Category Archives: History
One Hundred Years Ago, Sweden almost gave up on Booze – August 1922: Prohibition Referendum
Zur deutschen Fassung. Before I went to Sweden last summer, I received a lot of well-meaning advice from friends in Germany who had already been to Scandinavia: “Take enough beer with you, it’s prohibitively expensive in Sweden!” “As an EU … Continue reading
Journey to the Center of Europe – Kruhlyi, Ukraine
Zur deutschen Fassung. For the project “Journey to the Center of Europe”, I am going to visit all the places that have ever laid claim to being the geographical center of Europe or the European Union. And write about them. … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, two young Men left Bavaria for the United States – June 1922: the Vogl Brothers
Zur deutschen Fassung. When thinking about migration, we distinguish between push- and pull-factors when we try to get to the bottom of migrants’ and refugees’ reasons to move/flee. The former refer to incentives to leave a place and move away. … Continue reading
Battlefield Tourism – Then and Now
Zur deutschen Fassung. The following is the English translation of a presentation I gave during a field trip with my university to Ypres. Because it’s a German university, there is a focus on German (language) sources and on the German … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, Germany and Russia laid the Foundation for World War II – April 1922: Rapallo
Zur deutschen Fassung. Did you ever notice that the term “discovery” is only used when a white guy first steps onto some territory, where non-white folks have been living for a long time? And that fake explorer fame is even … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, the Habsburg Empire was finished for good – April 1922: Emperor Karl I
Zur deutschen Fassung. In April 1922, so much stuff happened that, as earth-shattering as each of the events may have been, I can only devote a cursory glance to some of them. Like the death of his beloved majesty, Emperor … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, they Showed a Movie that Should Never Have Been Made – March 1922: Nosferatu
Zur deutschen Fassung. When I started this series, I promised that we wouldn’t deal with war, revolution and upheaval every month, but sometimes also explore the lighter things in life. Cats and culture, for example. That’s why we are heading … Continue reading
Attack on Odessa
I am currently working on an article about the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, where I was staying in January 2020, until the Corona pandemic called me back home. Because the article will be as comprehensive as you already fear, … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, Sweden set out to Create a New Man – January 1922: Eugenics
Zur deutschen Fassung. So, what are your resolutions for the new year? Drink less, eat more, go to bed earlier, forward this blog to some friends? These are all good resolutions, for sure, but they’re a bit modest. Look at … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, the Digging began – December 1921: Rhine-Main-Danube Canal
Zur deutschen Fassung. The whole world is making fun of Germany, because it took us over 20 years to build a new airport for Berlin. There is a podcast about this, aptly named “How to fuck up an Airport“. Malicious … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 