The murder of August von Kotzebue

Assassination of A Playwright, Birth of A Nationalism

The 1819 assassination of playwright August von Kotzebue by theology student Karl Sand is considered one of foundational moments in German nationalism.
Portrait of Ranavalona I, Queen of Merina from 1828 to 1861

How Madagascar’s Queen Ranavalona Helped Define Queen Victoria

In the nineteenth century, Queen Ranavalona became a foil to Queen Victoria, her “savage” queenship held in contrast to that of the “civilized” female monarch.
A former German defense bunker lies in Marram Grass along a stretch of coastline that was known as 'Utah Beach' during the June 6, 1944 D-Day Beach landings on April 30, 2019 in Audouville-la-Hubert, on the Normandy coast

Conflict Archaeology in Normandy

The light management of forests in Normandy since WWII helped preserve the remains of German supply depots and other artifacts of war hidden in the woodlands.
Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.28550903

How American Librarians Helped Defeat the Nazis

Recruited to the war effort thanks to their deft research skills and technological know-how, librarians used microforms to gather and share intelligence with Allied forces.
A doctor in the Philippines checks a patient’s blood pressure assisted by Filipina Nurse C.P. De Batan, 1963

Who’s Afraid of the Filipina Coed?

Cultural depictions of the "transpacific Filipina" reflected anxieties about the changing education and social roles of women in the Cold War Philippines.

Scrub-a-Dub in a Medieval Tub

Contrary to popular misconceptions, Europeans in the Middle Ages took pains to keep themselves clean.
Overhead view of 3 heritage variety corn cobs photographed in a wicker basket. These varieties with their multi-coloured pieces of corn are popular for their decorative uses but some varieties can be used in corn meal for making taco’s for example. Also known as Indian corn or flint corn. Colour, horizontal with some copy space.

Translating Corn

To most of the world, “corn” is “maize,” a word that comes from the Taíno mahizwas. Not for British colonists in North America, though.
Cyclist and writer Dervla Murphy in Barcelona in 1956

Dervla Murphy: The Godmother of Hitting the Road

Perhaps the greatest female travel writer of her generation, Murphy defied the narrative of the dutiful Irish daughter—and motherhood—to find freedom.
Joseph Schleifstein, a four-year-old survivor of Buchenwald, sits on the running board of an UNRRA truck soon after the liberation of the camp.

When Family Separation Became a Human Rights Issue

In the aftermath of World War II, preserving the nuclear family became a key pillar of liberal democratic ideology.
A 4 Minute men poster, 1917

The US Propaganda Machine of World War I

As the United States prepared to enter World War I, the government created the first modern state propaganda office, the Committee on Public Information.