World History

Is All Still Quiet on the Western Front?

A hundred years after the “war to end all wars” ended, a journey to the front lines of World War I reveals the poignant battles and their tragic legacies

Massive, Awe-Inspiring Sculptures Dot the Former Yugoslavian Countryside

In his new book, photographer Jonathan “Jonk” Jimenez seeks out unique monuments commemorating Yugoslav's National Liberation Struggle

A cross marks the death of the 340 murdered villagers of Lidice.

The Lost Children of the Lidice Massacre

The Nazis arbitrarily slaughtered the Czech villagers, angering the world, even as Europe's Jews faced similar fates in concentration camps

Soldiers supporting the coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet take cover as bombs are dropped on the Presidential Palace of La Moneda in Sept. 11, 1973.

An Eyewitness Account of Pinochet’s Coup 45 Years Ago

Smithsonian ethnomusicologist Dan Sheehy poignantly recalls the brutal outcome of a nation divided

Rare WWII Submarine Dog Fight Turns Deadly

On February 9, 1945, two submarines are poised to engage in a direct, underwater confrontation. It's the first - and only - underwater submarine dog fight

The First Submarine to Launch Rockets From Its Deck

It's June 1945 and the USS Barb has just launched an unprecedented attack on the factories of the Japanese island of Shari

This Tiny Island Was Key for Allied Forces to Secure North Africa

During WWII, Nazi forces were preparing to take the coastal city of Tobruk and tighten their grip on North Africa

An artistic rendering of Edward Jenner vaccinating eight-year-old James Phipps in 1796.

The Mysterious Origins of the Smallpox Vaccine

Though the disease was declared eradicated in 1980, the era of smallpox is far from over

This U.S. Sub Launched an Attack on a Japanese Train

The USS Barb had an unusual target in its sights in 1945 - one that wasn't even in the water. It was a Japanese supply train on the island of Karafuto

Why Shipbuilders Were Forced to Stop Using British Oak

After the Napoleonic Wars caused a shortage of British Oak, frigate builders looked all over the empire for an alternative. They found one in India

How the British Navy Camouflaged Their Ships Using Art

The British Navy knew it couldn't completely disguise a ship to protect it from attack during WWI. So they turned to 'Dazzle Painting'

Ben Kingsley stars as Adolf Eichmann in Operation Finale

Based on a True Story

The True Story of “Operation Finale”

Director Chris Weitz explores the 1960 hunt for Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in the new feature film

This Secret Boat Was Built for a WWII Invasion That Never Happened

In 2011, declassified CIA documents shed light on a covert government program dating back to WWII

Captain James Cook set out on a voyage across the Pacific 250 years ago, seemingly on a scientific voyage. But he carried secret instructions from the Navy with him as well.

Captain Cook’s 1768 Voyage to the South Pacific Included a Secret Mission

The explorer traveled to Tahiti under the auspices of science 250 years ago, but his secret orders were to continue Britain’s colonial project

Why Depth Charges Don't Have to Touch a Submarine to Sink It

It's 1942 and the USS Silversides, a U.S. submarine submerged in the Pacific, is frantically trying to dodge depth charges dropped by a Japanese warship

Actual Combat Footage of the Battle of the Philippines Sea

Relive the aerial dogfights and naval clashes of the Battle of the Philippines Sea, thanks to stunning color footage

The couch on which Freud’s patients lay became identified with psychoanalysis itself. He shipped it to London when he left Vienna.

Secrets of American History

What Drove Sigmund Freud to Write a Scandalous Biography of Woodrow Wilson?

The founder of psychoanalysis collaborated with a junior American diplomat to lambaste the former president

In the spring of 2018, Angeline Nanni revisited Arlington Hall, where the Venona team got cracking. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Secrets of American History

The Women Code Breakers Who Unmasked Soviet Spies

At the height of the Cold War, America’s most secretive counterespionage effort set out to crack unbreakable ciphers

How to Cipher Like a Soviet

See if you can figure out how the American code-breakers unraveled the complexities of the Russian codebook

How Italy Used Human Torpedoes to Attack British Ships

On December 16, 1941, the Italian navy launched a daring attack on three British ships outside Alexandria harbor

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