askhistorians

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In 1892 the US Army chose the Norwegian Krag-Jorgensen as its new service rifle, causing outrage from American companies. By 1907 it was replaced ostensibly over its poor performance in the war with Spain. Was this true or an exaggeration in order to replace the Krag with an American design?	3220
In the Holocaust graphic novel "Maus", the author's father mentions that while in hiding he would ride in the street car reserved for Germans because he believed the Poles would immediately know he was Jewish. Was he just being paranoid or did he have a reason to believe he would stick out?	286
In 1946 the UK agreed to sell Rolls Royce Nene jet engines to the USSR so long as they were not used for military purposes. The Soviets rather quickly started putting them into jet fighter aircraft. Could the UK government really have been that naive or did they have other motives?	192
In the HBO miniseries "John Adams", Louis XVI is portrayed as at first being surprised and then completely amused by the fact that Adams could not speak French. Would the prospect of someone of Adams' social status or political importance not speaking French really be such an oddity?	154
I was recently surprised to learn that the outbreak of the Six-Day War in 1967 caused the Suez Canal to be closed for more than 8 years. How damaging was this closure to the global economy and what did the reopening of the canal consist of?	86
During WWII, the Allies dropped examples of cheap easy to reproduce weapons such as the Sten to resistance networks in occupied Europe. How did these fighters know their homemade copies would work? For example, over 600 SMGs were built in Warsaw. Wouldn't the test firing of weapons raise the alarm?	85
Throughout WWII and it's immediate aftermath, American soldiers, sailors and marines were bringing home thousands of captured enemy weapons as trophies. In the years that followed, how frequently were these weapons used in crimes? Were German lugers and Japanese nambus turning up at crime scenes?	73
In 1946, the UK government agreed to sell Rolls Royce Nene jet engines to the USSR so long as they were not used for military purposes. The Soviets rather quickly started putting them into jet fighter aircraft. Could the British government really have been so naive or did they have other motives?	59
Through much of European History executioners were well compensated yet shunned by their communities. After generations, this is alleged to have created a distinct culture among executioners and their dynasties. If this is true, just how different were executioners from their neighbors?	52
Kaiser Frederick III is frequently portrayed as a liberal reformer in favor of liberal democracy and opposed to militarism. He reigned for just 99 days before he died of throat cancer. How much of his reputation is deserved and were conservatives preparing to stonewall any attempts at reform?	30

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