The Controversial Legacy of Hugo Boss: From Tailor to Nazi Collaborator
Headline: Hugo Boss got rich from Nazi uniforms The history of Hugo Boss has been in the public eye several times over the years. The fact that Volkswagen, Siemens and BMW collaborated with the Nazi regime before and during the Second World War is well known and not surprising. Less…
Gábor Sztehlo and the Good Shepherd: Saving Hungary’s Children from the Holocaust
Although Hungary was an ally of Nazi Germany, Hungarian Jews were largely exempted from mass extermination until the German invasion in March 1944. But when Hitler's army occupied his country, Pastor Gábor Sztehlo was torn from his peaceful pastoral work and given a new mission. It was a mission that…
The Pigeons That Saved Armies: Unsung Heroes of Two World Wars
Nineteenth September 1944. Some 40,000 Allied troops descend behind enemy lines in the largest airborne assault in history. Their mission was to break through the defences and penetrate into Germany. It was the start of a fierce decisive battle, part of the Allies' plan to push the enemy back into…
Gábor Sztehlo and the City of Joy: A Lighthouse Amidst Chaos
Although Hungary was an ally of Nazi Germany, Hungarian Jews were largely exempted from mass extermination until the German invasion in March 1944. But when Hitler's army occupied his country, Pastor Gábor Sztehlo was torn from his peaceful pastoral work and given a new mission. It was a mission that…
Fiat and Fascism: How Industrial Power Shaped Italy’s Tumultuous 20th Century
The outcome of any war is determined by production. The side that produces the most always wins. Since the Industrial Revolution, it is not battles that win wars, but factories. These factories have shaped the modern world. We are all familiar with Volkswagen, Ford, Mitsubishi, but what is less well…
Coco Chanel: Style Icon, Spy, and the Shadows Behind the Glamour
The name Coco Chanel is synonymous with elegance, femininity, timeless style and high fashion. Chanel, who relied on simplicity and comfort in her creations, is considered by some to be the greatest fashion designer who ever lived, and certainly one of the most notorious. Her greatest strength was her ability…
Dr. Aribert Heim: The Butcher of Mauthausen and His Disappearance
Thanks to a network of secret support organisations, many Nazi criminals escaped justice, including the Austrian doctor Dr Aribert Heim, who remained in hiding until his officially unconfirmed death in 1992. For many years, the most wanted Nazi war criminal of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre was considered one of the…
El Cid: The Myth, The Mercenary, The Man Who Would Be King
When Charles Heston and Sophia Loren's epic romantic tale El Cid captivated film fans around the world in 1961, they were treated to the life story of Spain's greatest medieval national hero in a stunning cinematic spectacle. Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known by his Moorish name El Cid, or…
Imam Shamil: The Lion of Dagestan and the Struggle for the Caucasus
Imam Shamil unites the Caucasus The first Muslim guerrilla leader, the unifier of the Caucasian tribes, the propagator of Islam, and at the same time a bloodthirsty, daring and incredibly skilful mountain warrior and horseman, Shamil Shamil earned the title of the Lion of Dagestan on the international stage in…
