Wilhelm Ruppert was born on February 2, 1905, in Frankental, then part of the German Empire. He was married, had one child, and worked as an electrical engineer. His path to becoming a perpetrator of Nazi atrocities began amid the economic collapse of the Great Depression, which started in 1929. Widespread unemployment, poverty, and rising … Read more
In April 1945, an American armored column rolled slowly down the cobblestone streets of a small German town. The war in Europe was in its final weeks. From almost every window, white bedsheets hung limply in the spring breeze, the universal symbol of surrender. The local mayor had already walked out to meet the Americans … Read more
A single glass plate negative, buried for more than a century among yellowed newspapers and forgotten estate-sale boxes, has led historians to uncover a clandestine documentation network that helped African-American families in post-Reconstruction New York defend their property, identities, and legal standing against a system engineered to erase them. The discovery began when Dr. James … Read more
A sealed order from General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s headquarters touched off an open revolt inside an American-run German prisoner of war camp when dozens of captured soldiers tore the directive from the notice board, refused roll call, and barricaded themselves behind benches, forcing the commandant to fire off an urgent report up the chain of … Read more
A routine restoration project led a Boston photograph conservator to uncover a century-old act of quiet courage hidden in a Victorian wedding portrait. Morgan, who runs a restoration studio that smells of old paper and chemical solutions, purchased the 1889 photograph for $30 at a South End estate auction three days before the discovery. The … Read more
When the heavy wooden doors of an American command post swung open, a high-ranking German SS general stepped inside. His black uniform was immaculate, his leather boots polished to a mirror shine, and the Iron Cross hung proudly around his neck. His country was defeated, his capital lay in ruins, and his army had been … Read more
Reinhard Heydrich was born on March 7, 1904, into an ordinary middle-class family. His father, Richard, was an opera singer and composer. The young Heydrich played the violin and took part in sports such as fencing and swimming. His father was not very political but was staunchly nationalistic, with great reverence for the state and … Read more
Margarete Himmler was the wife of Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS and one of the most feared men in Nazi Germany. While her husband oversaw the concentration camps, controlled the police, and answered only to Adolf Hitler, Margarete remained a bitter and largely forgotten figure at his side. She shared her husband's hatred … Read more
In May 1945, the war in Europe was over. Thousands of German soldiers sat behind barbed wire in American-run camps, waiting to be processed and sent home. Among them were two very different groups. There were regular Wehrmacht soldiers, many of them drafted, who had served because their country demanded it. And there were SS … Read more
Rudolf Hess died on August 17, 1987, in Spandau Prison in Berlin. For 21 years he had been its only inmate. One of the leading figures of the Nazi regime, he had been convicted for his role in the start of World War II. His story remains shrouded in conspiracy. Hess was born on April … Read more