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Category: European History

Detail of map of Rome showing Mussolini's obelisk

Out and About in a Provincial Empire of Fascism

Posted by: Mike Klein

It is only natural that Rome, by reputation being the “Eternal City,” has evolved over its roughly twenty-seven-hundred-year existence. Even the briefest visitor would be hard-pressed to overlook the glut of imperial detritus, some ancient, most merely old, and some modern. All the relics from the latest phase seemingly appertain to the ill-fated regime of …

1881 topographic map of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, and its environs.

Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Posted by: Mike Klein

Evening settled over the Bohemian community of Lidice on June 9, 1942, probably as it had for centuries, that is, without incident. So insignificant was the village, at least from our point of view, that one could hardly distinguish it from hundreds of others in its general vicinity, if the large-scale map from the late …

[The road, near Passanaur, Groussie, (i.e., Georgia), Russia, taken between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900].   Detroit Publishing Company Archives, Prints and Photographs Division

A Unique View of the Georgian Military Road

Posted by: Mike Klein

Few journeys offer the prospect of so pleasant a destination or more luxurious accommodations than the Stairway to Heaven. Those of us not lucky enough to secure a ticket on that ride will have to settle for more mundane adventures, perhaps something with less delicate transportation facilities and sparser lodgings. With meagre options at hand …

These ten maps on a single sheet, published in 1918 by the Italian-American News Bureau, call attention to the significance of the port of Fiume to many Italians, besides the hero of our story.  Geography and Map Division.  Italy – Fiume – 1918 – Italian American New Bureau

A Fascist Dystopia with Style on the Adriatic

Posted by: Mike Klein

The Croatian seaport of Rijeka commands a stunning view of Kvarner Bay (Golfo del Carnaro), nestled in an arm of the northern Adriatic between the Istrian Peninsula and the Croatian littoral.  Over the centuries its outstanding deep water port has attracted Celts, Greeks, Romans, Franks, Goths, Venetians, Byzantines, Hapsburgs, and Italians, most of whom have contested …

This map indicates the location of ships sunk by U-boat activity in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the North Sea, specifically within those areas open to unrestricted warfare.  The total was roughly 7,500 vessels.

Risky Business

Posted by: Mike Klein

During World War I, the most hazardous place to be, relatively speaking, was not on the battlefield, but inside a German U-boat. Throughout the war, Germany deployed 375 Unterseebooten, i.e. U-boats or submarines; 202 were lost in action, or about fifty-four percent. Similarly, of the 17,000 sailors who served in them, about 5,100 were lost …