Category Archives: History

Remember that Country?

Posted on 2014-05-10 by Andreas Moser

I wonder if the ferry will split into 7 different boats once it’s in the Adriatic Sea, with the boats fighting each other for a few years before eventually all entering some EU port. (Photographed in Bari, Italy in May 2014. … Continue reading →

Posted in Apulia, History, Italy, Photography, Politics, Travel | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Emigrants are better people

Posted on 2014-05-08 by Andreas Moser

Emigrants are bolder, willing to take on more risk, more active and more appreciative of freedom than those staying behind. General Patton already knew that. From his letter to the Allied forces before they first stepped onto the European continent by landing … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, History, Italy, Military, Sicily, USA, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Easily Confused (35) Perished Cities

Posted on 2014-04-30 by Andreas Moser

Old cities, whose ruins we visit, wondering how erstwhile grand and important cities could cease to exist: Aleppo, Syria: (Diesen Vergleich gibt es auch auf Deutsch.)

Posted in History, Italy, Military, Photography, Politics, Sicily, Syria | Tagged | 2 Comments

Easily confused (34) Holocaust denial

Posted on 2014-04-26 by Andreas Moser

There are people who deny that the Holocaust really happened, and then there is someone who claims that Germany denies the historical facts of the Holocaust. This is rather illogical because – for example – the Holocaust denier depicted above, … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, History, Holocaust, Italy, Politics | Tagged | 4 Comments

Video: Liberation of Italy

Posted on 2014-04-26 by Andreas Moser

I did not catch the actual liberation of Italy from the Nazis and Fascists in World War II on video, admittedly. But yesterday, on 25 April, the 69th anniversary of that event was commemorated. Of course Italy was not liberated in … Continue reading →

Posted in Apulia, Cinema, History, Italy, Military, Music, Travel, Video Blog, World War II | Tagged | 7 Comments

“The Cold War Swap” by Ross Thomas

Posted on 2014-04-22 by Andreas Moser

There is probably no better time than now to read a novel about two NSA employees who have absconded to the Soviet Union and about the US government’s attempts to get them back. Yes, I wrote Soviet Union instead of Russia, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Cold War, Germany, Language | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Film Review: “Argo”

Posted on 2014-04-18 by Andreas Moser

When I was in prison in Iran in 2009, I was hoping for someone like Tony Mendez to burst open the door to my cell and to whisk me to a waiting helicopter. Except that I hadn’t heard of him at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, History, Iran, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Easily Confused (33) Erasmus students

Posted on 2014-04-16 by Andreas Moser

Young Europeans wasting their lives in 1914: Young Europeans wasting their lives in 1944: Young Europeans wasting their lives in 2014: As much as I question what Erasmus students do during their time abroad, in light of the above comparison even I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, History, Life, World War I, World War II | Tagged | 15 Comments

Diplomatic Breakthrough in Crimea

Posted on 2014-04-13 by Andreas Moser

After weeks of failing communication between the great powers and after the world had come dangerously close to World War III Cold War II, international negotiators reached an agreement on Sunday night after a Summit Meeting on Crimea. (Zur deutschen … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold War, History, Politics, Ukraine, World War II | Tagged , | 3 Comments

There are more important things than territorial integrity

Posted on 2014-03-25 by Andreas Moser

Democracy and self-determination are great. But nobody should believe that a referendum hastily pulled out of a hat, with limited choices and without a proper prior public debate about the question posed at the polls is a good example of direct … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Cold War, Estonia, Europe, Germany, History, Human Rights, Latvia, Law, Lithuania, Military, Politics, Russia, Ukraine | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments