Greece believes Germany owe it reparations for WW2

73 years since World War II officially ended, two European countries are still seeking satisfaction from the German government over damages caused by the Nazi regime. According to a report from DW, both Greece and Poland are officially asking that Germany pay reparations to the two states for invading their countries during the war. Hitler […]

Russian tank ends military parade with a barrel roll (that wasn’t on purpose)

While economically struggling, Russia has a long history of deriving national pride from military parades celebrating past victories. Last Thursday, Russian forces participated in just such an event: a parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk. In 1943, some 1.9 million Soviet soldiers alongside more than 5,000 tanks participated in what would […]

Explore a 360-degree tour of a British World War II shipwreck

Although the United States has remained embroiled in a war of one sort or another fairly consistently since the final days of World War II, something about that war prevents it from waning out of our cultural lexicon. War stories about later conflicts, like Vietnam and Korea, have been transposed to film and television, of […]

In pictures: Building America’s iconic monuments

The United States boasts many iconic monuments like the Statue of Liberty or the United States Marine Corps War Memorial. These achievements in architecture and art all serve different purposes — some are utilitarian like the Golden Gate Bridge, and others are commemorative like the Abraham Lincoln Memorial. Whatever their purpose, these images are stamped […]

‘Denazification’ and a post WWII Germany

The picture above was taken on April 5, 1935, exactly 83 years ago today. One look at this picture and one can already surmise the difficulties Germany may have had after the fall of the Third Reich under Adolf Hitler — just because the military and political infrastructure were defeated did not mean that all […]

The miracle of hot water

There are certain memories that snap you back to the past. Smell can carry you all the way back to the earliest memories, like Grandma’s house on a Sunday, or freshly cut grass in the morning. The sharp bite of the cold can bring back memories of childhood Christmas, or training missions in the worst […]

‘Mad Jack’: Fighting WWII medieval style

Imagine you’re a German soldier during WWII, just for a moment. It’s nearing the end of December, and you’re in a coastal town in far west Norway — England is somewhere across the icy waters. It’s freezing cold, and British boats are closing in. Troops are about to charge the garrison, and the first landing […]

On this day in history: US Navy’s first aircraft carrier is scuttled in WWII

February 27, 1942 — The USS Langley was sailing off the Indonesian coast with her escort anti-submarine vessels in tow. A Japanese reconnaissance plane spotted them and reported back to their command. By mid-day, the U.S. ships were being bombarded by Japanese bombers — Mitsubishi Navy Type 1 attack bombers, to be precise, known to […]