Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party and Führer of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945, is widely viewed as one of the most evil men in history. Driven by rabid anti-Semitism and a belief in the inherent superiority of the Aryan race, Hitler was directly responsible for the outbreak of the Second World War and masterminded the Holocaust,...
Read more
-
-
Albert Einstein was a theoretical physicist who is now famous across the world as one of the greatest scientists of all time. Known in particular for his development of the theories of general relativity and special relativity, Einstein completely shattered previously held conceptions about the universe and was also renowned for his committed political stances. In just 50 minutes, you...
Read more -
Learn about the ideas of Karl Marx in just 50 minutes with this practical and concise book. Marx was a German economist and socialist revolutionary who had a significant influence on political thought, and particularly on Communism. His work includes a broad range of different political ideas, including the distribution of wealth and man's relationship with his environment, and gave rise to the...
Read more -
The Battle of the Marne was one of the earliest battles in the First World War, and ended in a decisive victory for the Allies on the Western Front. Prior to this battle, German troops had been advancing relentlessly across Western Europe, sweeping through France and Belgium in spite of the latter's neutrality. This all changed with the counter-attack by British and...
Read more -
The Battle of Verdun was one of the most significant engagements of the First World War, and is widely recognized as one of the most brutal and costly battles in history. Like many of the battles in the four-year war of attrition, it was fought largely through trench warfare, with devastating human and material losses. Indeed, many historians now agree that...
Read more -
The European Union is both one of the most influential and one of the most polarizing supranational bodies in the world. With its own monetary union, the Eurozone, and key rights including free movement throughout the 28 member states for EU citizens, its supporters see it as the most effective means of fostering international cooperation on the continent, while its...
Read more -
The fall of the Berlin Wall put an end to almost 30 years of physical and ideological separation between the two halves of the German capital. Constructed at the height of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall symbolized the hostility between the capitalist powers in the West and the Communist powers in the East. Its fall saw people flood across...
Read more -
The Nuremberg trials were the first international military tribunal in history and aimed to make key figures in the Third Reich answer for their crimes. They took legal action against 24 Nazi leaders, including Herman Göring, and 8 different organizations on charges of conspiracy, war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity. In just 50 minutes, you will find out how these trials...
Read more -
The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, followed the end of the First World War and imposed harsh terms on Germany, which had been defeated by the Allies and was judged responsible for the bloody four-year conflict. The Allied leaders Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau and Vittorio Orlando drew up the treaty with no input from the vanquished party and struggled to...
Read more -
World War I, which lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918, was one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history, and led to massive upheaval in international politics: new states were established and several empires fell. This book explores the beginnings of the war, including the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and the influence of fear on the sudden outbreak of fighting. In just...
Read more -
The final years of the First World War were a very uncertain time; it seemed that victory could go either way. The French and British had been beaten back at the Second Battle of the Aisne and at Flanders Fields, the Italians had been defeated at the Battle of Caporetto, and Russia had just signed a peace treaty with Germany. However, Germany's...
Read more -
In the winter of 1915, Europe was in a stalemate. There was a general sense of surprise that World War I was still raging - everyone had expected the fighting to be over quickly. However, the war had expanded and taken on a scale beyond all expectations, having already caused around a million casualties. As time went on, there was...
Read more