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- The Hindenburg Explodes - 2010-09-08T09:26:06Z
 The suddenness of the disaster was shocking. At 7:25 p.m. on May 6, 1937, while the Hindenburg was attempting to land at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, a flame appeared on the outer cover of the rear of the Hindenburg. Within 34 seconds, the entire airship was consumed by fire. Read the full story about what happened when the Hindenburg exploded.The Hindenburg Explodes originally appeared on About.com 20th Century History on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at 09:26:06. Permalink | Comment | Email this
- Fascinating Notebook With Writings From Injured WWI Soldiers - 2010-09-08T09:21:08Z
- During World War I, a nurse who worked in auxiliary hospitals in England kept a little notebook in her uniform pocket. As she made her rounds, she asked the injured soldiers if they'd like to write a few thoughts in her book. Many of the injured soldiers wrote their name, regiment, and wounds. Others wrote poems or thoughts.
The notebook, which has been held by a private collector for many years, is now up for sale. For more about the notebook as well as samples of some of the writings, see this Telegraph article. Fascinating Notebook With Writings From Injured WWI Soldiers originally appeared on About.com 20th Century History on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at 09:21:08. Permalink | Comment | Email this
- Dresden Mayor Takes Issue With British Bomber Memorial - 2010-09-07T08:31:51Z
- In February 1945, the Allies bombed the Germany city of Dresden, creating a massive firestorm that swept across the city and killed thousands of German civilians. The bombing, which came so close to the end of the war and struck upon a city with no obvious military target, remains one of the most controversial events of World War II.
In May 2010, the British city of Westminster approved plans to build a monument for all the RAF bombers who lost their lives during World War II. Once built, the monument will stand in Green Park, central London.
The citizens of Dresden are not happy about the planned monument and feel that it's a slight to the memory of their own city's suffering. To speak against the memorial, the mayor of Dresden, Helma Orosz, flew to Britain and attended the opening of the London Transport Museum's exhibition of the bombing of London during the Blitz. While there, she told reporters that her city is against the memorial.
Do you think a memorial to RAF bombers will increase tension between the United Kingdom and Germany? Should the memorial be scrapped? Dresden Mayor Takes Issue With British Bomber Memorial originally appeared on About.com 20th Century History on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 08:31:51. Permalink | Comment | Email this
- One of the Little Rock Nine Dies, Age 67 - 2010-09-06T19:59:52Z
- Jefferson Thomas, one of the Little Rock Nine, died on Sunday, September 5, 2010 from pancreatic cancer at age 67.
The "Little Rock Nine," as they are now known, were nine African-American students who attempted to attend the segregated Little Rock Central High School, which was a "white" school, in 1957. At first, the nine teenagers were denied even entrance to the school by angry mobs and the Arkansas National Guard. However, after President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened by bringing in the Army's 101st Airborne Division, the nine students were safely escorted into the school.
The Little Rock Nine and their struggle to attend the segregated school was one of the major events in the Civil Rights Movement. One of the Little Rock Nine Dies, Age 67 originally appeared on About.com 20th Century History on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 19:59:52. Permalink | Comment | Email this
- Did You Know...A Skull Was Part of the Versailles Treaty - 2010-09-02T18:55:44Z
- The Versailles Treaty (1919) was the peace settlement between Germany and the Allied Powers that officially ended World War I. So what does the skull of the Sultan Mkwawa have to do with that?
In Article 246 of the Versailles Treaty, the Allied Forces included a clause that required Germany to hand over the skull of the Sultan Mkwawa within six months of the signing of the Treaty. Sultan Mkwawa had been a chieftain of the Hehe tribe on Tanzania who had quite successfully fought against the Germans. He died in 1898 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after being surrounded. The Germans then took his head and sent it to the Bremen Museum in Germany, where it was misplaced and wasn't found until 1954. It was then returned. Did You Know...A Skull Was Part of the Versailles Treaty originally appeared on About.com 20th Century History on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 18:55:44. Permalink | Comment | Email this
- The First Peanuts Cartoon Strip - 2010-09-01T19:24:53Z
- The very first Peanuts comic strip, written by Charles M. Schulz, appeared in seven newspapers on October 2, 1950. What characters were in that first comic strip?
The First Peanuts Cartoon Strip originally appeared on About.com 20th Century History on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 19:24:53. Permalink | Comment | Email this
- U.S. National Archives Receives Nuremberg Laws - 2010-09-01T10:42:03Z
- Toward the end of World War II, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted documents related to the persecution of Jews to be found, collected, and sent to a specific place in Germany that was using these documents to prepare for the Nuremberg Trials.
Unbeknownst to the prosecutors at Nuremberg, General George S. Patton Jr. had taken possession of the original copy of the Nuremberg Laws, taken them home with while on leave, and deposited them in the vault of the Huntington Library in California in June 1945. Before Patton was able to move the documents, he died in a car accident in December 1945. Since then, the Nuremberg Laws have remained at the Huntington.
Now, 65 years later, the Nuremberg Laws have now made their way to the National Archives, where they would have been deposited decades ago if they had followed the path directed by General Eisenhower.
For a short but fascinating video about how these documents ended up at the Huntington and how they were severely missed at the Nuremberg Trials, see this Inside the Vaults: The Nuremberg Laws video on YouTube. U.S. National Archives Receives Nuremberg Laws originally appeared on About.com 20th Century History on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 10:42:03. Permalink | Comment | Email this
- For Sale: J.D. Salinger's Toilet - 2010-08-31T16:23:57Z
- Here's another one of those auctions that really make me wonder who buys some of this stuff. A toilet that once belonged to author J.D. Salinger was put up for sale on eBay for a buyout price of $1 million. Like me and many others, you may think that the $1 million price tag seems quite unreasonable. Apparently, the seller, Rick Kohl of webuytreasure.com, is willing to take lower offers.
For more about this interesting and disturbing sale, see this Charlotte Observer article about Salinger's toilet.
Update: Although a number of offers below the $1 million mark were made, the auction appears to have been removed from eBay. For Sale: J.D. Salinger's Toilet originally appeared on About.com 20th Century History on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 16:23:57. Permalink | Comment | Email this
- DNA Test Shows That Hitler Possibly Had Jewish Roots - 2010-08-26T13:25:25Z
- It has often been speculated that Hitler had some Jewish ancestry, or at least thought he did; however, historians were never able to find direct proof of this fact. Now, a new DNA study may prove that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler did indeed have a Jewish past.
Belgian journalist Jean-Paul Mulders and historian Marc Vermeeren managed to track down 39 of Hitler's relatives and collect DNA samples via saliva from each of them. The results are a bit surprising.
The study found that Hitler had the rare chromosome called Haplogroup E1b1b1, which is usually found in Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews and the Berbers of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. This information would mean that Hitler could have had Jewish of African roots.
Learn more about Hitler's ancestry, by examining Hitler's family tree and a closer look at the mysterious identity of Hitler's grandfather. DNA Test Shows That Hitler Possibly Had Jewish Roots originally appeared on About.com 20th Century History on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 13:25:25. Permalink | Comment | Email this
- Anne Frank's Tree Falls - 2010-08-26T11:17:54Z
- The 150- to 200-year-old chestnut tree that gave Anne Frank comfort while she was hiding in the annexe has finally fallen down. Although we all knew it was eventually going to happen, now that it has finally come to pass, I am still sad about it.
When a storm raged on Monday, August 23, 2010, the winds successfully snapped the trunk of the aged, diseased tree about three feet from the ground. Although the massive tree crushed some gardens, several sheds, and a brick wall as it fell, no one was injured.
This tree had meant a lot to Anne Frank. Confined to small, cramped quarters while hiding from the Nazis, Anne Frank's only experience of the outdoors for more than two years was a view from a single window. In her diary, Anne made several references to a chestnut tree that stood just outside.
On February 23, 1944, Anne Frank wrote, "I go to the attic almost every morning to get the stale air out of my lungs." From her favorite spot on the floor, Anne and Peter "looked out at the blue sky, the bare chestnut tree glistening with dew, the seagulls and other birds glinting with silver as they swooped through the air, and we were so moved and entranced that we couldn't speak." Anne Frank's Tree Falls originally appeared on About.com 20th Century History on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 11:17:54. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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