History
-
Bohemian Rhapsody is probably the most unlikely title for a Rock song and yet it became a classic , if not THE classic Rock song for many generations. This musical masterpiece lasted 5 minutes and 55 seconds, another reason why it should not have become a hit. Because prior to that, 3 minutes was the…
-
(Originally posted September 18, 2017) The title is a line from a 1945 letter, from Harold Porter to his mother and father in Michigan, describing the situation at the Dachau concentration camp after liberation. The letters that Pfc. Porter, who served as a medic with the 116th Evacuation Hospital, wrote to his parents are now archived…
-
“Dagen H,” or “H Day,” stands for “Högertrafikomläggningen” in Swedish, meaning “The right-hand traffic diversion.” This term refers to one of the most significant and carefully planned transportation changes in Sweden’s history: the switch from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. On September 3, 1967, Sweden made this monumental change.…
-
This is a very personal blog for me.Not because I was personally involved in it, because I wasn’t, but because it really touched me emotionally. Although I don’t suffer from depression myself, that is really what the song is about,depression and the effects it has especially on teenagers and young adolescents. I first heard the…
-
d Don’t worry I haven’t suddenly turned Italian and although the music in this blog will be in Italian, the text won’t be. The thing is every once in a while I like to deviate from my usually heavier historical subjects to a more light-hearted one. I love Italy, I had the chance to visit…
-
In the Middle Ages, animals who ‘committed crimes’ were subject to the same legal proceedings as humans. Famously, in 1457, seven pigs in Savigny, France were tried for the murder of a five-year-old boy. The proceedings were complete with a defense attorney for the pigs and a judge, who ultimately ruled that because people witnessed…
-
(First published September 2, 2018) The position of Ireland during World War II was a bit of a tricky one. A lot of people actually were pro-German, not so much because they agreed with the German policies but more because they were at war with Britain, and there was still this feeling that Britain’s enemy…
-
It is seldom that 3 random words can send shivers down your spine but the words ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ do. Just three ordinary words used many times in daily life and yet they also mean total horror. The literal translation is Work makes free, I know they are often translated as works set you free,…
-
On the morning of 31 August 1888, a woman’s body was discovered in Buck’s Row, a dark and relatively quiet street in Whitechapel, London. She was lying on the pavement, her clothing disarranged and her throat brutally cut. Within hours, her name was known: Mary Ann Nichols, usually called Polly. She was forty-three years old.…
-
An increasing amount of people say that stories of the Holocaust are no longer relevant and should be left in the past. I don’t subscribe to that point of view, remembering the Holocaust is now more important then it ever has been.In a time where some politicians are making policies based on hate, it is…
You must be logged in to post a comment.