A schoolteacher who once ran a wholesale business in the Philippine capital has been identified as one of the most lethal guerrilla commanders of the Pacific War, a woman who American intelligence officers say personally killed more than 200 Japanese soldiers with a blade she sharpened herself and who led 110 local fighters in 110 … Read more
The persecution of the Jews during World War II stands as one of the darkest chapters in human history. Ghettos, concentration camps, and a systematic genocide left an indelible mark on the world. Yet a crucial question remains: why did Hitler hate the Jews so deeply, and how did that hatred spread so quickly and … Read more
On the night of July 3, 1956, Officer Patrick "Patty" O'Brien was six weeks into his first assignment at Harlem's 28th Precinct. His captain had told him it was a test: survive Harlem, and you can survive anywhere. But O'Brien was not surviving. For thirty years, the NYPD had treated Harlem as hostile ground, and … Read more
Frank Costello earned the nickname "the prime minister of the underworld" because of his political connections and his preference for peace over war within the Mafia. He is considered one of the most respected and influential mobsters in mafia history. He had a slew of politicians under his thumb, using them to benefit the entire … Read more
Am Nachmittag des 12. Juli 1943 lag Feldwebel Ernst Richter in einem flachen Graben östlich von Prorovka. Die Temperatur in der offenen Steppe hatte bereits 38 Grad erreicht. Sein Uniformhemd klebte am Rücken, der Mund war staubtrocken. Vor ihm erstreckte sich eine scheinbar endlose Weite aus verbranntem Gras und vereinzelten Baumgruppen. Seit vier Tagen war … Read more
TOKYO — The man who boasted of beheading more than 300 Chinese prisoners and civilians with his beloved sword during the rape of Nanjing has been executed by firing squad, ending one of the most notorious chapters of Japanese wartime atrocity and delivering a measure of justice nearly three years after the guns fell silent … Read more
On November 23, 1962, at 2:45 p.m., a Cadillac exploded on the North Side of Youngstown, Ohio. The blast lifted the car three feet off the ground and sent its hood flying fifty feet into the air. Windows shattered for two blocks. Inside the car were three people: Charles "Cadillac Charlie" Cavalaro Sr., 60, and … Read more
On a Monday afternoon in February 1952, James Patterson walked into the Lenox Lounge carrying three years of preparation and one carefully constructed lie. He was 28 years old, six feet tall, an African American man, and a special agent in the FBI's organized crime division. For the previous eight months, he had studied Bumpy … Read more
In the spring of 1945, as Allied forces pushed deeper into Germany in the final weeks of World War II, Gen. George S. Patton came upon a scene in a small German town whose name most people have never heard. His command vehicle rounded a corner, and there it was: children, small children, pulling bodies … Read more
Im Juli 1943 hing der Geruch von verbranntem Öl und heißem Metall schwer in der Luft eines Panzerhangars an der Ostfront. Oberfeldwebel Kurt Steinbach kniete vor dem beschädigten Antriebsrad eines Panzer V Panther vom Typ Ausführung D mit der Fahrgestellnummer 200134. Er starrte auf einen Riss in der Gummibandage. Um ihn herum dröhnten die Motoren … Read more