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Germany

Defendants in the dock at Nuremberg. Hermann Göring, his head propped on his fist, sits at far left. 

At Nuremberg, World War II’s Battle Turned to the Courtroom, and an Eloquent Lawyer Helped Lead the Allies to Victory

Robert H. Jackson, an American Supreme Court justice who thought of himself as “anything but a warrior,” was drafted by FDR to prosecute leading Nazis

Surviving members of the Sobibor Uprising in 1944. Leon Feldhendler, a leader of the revolt, is standing in the back row at far right.

These Jewish Prisoners Revolted Against the Nazis, Killing Their Guards and Escaping From a World War II Death Camp

During the lesser-known 1943 Sobibor Uprising, several hundred Jews fled into the forests of Poland, where many were tracked down and shot. Fifty-eight Sobibor inmates survived the war

The Syrian shawarma, originally served in the alleys of Damascus and Aleppo, has become a culinary mainstay in Berlin.

How Shawarma Became a Soul Food of Syria’s Diaspora in Berlin

The popularity of the humble street food is a testament to cultural survival for the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who arrived in Germany as refugees and asylum seekers in 2015

A magnified view of tiny specks of blue residue found on a Paleolithic stone artifact

Cool Finds

These Archaeologists Set Out in Search of Animal Fat. Instead, They Found the Oldest Blue Pigment Ever Discovered in Europe

Blue residue on a 13,000-year-old stone artifact, long believed to be an oil lamp, may paint a new picture of Paleolithic art and culture

An illustration of a Pterodactylus hatchling struggling in a tropical storm

Baby Pterosaur Fossils Reveal Mid-Flight Injury and Watery Death, Helping Solve a Paleontological Mystery

A 150-million-year-old fossil hotspot in southern Germany yields an astounding number of well-preserved juvenile pterosaurs, and scientists wondered why it contained fewer adults

Almost like an arrow, the somewhat triangular shape of the architectural framework points this pedestrian in the right direction.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Appreciate Awesome Architecture With These 20 Photos

No passport is needed for this virtual tour of beautiful buildings around the world

Reconstruction and illustration of Mirasaura in its natural forested environment, hunting insects

This Surprising Ancient Reptile Had a Colorful, Corrugated Sail on Its Back. New Research Suggests It Was Used to Communicate

A 247-million-year-old fossil from a German natural history museum reveals the secrets of Mirasaura

Neuschwanstein was one of four castles in Bavaria to make the list.

Germany’s Stunning Fairytale Castles Added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List

Built under the rule of Ludwig II, the grand palace complexes in Bavaria were among 26 new sites granted world heritage status

Scholars with the "Constructing the Limes" project led the research on the newly discovered site.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Roman Army Camp in the Netherlands—15 Miles Beyond the Empire’s Northern Border

Researchers think the camp was built during the second century C.E. Stretching across 22 acres, it was identified using a computer model developed by an archaeology student

Carl Hagenbeck opened his Tierpark Hagenbeck in Hamburg, Germany, in 1907. Decades earlier, the impresario had exhibited Indigenous humans in conditions that replicated their home environments.

The Man Who Invented the Modern Zoo Tested Out His Ideas on People First

Carl Hagenbeck believed that animals should be housed in habitats that mimicked their natural environment. Earlier, he’d followed the same guiding philosophy when exhibiting Indigenous people in “human zoos”

A German submarine torpedoed the S.S. Pennsylvania Sun on July 15, 1942, destroying 107,500 barrels of U.S. Navy fuel oil.

The Hidden History of the Nazi U-Boats That Prowled the Gulf Coast, Bringing World War II to America’s Shores

Between 1942 and 1943, German submarines sank 56 Allied ships in the region and damaged another 14, losing just one of their own in the process

Volunteers and archaeologists rebuilt the tomb site, lifting massive stones with modern excavation tools.

This German Town Carefully Reconstructed a 5,500-Year-Old Megalithic Monument

After years of excavation and study, archaeologists have restored the Küsterberg burial site to its original layout to celebrate the annual European Day of Megalithic Culture

Dumbo octopuses, like the Opisthoteuthis agassizii seen here during a 2019 dive, are the deepest-living group of octopuses known.

Humans Have Seen Only 0.001 Percent of the World’s Deep Seas, Leaving Most of the Planet a Vast Mystery

Researchers argue that expanding deep-sea exploration is vital to understanding and managing these marine habitats

An illustration of Witold Pilecki in military uniform in 1939 (left) and as an inmate at Auschwitz in 1940 (right)

The Daring Polish Resistance Fighter Who Volunteered to Be Sent to Auschwitz So He Could Sabotage the Nazi Death Camp From the Inside

Witold Pilecki smuggled reports about Germany’s war crimes to the Allies, urging them to stop the atrocities at Auschwitz by bombing the camp. But his warnings went unheeded

Grave adoption programs—some part of structured, longstanding projects, others more individually driven—offer a touching layer of history that takes many visitors and even seasoned war experts by surprise.

History of Now

Meet the Dedicated Volunteers Who Honor World War II’s Fallen American Service Members by Adopting Their Graves

Europe will commemorate the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender on May 8. But thousands of locals remain committed to preserving year-round the memories of those killed while fighting to liberate the continent

Archaeologists unearthed more than 100 equine skeletons near the site of a Roman military base.

1,800-Year-Old Horse Buried With Grave Goods Suggests Deep Bond Between a Roman Soldier and His Steed

Archaeologists were preparing for the construction of a new housing development when they found more than 100 equine skeletons dating to the second century C.E.

European gray wolves in Germany

Why Have European Wolves Recovered So Much in the Past Decade?

The predators have increased by almost 60 percent on the continent

Prisoners sit by a wire fence following the liberation of Bergen-Belsen in April 1945.

How Bergen-Belsen, Where Anne Frank Died, Was Different From Every Other Nazi Concentration Camp

A new exhibition at the Wiener Holocaust Library in London chronicles the German camp complex’s history, from its origins housing prisoners of war to its afterlife holding displaced persons

Spectrum launched from the Andøya Space Center in Norway before plumetting into the icy sea.

First Orbital Rocket Launched From Western Europe Crashes Into Sea After Roughly 30-Second Flight

Isar Aerospace, the company behind the rocket, is still heralding the launch as a success due to the data it provided

Stephen Tabor with the Huntington Library's copy of the Gutenberg Bible

Gutenberg Bible Reunited With Rare 15th-Century Devotional Print Once Tucked Inside Its Pages

Two centuries after they were separated, the print and the Bible are on display together at the Huntington Library in California

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