“ON JULY 28th 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, beginning the first world war. In the following four years, millions would lose their lives. What else changed? Economies shrank, stagnated and hyperinflated. It took over a decade for the German economy to recover to its size in 1913. Industry was weakened across Europe. As the continent splurged…
On the Hundredth Anniversary of the Start of World War I, Remembering the Part Animals Played
Tucked between two lanes of traffic at Brook Gate, in London’s leafy Hyde Park, two heavily laden mules, cast in bronze, trudge terrified but steadfast across an imaginary battlefield. In front of them, carved into a long wall of white Portland stone, is a frieze of other animals—an elephant, a camel, dogs, carrier pigeons—with an…
The most important battle you’ve probably never heard of
Exactly 800 years ago on Sunday, in a field next to what is now the airport of Lille, a battle was fought which determined the history of England. Today few people in the UK have heard of Bouvines. It has none of the ring of an Agincourt or a Crecy. Probably that is because England…
Canadian propaganda posters from the First World War
As you all know, this year marks the centenary of the beginning of World War I. In the spirit of remembering a profound and transformational time in human history, it is important to examine the role of communication, propaganda and mass media which began to play an ever more important role as the world entered WWI….
Mysteries of medieval graffiti in England’s churches
Medieval graffiti of straw kings, pentagrams, crosses, ships and “demon traps” have been offering a tantalizing glimpse into England’s past. What do the pictures reveal about life in the Middle Ages? A project to record the graffiti, which began in Norfolk, has now been rolled out to other areas and is gradually spreading across England….
The German officer who tried to kill Hitler
Last week marked an ominous legacy of an assassination attempt on Adolf Hilter gone wrong. On 20 July 1944, a 36-year-old German army officer, Col Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, arrived at a heavily guarded complex hidden in a forest in East Prussia. His mission was to kill Adolf Hitler. The Wolfsschanze, or Wolf’s Lair, was…
Images of Castles from Medieval Manuscripts
Sarah Peverley has put together this set of 43 images of medieval castles and walled towns besieged, under attack, being constructed, and in the landscape. You can visit Sarah’s website – SarahPeverley.com – or follow her on Twitter @Sarah_Peverley You can also learn more about medieval castles: Castles as Past Culture: Adaptation and Identity in the Post-Life of…
What Actually Happened on Bastille Day, Anyway?
Today marks the French national holiday of Bastille Day. For those who may not know, Bastille Day commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution with the fall of the fortress of Bastille on July 14, 1789. During the unrest and revolution of 1789, a citizen mob approached the Bastille to demand the weapons stored there and the release…
Fragile States Index
The very structure of a country, even a healthy one, can be challenged by overwhelming events during the course of a year — and the consequences inform not only the legitimacy of the state, but also the experiences of its citizens, often for decades to come. For 10 years now, the Fragile States Index, created…
Canadiana: Putting Canadian history online
The shelves are literally groaning under the weight of cartloads of microfilm at Canadiana, an organization working to create a massive digital library of Canadian history. Established in 1978, the organization was involved in creating the same cartloads of microfilm images of documents from Library and Archives Canada. Since the early 2000s, it has kept pace…
Why the first world war wasn’t really
The world—or, at least, those parts of it that participated in the original events—has recently taken great interest in the first world war. Its almost casual beginning, between June 28th 1914, when the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a Bosnian nationalist and the first days of August, when Germany declared war…
Ikea funds went to Romanian secret police in communist era
Romania’s brutal communist-era secret police received covert six-figure payments from Ikea as part of the Swedish group’s deals with a local furniture manufacturer in the 1980s, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. Recently declassified files at the National College for Studying the Securitate Archives (CNSAS) in Bucharest suggest that the furniture firm agreed to…
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