Shadowing Practice: Hitler's Insane Train - Learn English Speaking with Video
Les maken...
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This is the Breitspurbahn, an enormous train, 6 meters wide, 7 meters high.
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Inside it is incredibly luxurious and heavily armed.
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Hidden under a dome is an anti-aircraft installation.
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There are countless weapons on board and cabins filled with soldiers.
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The train was the brainchild of none other than Adolf Hitler.
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It was his personal favorite toy.
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While many of his megalomaniac projects were cancelled as the war progressed, he tried to force this one into existence until his end.
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Because it was central to the Nazis' plans for world domination.
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Hitler was well known for his insane infrastructure projects.
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The German stadium was to be built in Nuremberg alongside the Congress Hall and the Zeppelin Field with space for 400,000 people.
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It would have been the largest arena in the world.
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The Elbe High Bridge in Hamburg would have dwarfed the Golden Gate Bridge.
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These and many other projects were scrapped when the Nazis started losing World War II, but the Breitsburban was different.
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It was considered one of Hitler's favorite projects.
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In 1941 it was given top priority.
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Hitler personally demanded that all forces necessary be deployed to realize it.
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Although steel was already extremely scarce at the time, his project was granted 84,000 tons.
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We actually found the original plans for Hitler's monster train.
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The German historian Anton Joachim Stahler collected from several archives and published them in this book.
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Although the entire German industry was geared towards warfare, the Nazi leadership commissioned the same companies to develop the Breitschburban.
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Over 100 designs for locomotives and wagons were submitted.
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The distance between rails is called the track gauge.
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Even back then, the standard gauge of 1,435mm was already widespread all over the world, with small deviations in some countries.
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Hitler originally wanted a 4m wide gauge for his train.
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After a lot of back and forth, he was finally persuaded to settle for 3m.
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The train itself was massive too, 6m wide and 7m tall.
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The length was up to 420 meters for the passenger trains and over a kilometer for freight traffic.
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A double-decker, as demanded by the Führer.
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Today's trains almost seem puny in comparison.
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Inside the Breitspurbahn was supposed to be packed with luxury.
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The first class was located on the upper deck for better views.
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Here you had the most space, a lush interior with coat racks and comfy armrests.
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Directly below, usually on the lower deck, was the second class.
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Still spacious, the third class was a bit narrower.
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Additionally, there were countless communal areas.
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You could sip wine, smoke, and lounge on sofas in a bar.
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Similar setups, just without the bar, were found in a reading and socializing area.
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The planned dining car was particularly impressive.
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In the drafts, it was paneled with natural wood adorned with gold and had chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
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It was supposed to be the only single-decker car, with ceilings so high you wouldn't feel like you were on a train.
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Besides this main hall, there were additional restaurants and breakfast rooms planned.
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The train was also to feature a cinema for almost 200 people.
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A smaller stage should host lectures and performances.
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The train was meant to travel far, so the plans included sleeping cars.
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In first class, after a spacious reception area, wealthy Nazis would find roomy sleeping compartments with sofas,
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armchairs, a vanity table, and a large window with an outside view.
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The first-class rooms were also supposed to have their own toilet, sink, and shower.
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The smaller bedrooms in second-class only had a sink.
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Nevertheless, all passengers could freshen up in the bath car.
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It was supposed to host four bathtubs and twenty showers.
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Additionally, there were layouts for ladies and gentlemen's hairdressing salons, so the undercut wouldn't suffer during the journey.
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Also, there were storage and staff rooms.
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A pastry shop would supply guests with snacks, fresh cakes, and all kinds of drinks.
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Another highlight was planned at the very end of the train, a fully glazed viewing platform.
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While the planned first and second class carriages could only accommodate about 200 passengers, there were more than twice as many seats in third class.
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They could have easily fit over 500 seats in third class, but with the Breitschburban, they wanted to ensure a comfortable journey for everyone.
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Well, not everyone.
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These are designs for the so-called Eastern worker carriages.
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There were no seats, only benches for eight travelers per compartment.
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These work slaves were supposed to sit on the benches during the day and sleep on them at night.
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This provided space for a total of 480 work slaves.
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They did not have access to the rest of the train.
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Their food was supposed to be cooked in a large kitchen next door, pushed through the train in buckets, and then distributed at a canteen.
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Let's zoom out at this point.
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What did Hitler aim to achieve with the Breitschburban?
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Why did he prioritize it so much?
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On March 24, 1942, Hitler had lunch with his state secretary, Hermann Esser, and the architect, Hermann Giesler, in Munich.
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There he explained,
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It must also be possible to use the tracks for double-track freight traffic.
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Only in this way will it be possible to develop the eastern region, especially economically, in line with our plans.
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Even if the implementation of this railroad program naturally involves a wealth of difficulties,
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we must not let this deter us." The Breitspurbahn was key in Hitler's plans to conquer the world.
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He aimed to replace maritime shipping with trains.
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This broad gauge rail network was supposed to stretch across the entire European continent and beyond.
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There were discussions about a route from the Mediterranean, at Gibraltar, through Spain, Marseille, the Rhone Valley, to Munich.
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Here a huge junction station was supposed to be built.
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From there it would head south to Rome, or eastward through Vienna to Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, and then to Istanbul.
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Another route was supposed to run from Brest through Paris, the Ruhr area, to Berlin.
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From the German capital, Breitspur trains should have gone through Poland and Belarus directly to Moscow.
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There were plans to extend the Breitspurbahn through Iran and through Iraq, targeting the rich oil reserves there.
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There were ideas to build a railway all the way to Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan.
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Another line was supposed to reach British-occupied India.
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The Breitspurbahn was not only planned for passengers but also for freight transport.
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Hitler wanted to supply his Reich with raw materials and natural resources from all over Eurasia.
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At the same time, workers from the east were to be transported to factories and agricultural fields in Germany, hence the eastern worker carriages.
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In the other direction, Germans should have spread across half the world by train.
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It was intended as a tool to mass colonize.
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As such, the Breitschburban was heavily armed, in case they would meet local resistance.
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It was supposed to carry soldiers and had enormous ammunition chambers.
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The train could even be used to transport heavy weaponry such as tanks or whole ships.
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Ultimately, the train was never built.
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After the war, some plans were taken to the Soviet Union.
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Files on the planned routes to France are said to be in Paris.
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They were not published and apparently not pursued further.
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That's not surprising.
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From the beginning, many experts of the German rail company were convinced
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that most of the Breitschburban's areas of operation could also be covered by standard gauge trains.
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But of course, nobody dared to seriously contradict the Führer and talk shit about his toy.
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Like so many of Hitler's projects, the Breitschburban was a gigantic embarrassing show of megalomania.
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The leading Nazi architect Albert Speer said later, The more monumental and oversized in scale, the more enthusiastic Hitler would be about a project.
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The Breitschburban powerfully illustrates the extent of Hitler's conquest plans.
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The fact that he pursued such a bizarre project until the last days of the war
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shows how limitless his greed and madness truly were.
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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les
Deze spreekles op niveau B2 is gebaseerd op de video “Hitler's Insane Train”. Deze woorden komen het vaakst terug: train, supposed, Hitler, plans, project. Deze video bevat 115 zinnen en 1501 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 9:33. De spreker praat in een natuurlijk tempo van ongeveer 157 woorden per minuut, dicht bij een alledaags gesprek. Slechts 77% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden, dus de woordenschat is pittig.
Belangrijke woorden in deze video
De 15 moeilijkste woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:
| Woord | Uitspraak | Betekenis |
|---|---|---|
| gauge zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ | meter |
| freight zelfstandig naamwoord | /fɹeɪt/ | vracht, cargo |
| meter zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈmitəɹ/ | meter, teller |
| spacious bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈspeɪʃ.əs/ | ruimtelijk |
| compartment zelfstandig naamwoord | /kəmˈpɑɹtmənt/ | ruimte |
| sofa zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈsoʊ̯fə/ | bank, zetel |
| marble zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈmɑɹ.bəl/ | marmer |
| countless bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈkaʊntləs/ | ontelbaar, talloos |
| architect zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈɑɹ.kɪˌtɛkt/ | architect, architecte |
| ceiling zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈsilɪŋ/ | plafond, zoldering |
| armrest zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈɑɹmˌɹɛst/ | armleuning |
| bathtub zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈbæθtʌb/ | badkuip, ligbad |
| brainchild zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈbɹeɪnˌt͡ʃaɪld/ | geesteskind, hersenkind |
| canteen zelfstandig naamwoord | /kænˈtin/ | veldfles |
| chandelier zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪɚ/ | kroonluchter, luster |
Phrasal verbs die je zult horen
| Woord | Betekenis |
|---|---|
| try out werkwoord | uitproberen |
Uitspraak om op te letten
De spreker gebruikt 3 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals wouldn't, they're. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.
- De “th”-klanken: bathtub /ˈbæθtʌb/, enthusiastic /ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈæstɪk/
- De klanken “sh” en “zh”: spacious /ˈspeɪʃ.əs/, chandelier /ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪɚ/, deviation /ˌdiː.viˈeɪʃən/, freshen /ˈfɹɛʃən/, socialize /ˈsoʊʃəlaɪz/
- Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: deviation /ˌdiː.viˈeɪʃən/, kilometre /kɪˈlɑmɪtəɹ/, megalomania /ˌmɛɡəloʊˈmeɪniə/, megalomaniac /ˌmɛɡəloʊˈmeɪniæk/, monumental /ˌmɑnjəˈmɛntəl/
Klanken die Nederlandstaligen lastig vinden:
- Stemhebbende eindmedeklinker — /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/, /v/ niet verscherpen: gauge /ˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/, bathtub /ˈbæθtʌb/, brainchild /ˈbɹeɪnˌt͡ʃaɪld/, colonize /ˈkɑlənaɪz/, eastward /ˈist.wɚd/
- /æ/ — opener dan de Nederlandse “e”: bathtub /ˈbæθtʌb/, canteen /kænˈtin/, chandelier /ˌʃæn.dəˈlɪɚ/, embarrass /ɪmˈbæɹəs/, megalomaniac /ˌmɛɡəloʊˈmeɪniæk/
- /g/ — een harde plofklank, geen Nederlandse “g”: gauge /ˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/, megalomania /ˌmɛɡəloʊˈmeɪniə/, megalomaniac /ˌmɛɡəloʊˈmeɪniæk/, luxurious /lʌɡˈʒʊəɹi.əs/, gigantic /d͡ʒaɪˈɡæntɪk/
Zo oefen je met deze video
- Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
- Begin op 0,75× snelheid, spreek zin voor zin na en ga terug naar normale snelheid zodra het makkelijk gaat.
- Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als gauge, freight, meter.
Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?
Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.