Brief analysis of interesting events in German history
Fighting Terrorists is nothing new...just look at this 1919 German postwar poster...We won't tolerate anarchy! We'll protect women and children. The image shows a veteran soldier standing in front of his wife and children...in the lower left-hand corner is a bloody hand holding a bomb. It puts into perspective the revolutionary chaos that existed in… Continue reading This 1919 poster proves that fighting terrorists and anarchy is nothing new
In March 1193, Richard the Lionheart was captured on his way back from the Third Crusade. The English King was arrested by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and soon imprisoned by Kaiser Heinrich VI at Trifels Castle in the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany. The arrest was revenge for Richard’s support of a massive conspiracy against the German… Continue reading German Kaiser Heinrich VI grants a pardon to ransomed King Richard the Lionheart of England
Prussia circa 1250, Teutonic Knights Charge during winter, their favorite season in the Northern Crusades. Much of German history is not well known ...for example, there were successful Crusades conducted in northern Europe for hundreds of years and the largest castle ever built in Europe was a German crusader castle, the Marienburg. There once existed… Continue reading There once existed a German state, governed by Warrior Monks, that ruled over all the lands along the Baltic Sea for 300 years
"Ostpreussen...Reisewege Nach Cranz an die Ostsee"....Vintage travel advertising for routes to the popular German Baltic Sea resort at Cranz. This 1930's advertising poster shows the various routes to the seaside resort at Cranz... by train, car, sea or by air... with emphasis on routes from Berlin and Breslau. Of particular interest to historians is how… Continue reading Travel routes to the popular German seaside resort at Cranz in East Prussia in 1930
A great many historical leaders came from a small region in southwestern Germany. They include the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the Hapsburg dynasty, the Hohenzollern dynasty, and the Welf dynasty. All of these important families originated in Swabia, or Schwaben, a region in Germany that was located in what is now part of the states of Baden-Württemberg and part of Bavaria. Swabia was the home of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, which included Germany’s most celebrated medieval… Continue reading The Hohenstaufen, Hohenzollern, Hapsburg and Welf dynasties originated in the German region of Swabia
In the 1300’s, the northern German city of Lübeck was the "Queen of the Hanseatic League", by far the largest and most powerful member of this medieval trade organization, with offices in many countries. Medieval Lübeck Trade routes and office locations of the German Hansa League Lübeck was the "Queen of the Hanseatic League" As… Continue reading Lübeck’s German offices in London were the largest medieval trading complex in Britain, from 1282 until 1853
Bismarck was the leading politician who created a new united German nation in 1871...a nation that became an economic powerhouse with a benevolent social policy. For example, he created safety nets such as the Sickness Insurance Law of 1883, the Accident Insurance Law of 1884, and the Old Age and Disability Insurance Law of 1889.… Continue reading Quality of life in the new German Empire compared favorably to America
WWI ended slightly over one hundred years ago, but the repercussions of this conflict were long lasting and immense. One little known example is the German government's final WWI reparations payment that was made in October, 2010. Germany has always felt a deep sense of injustice regarding the betrayal of the 1918 Armistice terms which… Continue reading Germany was winning WWI until summer 1918
Teutonic Knights have such a compelling history...their story has all the makings of a great mini-series. In its first 200 years, the Teutonic Order was invincible. Its heavy cavalry of ordained Catholic monks, clad in white surcoats with black crosses, numbered some 3000 men. They were the best in Europe and formed the core of… Continue reading Teutonic Knights and their descendants, the Baltic Germans, prospered for 700 years in north eastern Europe.
In this famous image by Professor Wilhelm Camphausen, Bismarck is conversing with Napoleon III after the French Emperor was captured at the Battle of Sedan on September 2, 1870. Two months earlier, in July 1870, on the tenuous pretext of opposing a Hohenzollern appointment to the throne of Spain, the French Empire declared war on… Continue reading The quick German victory over France stunned neutral observers in 1870
For People Proud of their German Heritage 