Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it
Part Five in a series: see parts one, two, three and four. On March 7, 1949 the biggest trial of the Red Scare began. Four hundred New York City policemen formed a barricade around the Foley Square courthouse, where eleven … Continue reading How We Got Here: Blacklisting Was Our Business
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! Today’s picture: Today is the 71st anniversary of Israeli independence. After a prolonged political and insurgent struggle with Great Britain, Israel was granted independence, becoming the modern world’s first Jewish state under the leadership … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread
On the 3rd of September, 1939, the United Kingdom and France officially declared war on Germany, prompted by the German invasion of Poland two days prior. For many in the UK and Western Europe, this is traditionally seen as the … Continue reading Life on the Home Front: UK Civilian Life During World War II – Part 1
Part Three in a series; see parts one and two. Robert Stripling was concerned. HUAC’s chief investigator didn’t trust Whittaker Chambers, their star witness in the case against Alger Hiss, feeling that even now he’d withheld some crucial evidence, for … Continue reading How We Got Here: The Fall of Alger Hiss
So last time in this series of nonsensical ramblings, I reviewed some of the lovely castles we have on this fair isle that we call the US of K. Well in this next instalment, we’ll be looking at a different … Continue reading Doctuar’s Bridge Review
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! Apologies for last week, I was too deep in research to start a thread. We will have an open discussion this week, so feel free to discuss any and all history-related topics. Today is … Continue reading The Fall of the Weekly History Thread
Part two in a series on McCarthyism and the Red Scare; part one here. Ironically, the House Committee on Un-American Activities owed its existence to a congressman who spent years on the Soviet payroll. Samuel Dickstein, known to the NKVD … Continue reading How We Got Here: The Passion of Whittaker Chambers
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! Sadly, real-world events inspired this week’s topic: Lost historical treasures. Over the millennia places of incalculable worth to history have been lost to the sands of time, whether through deliberate destruction, carelessness or natural … Continue reading The Lost History Thread
In August 1945, a nondescript thirty-seven year old woman entered the FBI office in New Haven, Connecticut. It was, or should have been, a momentous occasion. The Second World War was finally ending, with Germany obliterated and occupied and Imperial … Continue reading How We Got Here: Elizabeth Bentley, Queen of the Red Scare
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! It’s the anniversary of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, the Nazi invasion of Denmark and Norway, and a variety of other historical events. I will declare this another open thread so feel free to discuss … Continue reading The History Thread Surrenders
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! Discussion topic for this week: how much time do you invest in history? Do you work in a history-related field, or study it in school? Is it just a minor hobby or a lifelong … Continue reading The One-Eyed History Thread
In November 1919 the Saturday Evening Post published a short story entitled “Rose Alvaro, Entrante.” It depicts a shy, unsatisfied store clerk named Mayme who desires a drastic life change. “I was sick of myself,” Mayme tells a friend. “I wanted … Continue reading Things That Are Not: Pearl Curran and the Real Ghost
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! Today’s picture: It’s Independence Day in Bangladesh, commemorating the beginning of their bloody struggle for freedom from Pakistan. When India and Pakistan were partitioned by the British, the latter was originally divided into West … Continue reading The Independent History Thread
One of history’s most unbelievable anecdotes involves the “Battle of Karansebes.” It’s a staggering, unbelievable tale cited as the epitome of military incompetence, with an Austrian army massacring itself through panic and drunken misunderstanding. Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that this … Continue reading Things That Are Not: The Army That Killed Itself
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! Today’s picture: On March 19, 1853 forces of the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace seized the city of Nanjing, China and established it as the capital of their Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Their leader, Hong Xiuquan, … Continue reading The Heavenly History Thread
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a good story outruns evidence, plausibility and fact. For two hundred years, readers have thrilled to the dance of the Barbados coffins, a classic ghost story so often repeated that it’s familiar even … Continue reading Things That Are Not: The Case of the Dancing Coffins
Hi folks. As you know, I live in the UK and if there’s one thing we have a lot of here, it’s castles. Perhaps too many! Whether you’re new to the castle viewing business or a veteran of admiring hardened … Continue reading Doctuar’s UK Castle Review
There’s something intrinsically horrifying about man-eating animals. Being bitten a venomous snake or mauled by an angry bear isn’t enough; the idea that humans, Earth’s dominant species, could be laid low by lesser animals, devoured like some mindless fish or … Continue reading Things That Are Not: The Horrors of Ramree Island
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! Our subject this week will be explorers, exploration and their impact. I finally read Charles C. Mann’s 1493 after much prodding from this site’s users, and it seems like a good springboard to discuss … Continue reading The History Thread Explores (and Plots a Coup)!
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! I’ll leave the thread without a discussion question this week, discuss whatever you like. Today’s picture: on February 19, 1807 Aaron Burr, the former Vice President of the United States, was arrested on charges … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread Stands Accused of Plotting to Create an Empire or Something
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! Not going to select a subject this week, but today is the 210th birthday of both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, two of the 19th Century’s most consequential figures. Continue reading The Weekly History Thread of Discovery
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