The children of Hamelin, Transylvania and witchcraft

Once upon a time, around 1284, there was an invasion of rats in the German city of Hamelin. No measures taken by the inhabitants have stopped this extremely unpleasant phenomenon. There were so many rats that they attacked cats and dogs, and bit the newborns in their swings. The desperate magistrate promised a reward to…

Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1918-1941)

German States are known very well in the history as being the home of ethnic Germans, who formed several unions, participated in several very important wars which changed Europe and not only for several times throughout history. Because of wars and conflicts between different countries, but also because of unpopular laws or periods of crisis,…

The ruins of Königsberg 20 years after the war

The city was founded on a hill on the high right bank in the lower reaches of the Pregol River on the site of the Prussian settlement Twangste on September 1, 1255 as a castle by the knights of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Poppo von Ostern and the Czech king Przemysl Otakar…

World War I anti-German sentiment in the United States

During World War I (1917–18), German Americans were often accused of being too sympathetic to Imperial Germany. Former president Theodore Roosevelt denounced “hyphenated Americanism”, insisting that dual loyalties were impossible in wartime. A small minority came out for Germany, or ridiculed the British (as did H. L. Mencken). Similarly, Harvard psychology professor Hugo Münsterberg dropped…

1932 Germany as seen by the American-German photographer Andreas Feininger

Andreas Bernhard Lyonel Feininger (born December 27, 1906 in Paris, died February 18, 1999 in New York ) was an American-German photographer, photography teacher and architect in the 20th century. He is the son of the painter Lyonel Feininger. Andreas Feininger was born in Paris in 1906 as an American citizen, spent his youth in…

Bombing of Dresden and the rebirth of a civilization

The Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) carried out air strikes on the metropolitan area of Dresden for the first time from autumn 1944 in the Second World War . The four waves of attacks from February 13 to 15, 1945 became particularly well-known. According to the latest investigations,…

German housing from 1900s for low-income citizens

Homes must be primarily functional, economical, sustainable, to have ample spaces and to own different facilities only for the inhabitants. At the beginning of the twentieth century appeared the trend for functionalism, which was manifested by reducing some decorative elements of a building in favor of the extension of inhabited spaces. Van der Rohe’s concept…

Soviet Bessarabia, NKVD and the investigation of the desecration of Hitler’s portrait

Destroying or desecrating portraits of Soviet leaders hanging in public places was considered a serious crime. A very different case occurred in Soviet Bessarabia in 1940, just after the USSR annexed the region, when a local dared to burn the Nazi Germany flag and destroy Adolf Hitler’s portrait. NKVD agents conducted an investigation into this…

🎨 The story of a scandalous painting. „Die Versündigung” by Heinrich Lossow

The plot of the picture The Sin is thematically related to the “Banquet of Chestnuts”. This name was given to a scandalous dinner, allegedly held in the Papal Palace by the former Cardinal Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander VI on October 30, 1501. The banquet report was preserved in the Latin diary of…

Wuppertal Suspended Train in 1951

The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn (“Wuppertal suspended train”) is a suspended monorail located in the city of Wuppertal, in Germany. Its full name is Einschienige Hängebahn System Eugen Langen (literally “railway with monorail suspension of the Eugen Langen system”). Created by Eugen Langen, originally scheduled to be installed in Berlin, it was built in Wuppertal in 1900….

Basarabia sovietică, NKVD și investigarea profanării portretului lui Hitler

Distrugerea sau profanarea portretelor liderilor din Uniunea Sovietică atârnate în locuri publice a fost considerată o crimă gravă. Un caz foarte diferit a avut loc în Basarabia sovietică în anul 1940, imediat după anexarea regiunii de către URSS, când un localnic a îndrăznit să ardă drapelul Germaniei naziste și să distrugă portretul lui Adolf Hitler….

Changing Berlin 1937. The beauty of a pre-war Berlin

Berlin always was a beautiful city built by great people, with an incredible architecture sights. The Berlin always was charming… until the World War II. The Second World War destroyed those aesthetics of an old city, with an extremely rich history. Unfortunately, Berlin will never be the same. I want to present you a great…