PN1501 On the night of May 10, 1941, Rudolf Hess, the Deputy Führer of Nazi Germany, climbed alone into a Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter plane and flew to Scotland on an unauthorized mission to negotiate peace with Britain. He parachuted near Eaglesham, was captured within hours, and would never be a free man again. His wife, … Read more
Homicide rates in the American West during the 19th century rivaled the bloodshed of the Civil War and Reconstruction era in the South, according to historical statistics. In Dodge City, Kansas, from 1876 to 1885, an adult had a one in 61 chance of dying violently. San Francisco residents faced a one in 203 likelihood … Read more
Jesse James rests beneath a modest grave in Missouri, yet few names from the American frontier cast as long a shadow as his. Visitors expecting a grand monument are often surprised by the simplicity of the burial site. Beneath that stone lies the man whose robberies, escapes, and violent reputation transformed him into one of … Read more
When Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, it marked a turning point that would destroy democracy and establish a Nazi dictatorship. Guided by racist and authoritarian ideas, the Nazis dismantled democratic institutions, suppressed political opposition, and sought to unite society under one leader. As the regime consolidated power, Germany was … Read more
Eva Braun died alongside Adolf Hitler in a Berlin bunker in April 1945, marrying him in their final hours before taking her own life. Her name has become forever linked with the darkest chapter of human history. Yet far less attention has been paid to those who shared her bloodline. What became of Eva Braun's … Read more
Just after 8:00 in the morning on September 27, 1864, a train pulled into the depot at Centralia, Missouri. The town held maybe 500 people. The platform was dusty, and the air smelled like goldenrod and late summer heat. On board were 23 Union soldiers, mostly boys from the 100th Missouri militia, heading home on … Read more
When Henry VIII came to the throne in 1509, he was a symbol of strength and power. He was tall, handsome and athletic, and he excelled in physical feats. By the time he approached death in January 1547, he was a shadow of his former self. His waist measured 52 inches and his chest around … Read more
In the final months of World War II, Adolf Hitler turned against the men who had once led his armies. His distrust of the German High Command became total, and even his most decorated officers were dismissed, accused, or condemned as the Reich collapsed. After the capitulation in May 1945, Germany's generals faced an uncertain … Read more
In December 1944, during the frozen misery of the Battle of the Bulge, soldiers of General George S. Patton Jr.'s Third Army found a wounded German SS officer slumped against a shattered oak tree. He was bleeding into the snow, but it was not his wounds that stopped them. Around his neck hung a necklace … Read more
The concentration camp system of the Second World War was run by SS commandants who imposed reigns of terror, brutality, and mass killing. Some camps were so large that different commandants ran specific parts of the site. Yet many of these men were married, and their wives sometimes lived with them just a short distance … Read more