AskHistorians

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Could you compare/contrast the living conditions between the "Auschwitz 1" camp and "Auschwitz 2-Birkenau" camp? Today there was a TIL about Witold Pilecki surviving & escaping Auschwitz, and I'm worried I may have spread misinformation by asserting that he couldn't have done that from Birkenau.	27
Was there really a rivalry between Patton and Montgomery like the way it was described in the movie Patton? Or was that put in the movie to create conflict?	25
How was Helen Keller's English so good? Did she actually somehow develop a strong vocabulary and sense of style? Or did she have a ghostwriter who rewrote her remarks?	24
When is the last time that a country extracted war indemnity from the country it defeated? Has this practice come to lose its legitimacy?	22
Where can I learn more about the concept of "sealed train cars" for Germans passing through the Polish Corridor after WWI? (i.e, the psychological significance to Germans -- was it perceived as stigmatizing, or what?)	22
Why was the Nazi nuclear program so much less successful than that of the allies? Is there anything they could have done differently to greatly increase their chances of producing a bomb?	21
If I lived in the USSR during the purges, were there any choices or steps that I could take to guarantee my survival, and to what extent could this not require moral compromises like denouncing innocent neighbors?	19
Which books by Churchill are his best (I.e. which should I read)? I mean mainly in terms of his literary style, but of course also in terms of the quality of his historical work.	17
As an American, I was taught many examples where we stood up & the Soviets backed down (Cuba, Berlin, Afghanistan) but I can't think of any significant examples the other way around (West backing down from the Soviets). Are there any??	16
I recall hearing some examples of soldiers riding bicycles to gain territory quickly (e.g. Japanese towards Singapore) -- are there any instances where the use of bicycles is considered to be the decisive factor in the outcome of the battle?	14

« < > »