world war 2

Adolf Hitler Had This Photo Of Himself Banned

Even génocidaires have standards, apparently. In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler had publication of this photo (and others like it) banned because he considered it “beneath one’s dignity.” How did these photos surface, then? In 1945, an Allied soldier named Alf Robinson found a tattered, coverless book in a bomb-blasted house...

By Savannah Cox • Aug 24, 2015

Adolf Hitler Had This Photo Of Himself Banned

Even génocidaires have standards, apparently. In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler had publication of this photo (and others like it) banned because he considered it “beneath one’s dignity.” How did these photos surface, then? In 1945, an Allied soldier named Alf Robinson found a tattered, coverless book in a bomb-blasted house...

By Savannah Cox • August 24, 2015

How Muzak Shaped A Conformist America

While Muzak's background music was easy to ignore, the company's surprising story says a lot about postwar America.

By John Kuroski • Aug 18, 2015

How Muzak Shaped A Conformist America

While Muzak's background music was easy to ignore, the company's surprising story says a lot about postwar America.

By John Kuroski • August 18, 2015

What We Love This Week, Volume CXXXI

Before Pluto: The Other Awe-Inspiring New Horizons Photos While you’ve definitely seen the new Pluto photos and you probably know that those photos are the fruit of the New Horizons’ nearly ten-year journey, you may not realize all that happened along the way. It zipped past our moon (within nine...

By John Kuroski • Jul 17, 2015

What We Love This Week, Volume CXXXI

Before Pluto: The Other Awe-Inspiring New Horizons Photos While you’ve definitely seen the new Pluto photos and you probably know that those photos are the fruit of the New Horizons’ nearly ten-year journey, you may not realize all that happened along the way. It zipped past our moon (within nine...

By John Kuroski • July 17, 2015

Anne Frank Would Have Been 86 This Month. Celebrate Her Life With These Photos.

Anne Frank's life ended at a concentration camp in March 1945, just a few weeks short of its liberation. Look back on her life and legacy through photos.

By Erin Kelly • Jun 20, 2015

Anne Frank Would Have Been 86 This Month. Celebrate Her Life With These Photos.

Anne Frank's life ended at a concentration camp in March 1945, just a few weeks short of its liberation. Look back on her life and legacy through photos.

By Erin Kelly • June 20, 2015

Born In Auschwitz: How Stanislawa Leszczyńska Delivered 3,000 Babies During The Holocaust

We rightly associate concentration camps with death, but Stanislawa Leszczyńska brought life into Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

By Abby Norman • Apr 7, 2015

Born In Auschwitz: How Stanislawa Leszczyńska Delivered 3,000 Babies During The Holocaust

We rightly associate concentration camps with death, but Stanislawa Leszczyńska brought life into Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

By Abby Norman • April 7, 2015

Paris In The 1940s: A Decade Of Devastation And Rebirth

As World War II raged throughout Europe, the “City of Light” transformed into a city of darkness. While the Germans declined to physically destroy the city upon its 1940 occupation, their presence greatly tested the Parisian psyche. Over two million Parisians fled as the Germans arrived, but those who remained...

By Kiri Picone • Apr 6, 2015

Paris In The 1940s: A Decade Of Devastation And Rebirth

As World War II raged throughout Europe, the “City of Light” transformed into a city of darkness. While the Germans declined to physically destroy the city upon its 1940 occupation, their presence greatly tested the Parisian psyche. Over two million Parisians fled as the Germans arrived, but those who remained...

By Kiri Picone • April 6, 2015

The Women Who Powered World War 2, All In Color

We recognize them from ‘Rosie the Riveter’ recruitment posters, but the female workforce of World War II provided us with much more than colorful kitsch. More than six million women joined the workforce during the war, and by 1942, the estimated proportion of jobs deemed acceptable for women shot up...

By Erin Kelly • Apr 5, 2015

The Women Who Powered World War 2, All In Color

We recognize them from ‘Rosie the Riveter’ recruitment posters, but the female workforce of World War II provided us with much more than colorful kitsch. More than six million women joined the workforce during the war, and by 1942, the estimated proportion of jobs deemed acceptable for women shot up...

By Erin Kelly • April 5, 2015

24 Photos Of Life Inside Ravensbrück, The Nazis’ Only All-Female Concentration Camp

During the Holocaust, 130,000 female prisoners pass through the gates of Ravensbrück — most of whom never walked back out.

By John Kuroski • Jan 26, 2015

24 Photos Of Life Inside Ravensbrück, The Nazis’ Only All-Female Concentration Camp

During the Holocaust, 130,000 female prisoners pass through the gates of Ravensbrück — most of whom never walked back out.

By John Kuroski • January 26, 2015

What Jewish Life Looked Like In Europe Before The Holocaust

Exploring photographer Roman Vishniac’s archives of Jewish life before the Holocaust is to contemplate just how quickly politics and propaganda can transform—or eviscerate—an entire culture. In 1935, Vishniac began to photo-document impoverished Jewish communities in order to secure aid for them through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. There are...

By Erin Kelly • Jan 17, 2015

What Jewish Life Looked Like In Europe Before The Holocaust

Exploring photographer Roman Vishniac’s archives of Jewish life before the Holocaust is to contemplate just how quickly politics and propaganda can transform—or eviscerate—an entire culture. In 1935, Vishniac began to photo-document impoverished Jewish communities in order to secure aid for them through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. There are...

By Erin Kelly • January 17, 2015

4 Of The Most Evil Science Experiments Ever Performed

At their best, scientists represent the best in humanity: intelligence, curiosity, and skeptical rigor. This allows scientists to do things that ordinary people wouldn’t be allowed to get away with. If a random person burst into your house with a bubbling test tube and shouted “Quick! Drink this!” you’d call...

By Richard Stockton • Aug 20, 2014

4 Of The Most Evil Science Experiments Ever Performed

At their best, scientists represent the best in humanity: intelligence, curiosity, and skeptical rigor. This allows scientists to do things that ordinary people wouldn’t be allowed to get away with. If a random person burst into your house with a bubbling test tube and shouted “Quick! Drink this!” you’d call...

By Richard Stockton • August 20, 2014