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I want to find out why Nefertiti disappeared so mysteriously.
Growing up I was fascinated by…
World War II and the Nazis. It was all around me. My father served as an RAF pilot in South Africa during the war, while his brother – my uncle –was a merchant marine officer who was killed when a U-boat sunk his ship. Hitler and the Nazis were the great evil in the world – but for me, growing up, that whole period wasn’t just history. It was my family life, and it was alive with relevance and power.
My favourite period or conflict…
As a young film-maker, I was fascinated by prehistory, and the period when humans first developed a consciousness — a sense of themselves, of religion and community. I’m no expert but I have visited some fascinating sites over the years — from the cave paintings of Pech Merle [below] in France to the 12,000-year-old site of what’s considered to be the first temple, at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey. I find the story of how faith and identity developed fascinating. It’s certainly different from the day job, which is World War II.
The figure I most admire…
The Buddha — because of his central belief that all suffering is caused by desire, which to me is an astonishing insight. And also because he understood so much about the human mind long before modern psychology came along.
My dream dinner party…
I’d want to ask people from history about the big mysteries that have interested me. So, my first guest would be whoever painted the amazing spotted horse in the cave at Pech Merle, to ask why they did that. Then I’d invite the elders from the temple at Göbekli Tepe, to ask why the site was built. Similarly, I’d ask Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal (Pacal the Great, AD 603-683), the last known ruler of the Mayan city state of Palenque, to find out why the Mayan empire collapsed; the Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti [below], to find out why she disappeared so mysteriously from the historical records; and Jesus, to find out whether he accepted all the things said about him in the Gospels. And finally, for light relief, I’d have Shakespeare. I want to know who the sonnets were written for.
A book I’d recommend…
I came across the stories of Guy de Maupassant, the 19th-century French writer, when I was 13 or 14, and they knocked me out. Some people find them pessimistic, but I think they’re tremendously insightful and humorous. He sees life for what it is.
My favourite war film…
I don’t really like war films as a genre – especially the way film-makers alter the facts to suit a narrative. So I don’t watch many. But, to me, the exception is Das Boot [below] – it’s a really good one.
Something I learned recently…
For my new book, The Nazi Mind: 12 Warnings from History, I learned a lot about neuroscience, particularly through the work of Professor Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University. I hadn’t understood before how the different bits of the brain (the amygdala, frontal cortex, and so on) really develop. For instance, the frontal cortex — the bit that offers analysis, moderation, and consideration — is not fully developed until you’re 25. I think that explains why some young people are likely to become fanatics, either for religion or politics.
My next project…
I want to write more about World War II and the relevance of that conflict today. I’m really keen to show that this isn’t a dead subject and still has meaning. So I want to investigate that further. MHM
Laurence Rees is a historian and author, and the former head of BBC TV History Programmes. His work includes the TV series and bestselling books The Nazis: A Warning from History, Auschwitz: The Nazis and the ‘Final Solution’, and The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler. His many awards include a British Book Award, a BAFTA, two International Documentary awards, and two Emmys. His latest book, The Nazi Mind: 12 Warnings from History (Penguin Viking), is out now.
Images: Damien McFadden/Immediate Media/Cahors – vallée du Lot/Wikimedia Commons
