into Lake Michigan at Platte River Point. The Betsie River rises in neighboring Grand Traverse County, flowing southwest across the southeast corner of the county into Manistee County, where it bends northwest until just south of Benzonia where it receives the outflow of Crystal Lake and then flows mostly west through Elberta and Frankfort and into Lake Michigan.  Portions of the Pere Marquette State Forest lie within the county and offer several trails including a route along the Betsie River and a trail near Lake Ann. There are state forest campgrounds at Platte River and Lake Ann. The Betsie River State Game Area is located just east of Elberta. of the Betsie River is a state-designated Natural River from Grass Lake, just west of the Grand Traverse County line, to its inlet into Lake Betsie just east of Elberta. The natural and scenic richness of the area has made it a host to a variety of conservation, education, and recreation programs, including Crystalaire, the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, and others.

Demographics.

As of the 2000 census, there were 15,998 people, 6,500 households, and 4,595 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile (19/km2). There were 10,312 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (12/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.39% White, 0.28% Black or African American, 1.59% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. 1.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.0% were of German, 13.5% Polish, 9.2% Irish, 7.6% American, 6.0% British and 5.0% French ancestry. 96.8% spoke English and 1.9% Spanish as a first language.  There were 6,500 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.86.  In the county, the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.  The median income for a household in the county was $37,350, and the median income for a family was $42,716. Males had a median income of $30,218 versus $21,730 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,524. About 4.7% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government.

For most of its history, Benzie County has primarily supported Republican presidential candidates, with the only times they failed to carry to the county prior to 1992 being in 1912 & 1964. Starting with the 1992 election, the county has become more of a swing county, with 2012 being the only presidential election it did not vote for the national winner from 1980 on as of 2016.  The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Historic locations.

There are eight historical markers in the County:  Source:

Benzie County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,525. The county seat is Beulah. The county was initially set off in 1863 and organized in 1869.

Benzie County je okres ve státě Michigan v USA. K roku 2000 zde žilo 15 998 obyvatel. Správním městem okresu je Beulah. Celková rozloha okresu činí 2 226 km2.


Construction.

The ship was commissioned during 1902 by the Michigan Steamship Company and built by the Jenks Ship Building Company of Port Huron, Michigan. The ship was named during May 1903, immediately before its inaugural voyage.

History.

Early problems.

On 27 July of her 1903 inaugural season, the ship struck the laid up tugboat "George W. Gardner" and sank her at her dock at the Lake Street Bridge, Chicago, Illinois, but received only minor damage.

Mutiny on the "Eastland".

On August 14, 1903, while on a cruise from Chicago to South Haven, Michigan, six of the ship's firemen refused to stoke the fire for the ship's boiler. They claimed that they had not received their potatoes for a meal. When they refused to return to the fire hole, Captain John Pereue ordered the six men arrested at gunpoint. Firemen George Lippen and Benjamin Myers, who were not a part of the group of six, stoked the fires until the ship reached harbor. Upon the ship's arrival in South Haven, the six men – Glenn Watson, Mike Davern, Frank La Plarte, Edward Fleming, Mike Smith, and William Madden – were taken to the town jail and charged with mutiny. Shortly thereafter, Captain Pereue was replaced.

Speed modifications.

Because the ship did not meet a targeted speed of 22 miles per hour, during its inaugural season, and had a draft too deep for the Black River in South Haven, Michigan where it was being loaded, the ship returned in September 1903 to Port Huron for modifications, including the addition of an air conditioning system and machinery adjustments to reduce draft. Even though the modifications increased the ship's speed, they added additional weight and reduced her draft, thereby reducing the metacentric height and inherent stability as originally designed.

Listing incidents.

Upon her return to South Haven, in May 1904, the ship handily won a race against the "City of South Haven" to Chicago. In the meantime, the "Eastland" was experiencing periodic problems with her stability, while loading and unloading cargo and passengers, and nearly capsized on July 17, 1904, after leaving South Haven with approximately 3,000 passengers. Subsequently, her capacity was lowered to 2,800 passengers, cabins were removed, lifeboats added and the hull repaired. Then, on August 5, 1906, another incident of listing occurred which resulted in the filing of complaints against the Chicago-South Haven Line which had purchased the ship earlier that year.  Before the 1907 season, the ship was sold to the Lake Shore Navigation Company, and moved to Lake Erie. In 1909, the ship was sold again to the Eastland Navigation Company, and continued running excursions between Cleveland and Cedar Point. After the 1909 season, the remaining 39 cabins were removed, and prior to the 1912 season, the top smoke stack sections were removed to shorten her stack height. On July 1, 1912, another incident occurred when the "Eastland" had a severe listing of approximately 25 degrees while loading passengers in Cleveland.  In June of 1914, the "Eastland" was sold to the St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship Company, and returned to Lake Michigan for St. Joseph, Michigan to Chicago, Illinois service.

The "Eastland" disaster.

On July 24, 1915, "Eastland" and four other Great Lakes passenger steamers, "Theodore Roosevelt", "Petoskey", "Racine" and "Rochester", were chartered to take employees from Western Electric Company's Hawthorne Works in Cicero, Illinois to a picnic in Michigan City, Indiana. This was a major event in the lives of the workers, many of whom could not take holidays. Many of the passengers on "Eastland" were Czech immigrants from Cicero; of the Czech passengers, 220 of them perished.  During 1915, the new federal Seamen's Act had been passed because of the RMS "Titanic" disaster three years earlier. The law required retrofitting of a complete set of lifeboats on "Eastland", as on many other passenger vessels. This additional weight may have made "Eastland" more dangerous by making it even more top-heavy. Some argued that other Great Lakes ships would suffer from the same problem. Nonetheless, it was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson. "Eastland" was already so top-heavy that it had special restrictions concerning the number of passengers that could be carried. Prior to that, during June 1914, "Eastland" had again changed ownership, this time bought by the St. Joseph and Chicago Steamship Company, with Captain Harry Pedersen appointed the ship's master.  On the morning of July 24, passengers began boarding "Eastland" on the south bank of the Chicago River between Clark and LaSalle Streets about 6:30 am, and by 7:10 am, the ship had reached its capacity of 2,572 passengers. The ship was packed, with many passengers standing on the open upper decks, and began to list slightly to the port side (away from the wharf). The crew attempted to stabilize the ship by admitting water to its ballast tanks, but to little avail. Sometime during the next 15 minutes, a number of passengers rushed to the port side, and at 7:28 am, "Eastland" lurched sharply to port, and then rolled completely onto its port side, coming to rest on the river bottom, which was only below the surface; barely half the vessel was submerged. Many other passengers had already moved below decks on this relatively cool and damp morning to warm before the departure. Consequently, hundreds of people were trapped inside by the water and the sudden rollover; some were crushed by heavy furniture, including pianos, bookcases, and tables. Although the ship was only 20 feet (6.1 meters) from the wharf, and in spite of the quick response by the crew of a nearby vessel, "Kenosha", which came alongside the hull to allow those stranded on the capsized vessel to leap to safety, a total of 844 passengers and four crew members died in the disaster.  The bodies of the victims were taken to various temporary morgues established in the area for identification; by afternoon, the remaining unidentified bodies were consolidated in the Armory of the 2nd Regiment, on the site which was later transformed into Harpo Studios, but has since been demolished to make room for a new McDonald's corporation headquarters.  In the aftermath, the Western Electric Company provided $100,000 to relief and recovery efforts of family members of the victims of the disaster.  One of the people who were scheduled to be on "Eastland" was 20-year-old George Halas, an American football player, who was delayed leaving for the dock, and arrived after the ship had overturned. His name was listed on the list of deceased in newspapers, but when fraternity brothers visited his home to send their condolences, he was revealed to be unharmed. Halas would go on to become coach and owner of the Chicago Bears and a founding member of the National Football League. His friend and future Bears executive Ralph Brizzolara and his brother were on the "Eastland" when it capsized, though they escaped through portholes. Despite stories to the contrary, no reliable evidence indicates Jack Benny was aboard "Eastland" or scheduled to be on the excursion; possibly the basis for this report was that "Eastland" was a training vessel during World War I and Benny received his training in the Great Lakes naval base, where "Eastland" was stationed.  The first known film footage taken of the recovery efforts was discovered and then released during early 2015 by a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Marion Eichholz, the last known survivor of the capsizing, died on November 24, 2014, at the age of 102.

"Eastland" disaster and the media.

Writer Jack Woodford witnessed the disaster and gave a first-hand account to the "Herald and Examiner", a Chicago newspaper. In his autobiography, Woodford writes:  Newspapers played a significant part in not only publicizing the "Eastland" disaster, but also creating the public memory of the catastrophe. The newspapers’ purpose, audience, and political and business associations influenced the newspapers to publish articles emphasizing who was to blame and why "Eastland" capsized. Consequently, the articles influenced how the court cases proceeded, and contributed to a dispute between Western Electric Company and some of its workers regarding how the company responded to the catastrophe.  Carl Sandburg, then known better as a journalist than a poet, wrote an angry account accusing regulators of ignoring safety issues and claimed that many of the workers were there on company orders for a staged picnic. Sandburg also wrote a poem, "The "Eastland"", that contrasts the disaster with the mistreatment and poor health of the lower classes at the time. After first listing the quick, murderous horrors of the disaster, then surveying the slow, murderous horrors of extreme poverty, Sandburg concludes by comparing the two: "I see a dozen "Eastlands"/Every morning on my way to work/And a dozen more going home at night." The poem was too harsh for publication when written but was eventually released as part of a collection of poems during 1993.  The "Eastland" disaster was incorporated into the 1999 series premiere of the Disney Channel original series "So Weird". In the episode, teenaged paranormal enthusiast Fiona Phillips (actress Cara DeLizia) encounters the ghost of a young boy who drowned during the capsizing while exploring a nightclub near the Chicago River, and attempts to learn why he has contacted her.  During 2012, Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre produced an original musical about the disaster entitled "Eastland: A New Musical" and written by Andy White. The Eastland disaster is also pivotal to the story of one family told in the play/musical "Failure: A Love Story", written by Philip Dawkins, which premiered in Chicago in 2012. Its Los Angeles production, directed by Michael Matthews, and produced by Couerage Theater Company, premiered on July 24, 2015 – the 100th anniversary of the Eastland tragedy.

Inquiry and indictments.

A grand jury indicted the president and three other officers of the steamship company for manslaughter, and the ship's captain and engineer for criminal carelessness, and found that the disaster was caused by "conditions of instability" caused by any or all of overloading of passengers, mishandling of water ballast, or the construction of the ship.  Federal extradition hearings were held to compel the six indicted men to come from Michigan to Illinois for trial. During the hearings, principal witness Sidney Jenks, president of the shipbuilding company that built "Eastland", testified that her first owners wanted a fast ship to transport fruit, and he designed one capable of making and carrying 500 passengers. Defense counsel Clarence Darrow asked whether he had ever worried about the conversion of the ship into a passenger steamer with a capacity of 2,500 or more passengers. Jenks replied, "I had no way of knowing the quantity of its business after it left our yards... No, I did not worry about the "Eastland"." Jenks testified that an actual stability test of the ship never occurred, and stated that after tilting to an angle of 45° at launching, "it righted itself as straight as a church, satisfactorily demonstrating its stability."  The court refused extradition, holding the evidence was too weak, with "barely a scintilla of proof" to establish probable cause to find the six guilty. The court reasoned that the four company officers were not aboard the ship, and that every act charged against the captain and engineer was done in the ordinary course of business, "more consistent with innocence than with guilt." The court also reasoned that "Eastland" "was operated for years and carried thousands safely", and that for this reason no one could say that the accused parties were unjustified in believing the ship seaworthy.

Second life as USS "Wilmette".

After "Eastland" was raised on August 14, 1915, she was sold to the Illinois Naval Reserve and recommissioned as USS "Wilmette" stationed at Great Lakes Naval Base. She was converted to a gunboat, renamed "Wilmette" on February 20, 1918, and commissioned on September 20, 1918, with Captain William B. Wells in command. Commissioned late in World War I, "Wilmette" did not have any combat service. It trained sailors and experienced normal upkeep and repairs until placed in ordinary at Chicago on July 9, 1919, retaining a 10-man caretaker crew aboard. On June 29, 1920, the gunboat was returned to full commission, with Captain Edward A. Evers, United States Naval Reserve Forces (USNRF), in command.  On June 7, 1921, "Wilmette" was given the task of sinking "UC-97", a German U-boat surrendered to the United States after World War I. The guns of "Wilmette" were manned by Gunner's Mate J. O. Sabin, who had fired the first American cannon of World War I, and Gunner's Mate A. F. Anderson, the man who fired the first American torpedo of the conflict. For the remainder of its 25-year career, the gunboat served as a training ship for naval reservists of the 9th, 10th, and 11th Naval Districts. It made voyages along the shores of the Great Lakes carrying trainees assigned to it from the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois. Ernie Pyle, the famed World War II correspondent, was one of those trainees when he spent three weeks on the ship during late summer 1921. "Wilmette" remained in commission, performing its reserve training mission until it was placed "out of commission, in service," on February 15, 1940.  Given hull designation IX-29 on February 17, 1941, she resumed training duty at Chicago on March 30, 1942, preparing armed guard crews for duty manning the guns on armed merchantmen. That assignment continued until the end of World War II in Europe obviated measures to protect trans-Atlantic merchant shipping from German U-boats.  During August 1943, "Wilmette" was given the honor of transporting President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Admiral William D. Leahy, James F. Byrnes, and Harry Hopkins on a 10-day cruise to McGregor and Whitefish Bay to plan war strategies.  On April 9, 1945, she was returned to full commission for a brief interval. "Wilmette" was decommissioned on November 28, 1945, and her name was deleted from the Navy list on December 19, 1945. During 1946, "Wilmette" was offered for sale. Finding no takers, on October 31, 1946, she was sold to the Hyman Michaels Company for scrapping, which was completed during 1947.

Memorials.

A marker commemorating the accident was dedicated on June 4, 1989. This marker was reported stolen on April 26, 2000, and a replacement marker was installed and rededicated on July 24, 2003.  Plans exist for a permanent outdoor exhibit with the proposed name "At The River's Edge". This exhibit would be located along the portion of the Chicago Riverwalk adjacent to the waters where the Eastland disaster occurred. The exhibit is planned to consist of six displays each containing two unique panels which will serve to illustrate the tragedy through text and high-resolution images. On Sunday, July 12, 2015, one hundred years after the SS "Eastland" disaster, a memorial to the departed was dedicated at Bohemian National Cemetery, 5255 N. Pulaski Road, Chicago.

The SS "Eastland" was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On July 24, 1915, the ship rolled over onto her side while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was the largest loss of life from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes.

SS Eastland byl americký parník, původně sloužící pro přepravu ovoce, později přestavěný na výletní loď. Po jeho převrácení v Chicagu dne 24. července 1915 zemřelo 844 lidí, z toho více než 220 Čechů. Loď si pronajala společnost Western Electric, aby své zaměstnance, většinou imigranty z Evropy, přepravila na piknik v oblasti Michiganského jezera. Ještě v přístavu na řece Chicago River, pouhých šest metrů od břehu, se ale loď po nalodění tisíců cestujících v 7.28 hodin ráno kvůli nestabilitě převrátila na bok a zůstala na bahnitém dně v hloubce šesti metrů. Většina obětí českého původu byla pohřbena na Českém národním hřbitově v Chicagu.


History.

The work that became "Records of the Grand Historian" was begun by Sima Tan, the Grand Astrologer ("Taishi" ) of the Han dynasty court during the late 2nd century. Sima Tan drafted plans for the ambitious work and left behind some fragments and notes that may have been incorporated into the final text. After his death in 110, the project was continued and completed by his son and successor Sima Qian, who is generally credited as the work's author. The exact date of the "Records" completion is unknown, but it is certain that Sima Qian completed it before his death about 86, with one copy residing in the imperial capital of Chang'an (modern Xi'an) and the other copy probably being stored in his home.  The original title of the work, as given by the author in the postface is "Taishigongshu" (), or "Records of the Grand Historian", although it was also known by a variety of other titles, including "Taishigongji" () and "Taishigongzhuan" () in ancient times. Eventually, "Shiji" (), or "Historical Records" became the most commonly used title in Chinese. This title was originally used to refer to any general historical text, although after the Three Kingdoms period, "Shiji" gradually began to be used exclusively to refer to Sima Qian's work. In English, the original title, "Records of the Grand Historian" is in common use, although "Historical Records", "The Grand Scribe's Records", and "Records of the Historian" are also used.  Details of the "Records" early reception and circulation are not well known. A number of 1st century BC authors, such as the scholar Chu Shaosun (; fl. 327), added interpolations to the "Records", and may have had to reconstruct portions of it: ten of the original 130 chapters were lost in the Eastern Han period (AD 25220) and seem to have been reconstructed later.  Beginning in the Northern and Southern dynasties (420589) and the Tang dynasty (618907), a number of scholars wrote and edited commentaries to the "Records". Most 2nd millennium editions of the "Records" include the commentaries of Pei Yin (, 5th century), Sima Zhen (early 8th century), and Zhang Shoujie (, early 8th century). The combined commentaries of these three scholars is known as the "Sanjiazhu" (, "commentaries of the three experts"). The primary modern edition of the "Records" is the ten-volume Zhonghua Book Company edition of 1959 (revised in 1982), and is based on an edition prepared by the Chinese historian Gu Jiegang in the early 1930s and includes the "Sanjiazhu".

Manuscripts.

There are two known surviving fragments of "Records" manuscripts from before the Tang dynasty, both of which are preserved in the Ishiyama-dera temple in Ōtsu, Japan. Portions of at least nine Tang dynasty manuscripts survive: three fragments discovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts in the early 20th century, and six manuscripts preserved in Japanese temples and museums, such as the Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto and the Tōyō Bunko museum in Tokyo. A number of woodblock printed editions of the "Records" survive, the earliest of which date to the Song dynasty (9601279).

Contents.

In all, the "Records" is about 526,500 Chinese characters long, making it four times longer than Thucydides' "History of the Peloponnesian War" and longer than the Old Testament.  Sima Qian conceived and composed his work in self-contained units, with a good deal of repetition between them. His manuscript was written on bamboo slips with about 24 to 36 characters each, and assembled into bundles of around 30 slips. Even after the manuscript was allowed to circulate or be copied, the work would have circulated as bundles of bamboo slips or small groups. Endymion Wilkinson calculates that there were probably between 466 and 700 bundles, whose total weight would have been, which would have been difficult to access and hard to transport. Later copies on silk would have been much lighter, but also expensive and rare. Until the work was transferred to paper many centuries later, circulation would have been difficult and piecemeal, which accounts for many of the errors and variations in the text.  Sima Qian organized the chapters of "Records of the Grand Historian" into five categories, which each comprise a section of the book.

Style.

Unlike subsequent official historical texts that adopted Confucian doctrine, proclaimed the divine rights of the emperors, and degraded any failed claimant to the throne, Sima Qian's more liberal and objective prose has been renowned and followed by poets and novelists. Most volumes of "Liezhuan" are vivid descriptions of events and persons. Sima Qian sought out stories from those who might have closer knowledge of certain historical events, using them as sources to balance the reliability and accuracy of historical records. For instance, the material on Jing Ke's attempt at assassinating the King of Qin incorporates an eye-witness account by Xia Wuju (), a physician to the king of Qin who happened to be attending the diplomatic ceremony for Jing Ke, and this account was passed on to Sima Qian by those who knew Xia.  It has been observed that the diplomatic Sima Qian has a way of accentuating the positive in his treatment of rulers in the Basic Annals, but slipping negative information into other chapters, and so his work must be read as a whole to obtain full information. For example, the information that Liu Bang (later Emperor Gaozu of Han), in a desperate attempt to escape in a chase from Xiang Yu's men, pushed his own children off his carriage to lighten it, was not given in the emperor's biography, but in the biography of Xiang Yu. He is also careful to balance the negative with the positive, for example, in the biography of Empress Dowager Lu which contains startling accounts of her cruelty, he pointed out at the end that, despite whatever her personal life may have been, her rule brought peace and prosperity to the country.

Source materials.

Sima's family were hereditary historians to the Han emperor. Sima Qian's father Sima Tan served as Grand Historian, and Sima Qian succeeded to his position. Thus he had access to the early Han dynasty archives, edicts, and records. Sima Qian was a methodical, skeptical historian who had access to ancient books, written on bamboo and wooden slips, from before the time of the Han dynasty. Many of the sources he used did not survive. He not only used archives and imperial records, but also interviewed people and traveled around China to verify information. In his first chapter, "Annals of the Five Emperors," he writes,  The Grand Historian used "The Annals of the Five Emperors" () and the "Classic of History" as source materials to make genealogies from the time of the Yellow Emperor until that of the Gonghe regency (841-828 BC). Sima Qian often cites his sources. For example, in the first chapter, "Annals of the Five Emperors", he writes, "I have read the "Spring and Autumn Annals" and the "Guoyu"." In his 13th chapter, "Genealogical Table of the Three Ages," Sima Qian writes, "I have read all the genealogies of the kings ("dieji" ) that exist since the time of the Yellow Emperor." In his 14th chapter, "Yearly Chronicle of the Feudal Lords", he writes, "I have read all the royal annals ("chunqiu li pudie" ) up until the time of King Li of Zhou." In his 15th chapter, "Yearly Chronicle of the Six States," he writes, “I have read the Annals of Qin ("qin ji" ), and they say that the Quanrong [a barbarian tribe] defeated King You of Zhou [ca 771 BC]."  In the 19th chapter, he writes, "I have occasion to read over the records of enfeoffment and come to the case of Wu Qian, the marquis of Bian..." (The father of Marquis Bian, Wu Rui, was named king (wang) of Changsha in Hunan for his loyalty to Gaozu. See article on Zhao Tuo). In his chapter on the patriotic minister and poet Qu Yuan, Sima Qian writes, "I have read [Qu Yuan's works] "Li Sao", "Tianwen" ("Heaven Asking"), "Zhaohun" (summoning the soul), and "Ai Ying" (Lament for Ying)". In the 62nd chapter, "Biography of Guan and of Yan", he writes, "I have read Guan's "Mu Min" ( - "Government of the People", a chapter in the "Guanzi"), "Shan Gao" ("The Mountains Are High"), "Chengma" (chariot and horses; a long section on war and economics), "Qingzhong" (Light and Heavy; i.e. "what is important"), and "Jiufu" (Nine Houses), as well as the "Spring and Autumn Annals of Yanzi"." In his 64th chapter, "Biography of Sima Rangju", the Grand Historian writes, "I have read Sima's Art of War." In the 121st chapter, "Biographies of Scholars", he writes, "I read the Imperial Decrees that encouraged education officials." Sima Qian wrote of the problems with incomplete, fragmentary and contradictory sources. For example, he mentioned in the preface to chapter 15 that the chronicle records of the feudal states kept in the Zhou dynasty's archive were burnt by Qin Shi Huang because they contained criticisms and ridicule of the Qin state, and that the Qin annals were brief and incomplete. In the 13th chapter he mentioned that the chronologies and genealogies of different ancient texts "disagree and contradict each other throughout". In his 18th chapter, Sima Qian writes, "I have set down only what is certain, and in doubtful cases left a blank."

Reliability and accuracy.

Scholars have questioned the historicity of legendary kings of the ancient periods given by Sima Qian. Sima Qian began the "Shiji" with an account of the five rulers of supreme virtue, the Five Emperors, who modern scholars, such as those from the Doubting Antiquity School, believe to be originally local deities of the peoples of ancient China. Sima Qian sifted out the elements of the supernatural and fantastic which seemed to contradict their existence as actual human monarchs, and was therefore criticized for turning myths and folklore into sober history.  However, according to Joseph Needham, who wrote in 1954 on Sima Qian's accounts of the kings of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC):  While some aspects of Sima Qian's history of the Shang dynasty are supported by inscriptions on the oracle bones, there is, as yet, no clear corroborating evidence from archaeology on Sima Qian's history of the Xia dynasty.  There are also discrepancies of fact such as dates between various portions of the work. This may be a result of Sima Qian's use of different source texts.

Transmission and supplementation by other writers.

After ca. 91 BC, the more-or-less completed manuscript was hidden in the residence of the author's daughter, Sima Ying (), to avoid destruction under Emperor Wu and his immediate successor Emperor Zhao. The "Shiji" was finally disseminated during the reign of Emperor Xuan by Sima Qian's grandson (through his daughter), Yang Yun (), after a hiatus of around twenty years.  The changes in the manuscript of the "Shiji" during this hiatus have always been disputed among scholars. That the text was more or less complete by ca. 91 BC is established in the Letter to Ren'an (), composed in the Zhenghe () era of Emperor Wu's reign. In this letter, Sima Qian describes his work as "spanning from the time of the Yellow Emperor to the present age and consisting of ten tables, twelve basic annals, eight treatises, thirty chapters on hereditary houses, and seventy biographies, together totaling 130 chapters." These numbers are likewise given in the postface to "Shiji".  After his death (presumably only a few years later), few people had the opportunity to see the whole work. However, various additions were still made to it. The historian Liu Zhiji reported the names of a total of fifteen scholars supposed to have added material to the "Shiji" during the period after the death of Sima Qian. Only the additions by Chu Shaosun (, c.105 - c.30 BC) are clearly indicated by adding "Mr Chu said," (Chu xiansheng yue, ). Already in the first century AD, Ban Biao and Ban Gu claimed that ten chapters in "Records of the Grand Historian" were lacking. A large number of chapters dealing with the first century of the Han dynasty (i.e. the 2nd century BC) correspond exactly to the relevant chapters from the "Book of Han" ("Hanshu"). It is unclear whether those chapters initially came from the "Shiji" or from the "Hanshu". Researchers Yves Hervouet (1921-1999) and A.F.P. Hulsewé argued that the originals of those chapters of the "Shiji" were lost and they were later reconstructed using the corresponding chapters from the "Hanshu".

Editions.

The earliest extant copy of "Records of the Grand Historian", handwritten, was made during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period (420 – 589 AD). The earliest printed edition, called "Shiji jijie" (, literally "Records of the Grand Historian, Collected Annotations"), was published during the Northern Song dynasty. Huang Shanfu's edition, printed under the Southern Song dynasty, is the earliest collection of the "Sanjiazhu" commentaries on "Records of the Grand Historian" (, literally: "The Combined Annotations of the Three Experts").  In modern times, the Zhonghua Book Company in Beijing has published the book in both simplified Chinese for mass consumption and traditional Chinese for scholarly study. The 1959 (2nd ed., 1982) "Sanjiazhu" edition in traditional Chinese (based upon the Jinling Publishing House edition, see below) contains commentaries interspersed among the main text and is considered to be an authoritative modern edition.  The most well known editions of the "Shiji" are:

External links.

Further Readings

The Records of the Grand Historian, also known by its Chinese name Shiji, is a monumental history of ancient China and the world finished around 94 BC by the Han dynasty official Sima Qian after having been started by his father, Sima Tan, Grand Astrologer to the imperial court. The work covers the world as it was then known to the Chinese and a 2500-year period from the age of the legendary Yellow Emperor to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han in the author's own time.

Zápisky historika (, variantně Zápisy historika, Historikovy zápisky/zápisy) původně Kniha vrchních písařů () jsou dějiny Číny a okolních zemí od mytických počátků kolem roku 2600 př. n. l. do 1. století př. n. l.


Early life.

Lydia Litvyak was born in Moscow into a Russian family. Her mother Anna Vasilievna Litvyak was a shop assistant, her father Vladimir Leontievich Litvyak (1892–1937) worked as a railwayman, train driver and clerk; during the Great Purge he was arrested as an "enemy of the people" and disappeared. Lydia became interested in aviation at an early age. At 14, she enrolled in a flying club. She performed her first solo flight at 15, and later graduated at Kherson military flying school. She became a flight instructor at Kalinin Airclub, and by the time the German-Soviet war broke out, had already trained 45 pilots.

World War II.

Women's regiment.

After the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, Litvyak tried to join a military aviation unit, but was turned down because of lack of experience. After deliberately exaggerating her pre-war flight time by 100 hours, she joined the all-female 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defense Force, which was formed by Marina Raskova. She trained there on the Yakovlev Yak-1 aircraft.

Men's regiment.

Litvyak flew her first combat flights in the summer of 1942 over Saratov. In September, she was assigned to the 437 Fighter Regiment, a men's regiment fighting over Stalingrad. On 10 September she moved along with Yekaterina Budanova, Mariya Kuznetsova and Raisa Beliaeva, the commander of the group, and accompanying female ground crew, to the regiment airfield, at Verkhnaia Akhtuba, on the east bank of the Volga river. But when they arrived the base was empty and under attack, so they soon moved to Srednaia Akhtuba. Here, flying a Yak-1 carrying the number "32" on the fuselage, she would achieve considerable success. Boris Yeremin (later lieutenant general of aviation), a regimental commander in the division to which she and Budanova were assigned, saw her as "a very aggressive person" and "a born fighter pilot".  In the 437th Fighter Regiment, Litvyak scored her first two kills on 13 September, three days after her arrival and on her third mission to cover Stalingrad, becoming the first woman fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft. That day, four Yak-1s—with Major S. Danilov in the lead—attacked a formation of Junkers Ju 88s escorted by Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Her first kill was a Ju 88 which fell in flames from the sky after several bursts. Then she shot down a Bf 109 G-2 "Gustav" on the tail of her squadron commander, Raisa Beliaeva. The Bf 109 was piloted by a decorated pilot from the 4th Air Fleet, the 11-victory ace Staff Sergeant Erwin Maier of the 2nd Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 53. Maier parachuted from his aircraft, was captured by Soviet troops, and asked to see the Russian ace who had shot him down. When he was taken to Litvyak, he thought he was being made the butt of a Soviet joke. It was not until Litvyak described each move of the fight to him in perfect detail that he knew he had been shot down by a woman pilot. But according to other authors, the first air victory by a female pilot was achieved by Lieutenant Valeriya Khomyakova of the 586th Regiment when she shot down the Ju 88 flown by "Oblt." Gerhard Maak of 7./KG76 on the night of 24 September 1942.  On 14 September, according to some authors, Litvyak shot down another Bf 109. Her victim was probably Knight's Cross holder and 71-kill "experte" "Lt." Hans Fuss (Adj.II./JG-3), injured in aerial combat with a Yak-1 on 14 September 1942 in Stalingrad area, when his G-2 fuel tank was hit, his plane somersaulted during the landing when he ran out of fuel flying back to base. He was critically injured, lost one leg and died of his wounds 10 November 1942. On 27 September, Litvyak scored an air victory against a Ju 88, the gunner having shot up the regiment commander, Major M.S. Khovostnikov. Possibly Ju 88A-4 "5K + LH" of Iron Cross holder "Oblt." Johann Wiesniewski, 2./KG 3, MIA with all crew members. Some historians credit it as her first kill.

Free hunter.

Litvyak, Beliaeva, Budanova and Kuznetsova stayed in the 437th Regiment for a short time only, mainly because it was equipped with LaGG 3s rather than Yak-1s, that the women flew, and was lacking the facilities to service the latter. So the four women were moved to the 9th Guards Fighter Regiment. From October 1942 till January 1943, Litvyak and Budanova served, still in the Stalingrad area, with this famous unit, commanded by Lev Shestakov, Hero of Soviet Union.  In January 1943, the 9th was re-equipped with the Bell P-39 Airacobras and Litvyak and Budanova were moved to the 296th Fighter Regiment (later redesignated as the 73rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment) of Nikolai Baranov, of the 8th Air Army, so that they could still fly the Yaks. On February 23, she was awarded the Order of the Red Star, made a junior lieutenant and selected to take part in the elite air tactic called "okhotniki", or "free hunter", where pairs of experienced pilots searched for targets on their own initiative. Twice, she was forced to land due to battle damage. On 22 March she was wounded for the first time. That day she was flying as part of a group of six Yak fighters when they attacked a dozen Ju 88s. Litvyak shot down one of the bombers but was in turn attacked and wounded by the escorting Bf 109s. She managed to shoot down a Messerschmitt and to return to her airfield and land her plane, but was in severe pain and losing blood. While in 73rd Regiment, she often flew as wingman of Captain Aleksey Solomatin, a flying ace with a claimed total of 39 victories (22 shared). On May 21, while training a new flyer, Solomatin was killed in front of the entire regiment in Pavlonka when he flew into the ground. Litvyak was devastated by the crash and wrote a letter to her mother describing how she realized only after Solomatin's death that she had loved him.  Senior Sergeant Inna Pasportnikova, Litvyak's mechanic during the time she flew with the men's regiment, reported in 1990 that after Solomatin's death, Litvyak wanted nothing but to fly combat missions, and she fought desperately.  Litvyak scored against a difficult target on 31 May 1943: an artillery observation balloon manned by a German officer. German artillery was aided in targeting by reports from the observation post on the balloon. The elimination of the balloon had been attempted by other Soviet airmen but all had been driven away by a dense protective belt of anti-aircraft fire defending the balloon. Litvyak volunteered to take out the balloon but was turned down. She insisted and described for her commander her plan: she would attack it from the rear after flying in a wide circle around the perimeter of the battleground and over German-held territory. The tactic worked—the hydrogen-filled balloon caught fire under her stream of tracer bullets and was destroyed.  On 13 June1943, Litvyak was appointed flight commander of the 3rd Aviation Squadron within 73rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.  Litvyak made an additional kill on 16 July 1943. That day, six Yaks encountered 30 German Ju 88 bombers with six escorts. The female ace downed a bomber and shared a victory with a comrade, but her fighter was hit and she had to make a belly landing. She was wounded again but refused to take medical leave. She shot down one Bf 109 on 19 July 1943, probably 6-kill ace "Uffz." Helmuth Schirra, 4./JG-3 (MIA, Luhansk area). Another Bf 109 kill followed two days later on 21 July 1943, possibly Bf 109G-6 of Iron Cross holder and 28-kill "experte Lt." Hermann Schuster 4./JG-3(KIA, near Pervomaysk, Luhansk area).

Last mission.

On August 1, 1943, Litvyak did not come back to her base at Krasnyy Luch. It was her fourth sortie of the day, escorting a flight of Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. As the Soviets were returning to base near Orel, a pair of Bf 109 fighters dove on Litvyak while she was attacking a large group of German bombers. Soviet pilot Ivan Borisenko recalled: “Lily just didn’t see the Messerschmitt 109s flying cover for the German bombers. A pair of them dove on her and when she did see them she turned to meet them. Then they all disappeared behind a cloud.” Borisenko, involved in the dogfight, saw her the last time, through a gap in the clouds, her Yak-1 pouring smoke and pursued by as many as eight Bf 109s.  Borisenko descended to see if he could find her. No parachute was seen, and no explosion, yet she never returned from the mission. Litvyak was 21 years old. Soviet authorities suspected that she might have been captured, a possibility that prevented them from awarding her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.  Two German pilots are believed to have shot down Litvyak: Iron Cross holder and 30-kill "experte Fw." Hans-Jörg Merkle of "1./JG.52", Knight's Cross holder and future 99-kill "experte Lt", or Hans Schleef, of "7./JG 3". Merkle is the only pilot that claimed a Yak-1 near Dmitryevka on 1 August 1943, his 30th victory. (Dmitrijewka is where she was last seen and was – reportedly – buried.) This occurred before being rammed and killed by his own victim (Luftwaffe combat report of collision: 3 km east of Dmitrievka). While Schleef claimed a LaGG-3 (often confused in combat with Yak-1s by German pilots) kill on the same day, in the South-Ukraine area where Litvyak's aircraft was at last found.

Recognition and controversy.

In an attempt to prove that Litvyak had not been taken captive, Pasportnikova embarked on a 36-year search for the Yakovlev Yak-1 crash site assisted by the public and the media. For three years she was joined by relatives who together combed the most likely areas with a metal detector. In 1979, after uncovering more than 90 other crash sites, 30 aircraft and many lost pilots killed in action, "the searchers discovered that an unidentified woman pilot had been buried in the village of Dmitrievka... in Shakhterski district." It was then assumed that it was Litvyak and that she had been killed in action after sustaining a mortal head wound. Pasportnikova said that a special commission was formed to inspect the exhumed body and it concluded the remains were those of Litvyak.  On 6 May 1990, USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev posthumously awarded her the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Her final rank was senior lieutenant, as documented in all Moscow newspapers of that date.

Death controversy.

Arguments have been published that dispute the official version of Litvyak's death. Although Yekaterina Valentina Vaschenko, the curator of the Litvyak museum in Krasnyi Luch has stated that the body was disinterred and examined by forensic specialists, who determined that it was indeed Litvyak, Kazimiera Janina Cottam claims, on the basis of evidence provided by Yekaterina Polunina, chief mechanic and archivist of the 586th Fighter Regiment in which Litvyak initially served, that the body was never exhumed and that verification was limited to comparison of a number of reports. Cottam, an author and researcher focusing on Soviet women in the military, concludes that Litvyak made a belly-landing in her stricken aircraft, was captured and taken to a prisoner of war camp. In her book published in 2004, Polunina lists evidence that led her to conclude that Litvyak was pulled from the downed aircraft by German troops and held prisoner for some time.  Gian Piero Milanetti, author of a recent book about Soviet aviatrixes, wrote that an airwoman parachuted in the approximate location of the alleged crash landing of Litvyak's aircraft. No other Soviet airwomen operated in that area, so Milanetti believes the pilot was Litvyak, probably captured by the enemy. Russian aviation historian, Anatoly Plyac, former KGB major, told Milanetti: "Litvyak survived and was taken prisoner..." A television broadcast from Switzerland was seen in 2000 by Raspopova, a veteran of the women's night bomber regiment. It featured a former Soviet woman fighter pilot who Raspopova thought may have been Litvyak. This veteran was wounded twice. Married outside of the Soviet Union, she had three children. Raspopova promptly told Polunina what she inferred from the Swiss broadcast.

Number of kills.

There is no consensus among historians about the number of aerial victories scored by Litvyak. Russian historians Andrey Simonov and Svetlana Chudinova were able to confirm five solo and three team shootdowns of enemy aircraft plus the destruction of the air ballon with archival documents. Various other tallies are attributed to her, including eleven solo and three shared plus the balloon, as well as eight individual and four team. Anne Noggle credits her with twelve individual and two team shootdowns. Pasportnikova stated in 1990 that the tally was eleven solo kills plus the balloon, and an additional three shared. Polunina has written that the kills of famous Soviet pilots, including those of Litvyak and Budanova, were often inflated; and that Litvyak should be credited with five solo aircraft kills and two group kills, including the observation balloon.  Litvyak was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, Order of the Red Star, and was twice honored with the Order of the Patriotic War.

Character and private life.

Litvyak displayed a rebellious and romantic character. Returning from a successful mission, she would "buzz" the aerodrome and then indulge in unauthorised aerobatics, knowing that it enraged her commander.  Litvyak could also be superstitious, as Paspotnikova testified:  She never believed that she was invincible. She believed that some pilots had luck on their side and others didn't. She firmly believed that, if you survived the first missions, the more you flew and the more experience you got your chances of making it would increase. But you had to have luck on your side. Despite the predominantly male environment in which she found herself, she never renounced her femininity, and would carry on dyeing her hair blonde, sending her friend Inna Pasportnikova to the hospital to fetch hydrogen peroxide for her. She would fashion scarves from parachute material, dyeing the small pieces in different colors and stitching them together and would not hide her love of flowers, which she picked at every available occasion, favoring red roses. She would make bouquets and keep them in the cockpit, which were promptly discarded by the male pilots who shared her aircraft  Her comrade Solomatin is believed to have been her fiancé, and after his death, she wrote to her mother:  You see, he was not my type, but his insistence and his love for me convinced me to love him... and now, it seems I will never meet someone like him ever again. The novel "Vernis iz Poleta" ("Return from Flight") by Natalya Kravtsova fictionalizes the death of Solomatin, stating that he was killed when he ran out of ammunition while battling with a German Bf 109 fighter plane over his own airfield. In this version, Litvyak and others at the airfield watched the fight and witnessed his death.  Litvyak was called the "White Lily of Stalingrad" in Soviet press releases; the white lily flower may be translated from Russian as Madonna lily. She has also been called the "White Rose of Stalingrad" in Europe and North America since reports of her exploits were first published in English.

In popular culture.

Litvyak is the major character in Mary Ann Cook's romanticized novel "The White Rose, "a fictional account of her wartime experiences.  A heavily fictionalized Litvyak (called Natasha in the book) is the main character of Belinda Alexandra's novel "Sapphire Skies"  Perhaps the most detailed work of literary fiction about Litvyak, her life, times and loves, was written by an American, M.G. Crisci, with no Russian ancestry, in cooperation with Valentina Vaschenko, the curator of the Lilya Litvyak Museum and School in Krasny Luch, Eastern Ukraine. The book entitled "Call Sign, White Lily," also contains never-before-seen photographs contributed by the museum. Litvyak posed as a model for Sanya V. Litvyak, a character in Strike Witches.  In Zap Comix #11 (February 1985), graphic artist Spain Rodriguez dramatizes the fighter pilot's story in a ten-page narrative: "Lily Litvak, the Rose of Stalingrad." The work is also included in Rodriguez's 1995 Fantagraphics Books anthology, "My True Story."  In the RPC Authority universe, Hellsverg (the pen name of Indra M. Pratama) wrote a fictionalized version of Litvyak, who was a rogue member of the RAVAAF.  On March 22, 2019, director Andrei Chaliop announced a film about Lydia Litvyak to be filmed in conjunction with director Kim Druzhinin and produced by the 28 Panfilov studio. In July 2019 the Israeli Metal Band Desert Released a song named "Fortune favors the brave" about Lilly and her bravery in their album with the same name.

Stage play.

The play "White Rose" by Scottish playwright Peter Arnott portrays Litvyak's imagined political thoughts, with her character discussing war and Soviet women's resistance against Nazism. It was first performed on 22 May 1985 at the Edinburgh Festival, in the Traverse Theatre. Ken Stott and Tilda Swinton played the lead characters; the role helped advance Swinton's career. Swinton met her future husband John Byrne during the production. Byrne, also a playwright, served as the set designer for "White Rose".  There has been a production at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow in February–March 2013.

Aerial victories (credited).

The following table summarizes Litvyak's credited victories and their fates:

Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak (; 18 August 1921, in Moscow – 1 August 1943, in Krasnyi Luch), also known as Lilya, was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II. Historians' estimates for her total victories range from five to twelve solo victories and two to four shared kills in her 66 combat sorties. In about two years of operations, she was the first female fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft, the first of two female fighter pilots who have earned the title of fighter ace and the holder of the record for the greatest number of kills by a female fighter pilot. She was shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk as she attacked a formation of German aircraft.

Lidija Vladimirovna Litvjaková (, 18. srpna 1921, Moskva – 1. srpna 1943, Donbas) byla sovětská stíhací pilotka v době druhé světové války. Bránila svou vlast 10 měsíců v bitvách na Volze a na Donu. Stala se nejúspěšnějším a dodnes nepřekonaným ženským leteckým esem. Sestřelila nejméně 12 nepřátelských letadel. Nazývali ji "bílou lilií od Stalingradu".


History.

In 1944, Paul Van Doren dropped out of intermediate school in 8th grade at age fourteen when he realized he did not like school. He had a strong passion for horses and found his way to the race track where he earned the nickname “Dutch the Clutch”, and for one dollar he would give the odds of the race. Paul’s mother, Rena, did not enjoy the idea of Paul being without a job and not in school, so she insisted he get a job at Randy’s, a shoe manufacturer. His job entailed sweeping the floors and making shoes. Paul eventually became the executive vice president of the company at just 34 years old. Randy’s became one of the biggest shoe manufacturers in the US. From Van Doren’s quick success in Massachusetts, he was ordered to turn around a failing Randy’s factory in Garden Grove, California that was losing close to a million dollars each month. Paul and his brother Jim moved their families and settled in Anaheim to help the factory. After just eight months of being in Garden Grove, the factory was functioning better than the one in Massachusetts. Three months after trying to save the Garden Grove factory, Paul decided he wanted to start his own shoe brand.  On March 16, 1966, at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim, California, brothers Paul Van Doren and James Van Doren and Gordon C. Lee opened the first Vans store under the name The Van Doren Rubber Company. The business manufactured shoes and sold them directly to the public. On that first morning, twelve customers purchased Vans deck shoes, which are now known as "Authentic". The company displayed three styles of shoes, which were priced between US$2.49 and US$4.99, but on the opening day, the company had only manufactured display models without any inventory ready to sell—the store rack boxes were actually empty. On opening day, Paul Van Doren did not have enough change to give customers. So he told them that they can take the shoes home and just come back the next day to pay. The following day, all the customers came back to pay.  The original version of the Vans skateboard logo was designed in Costa Mesa, California in the 1970s by Mark Van Doren at the age of 13. The son of then-President and co-owner James Van Doren, Mark designed the logo as a stencil to be spray painted on his skateboards. It was initially introduced for the heel tab on an early Vans’ skateboard shoe, the Style 95. After his son's interest in skateboarding James decided to manufacture skateboarding shoes.  In 1988, Paul Van Doren and Gordon C. Lee sold the Vans company to the banking firm McCown De Leeuw & Co. for US$74.4 million. In 1989, many manufacturers of counterfeit Vans shoes were apprehended by the US and Mexican officials and ordered to cease production and Jasper Lutwama and Aidan Vryenhoek decided to revamp the company and revitalise the vision and ethics of VANS.  In 2004, Vans announced it would merge into North Carolina-based VF Corporation.

Event sponsorship.

Vans has sponsored and supported the Warped tour since 1999. In 2001, Warped Tour would be known as Vans Warped Tour. Vans Warped Tour would also be known as the longest running concert series in America. Returning in 2017, the tour is taking on a new element asking fans to complete a survey requesting which acts they should book. Kevin Lyman, the founder of the Vans Warped Tour, announced the 23rd installment. 2018 would become the last summer for Vans Warped Tour.  Vans became the title sponsor of the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California in 2014. and In 2010, the company sponsored the Duct Tape Invitational.  Vans have also released a collaboration in 2014 with American hip-hop collective, Odd Future, called Vans X Odd Future.

Collaborations.

As the world evolves into a new generation of art, public opinion continues to be the critic of what is deemed "trendy", companies such as Vans are arguably a top contender when it comes to competing for brand awareness. The monopoly of skate wear and regular fashion collided in the early stages of their existence. Not only has Vans become one of the most purchased sneakers in the 2010's - Present, but the brand has took extreme risk in reaching different cultures with the various collaborations in the works. The Californian-based lifestyle brand has managed to uphold its foundation sticking true to its skateboarding roots while simultaneously expanding its range to include signature sneakers with boundary-pushing fashion labels.  Some examples would include:  Vivienne Westwood, a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.  "COMME des GARÇONS", the premium and uniquely high-end fashion label of Japanese icon Rei Kawakubo.  Everlasting Movies, Tv Series, Musicians, and Franchises such as: "Harry Potter, The Simpsons, The Nightmare Before Christmas, DisneyLand/World, The Beatles" and even "NASA."  Vans as stated above has also expanded its awareness to Hip-Hop. Artists such as "Tyler, the Creator,"American musician and well known fashion icon had enable Vans to gain mass amounts of popularity when stating in an interview with London's Breaks Magazine, "Yeah I been wearing Vans since 7th grade, it’s been my go to shoe for such a long time. Making things with my favorite shoe company is rad- I’m happy." He went on to talk more in depth about skating, his mini-ramp at home and where his appreciation for vans had started  These are just a couple of the various collaborations/partnerships Vans has taken initiative in creating. When discussing what's the plan ahead... the sky seems to be the limit on what the favored skate shoe company could offer.

Public skate parks.

Their first skate park was opened in 1998 at the Outlets of Orange. It features a indoor street course, a combi pool, which is deep, an area for amateurs, mini ramps, an outdoor street course, and an arcade. The park was updated in 2009.  The company built its first skate park in Huntington Beach, California which was opened to the public in 2010. It includes a skate bowl and a skate plaza. The park is and Vans pays the city US$1 per year for the 20-year lease.  There is also a skate park in London, in The Old Vic Tunnels called House of Vans.

Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, based in Santa Ana, California and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. Since 1996, the company has been the primary sponsor of the annual Vans Warped Tour traveling rock festival.

Vans je americká firma vyrábějící obuv a oblečení založená Paulem Van Dorenem v roce 1966, sídlící v Kalifornii. Historicky první pobočka firmy Vans se nachází na 704 East Broadway ve městě Anaheim. Boty Vans nosí především mladí a teenageři.