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History / World History

Will a New Law Forever Change the German Language?

When a language is strongly gendered, it can raise all sorts of challenges to a society that’s increasingly accepting of a wide spectrum of identities

The Nazi atomic effort relied on work done in this remote lab.

How a Sneak Attack By Norway’s Skiing Soldiers Deprived the Nazis of the Atomic Bomb

Seventy-five years ago, in Operation Gunnerside, a stealthy group of commandos took out a crucial Nazi chemical plant

To make it easier for those in the U.S. and in Germany to trace the history of World War II-era artworks, the Smithsonian and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation created the German/American Provenance Research Exchange Program for Museum Professionals (PREP).

How U.S. and German Art Experts Are Teaming Up to Solve Nazi-Era Mysteries

Specialists in WWII art loss and restitution discuss provenance research

Joe Leahy at his Kilima coffee plantation at the height of his wealth and power.

The Reckoning

Thirty years ago, an acclaimed series of documentaries introduced the world to an isolated tribe in Papua New Guinea. What happened when the cameras left?

The Archaeology of Wealth Inequality

Researchers trace the income gap back more than 11,000 years

Greek Orthodox priests taking part in a procession inside the Katholikon, or Catholicon Chapel, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

A Crusader-Era High Altar Resurfaces in Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulcher

This reminder of centuries-old history was sitting in plain sight all along

Relics of St. Valentine of Terni at the basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin

The Gory Origins of Valentine’s Day

The holiday began as a feast to celebrate the decapitation of a third-century Christian martyr, or perhaps two. So how did it become all about love?

Bulgogi is a classic Korean dish of thinly sliced, marinated beef.

A Brief History of Bulgogi, Korea’s Most Delicious Export (Recipe)

And how you can get some of the tender, marinated beef stateside

Figure skater Adam Rippon will be one of two openly gay Americans competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics, a first for the U.S.

Winter Olympics

A Brief History of Openly Gay Olympians

Americans Adam Rippon and Gus Kenworthy are the latest LGBTQ athletes to go for the gold

The Olympic Flame was lit from the sun's rays using a parabolic mirror, during the final dress rehearsal for the lighting ceremony at Ancient Olympia, in southwestern Greece, on Monday, Oct. 23, 2017.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Your Burning Questions About the Olympic Torch, Answered

Curious minds will want to know that the blaze is lit not with matches or a lighter, but using a method that dates to Ancient Greece

Figure skating at the Olympic winter games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 1936

Winter Olympics

A Brief History of Women’s Figure Skating

You might be surprised to learn that this sport where women now shine was initially seen as solely the purview of male athletes

A replica of Foucault's famous experiment at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e Tecnica in Milan, Italy

Ask Smithsonian

How Does Foucault’s Pendulum Prove the Earth Rotates?

This elegant scientific demonstration has been delighting everyday people for nearly 200 years

Reports of weird, wondrous, and worrying objects in the skies date to ancient times.

How UFO Reports Change With the Technology of the Times

Fears of Zeppelins, rockets and drones have replaced the “celestial wonders” of ancient times

Parade of volunteers for Waffen-SS Division “Galicia” in Buczacz, 1943

When Mass Murder Is an Intimate Affair

A new book reveals how neighbors turned on neighbors in an Eastern European border town

The executioner Franz Schmidt executing Hans Fröschel on May 18, 1591. This drawing in the margins of a court record is the only surviving fully reliable portrait of Franz Schmidt.

The Executioners Who Inherited Their Jobs

For centuries, carrying out executions in France was a family affair

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