The 20th century began on January 1, 1901, and ended on December 31, 2000.
4
votes
1answer
53 views
What family or other connection bound Chiang Kaishek and Cai Yuanpei, two ideological opposites?
Politically, Nationalist China's Chiang Kaishek must be considered a "strange bedfellow with Cai Yuanpei. Chiang was a disciplined, narrow-minded conservative of the type one might expect from a ...
4
votes
2answers
132 views
(War Guilt Methodology) Was Germany solely to blame for WWI?
Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles places the blame of the war solely on Germany and her allies. This is the quote:
The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the ...
6
votes
1answer
101 views
Do photos of Wernher von Braun and Neil Armstrong exist? Have they ever met?
A quick google search for the term "Korolev and Gagarin" reveals many photos of the two together - surprisingly, as Korolev's identity was kept strictly secret up to his death.
When searching for ...
3
votes
0answers
33 views
How high was the morale of non-Soviet Warsaw Pact states' armies and governments in the '80s?
Does anyone with any relevant expertise know the general mood of the armies during the time? Is there documentation of any concerns from high ranking Soviet military officers, or of their Warsaw Pact ...
6
votes
0answers
56 views
How true is the statement “Soviet troops got into Berlin riding American trucks, walking in American boots and using American trains”?
In other words, how significant was American lend-lease in helping the Soviet front? Would the Soviets be suffering a lot more had lend-lease not happen, or was it not as significant as people make ...
7
votes
1answer
85 views
What was it like to have type 1 diabetes in the early 20th century?
Someone in my family died in 1924 of type 1 diabetes at the age of 26. What would life have been like for her? Would she have been in the hospital frequently? What was the average life-expectancy for ...
14
votes
7answers
1k views
Why did Britain and France not declare war against the Soviet Union when it invaded Poland in WW2?
At the beginning of WW2, although they were slow in actually attacking Germany, Britain and France did declare war against it after Germany invaded Poland. The reason for this was the treaty where ...
21
votes
5answers
544 views
When did the practice of formally “declaring war” cease and why?
Here's a detailed description of ambassador Neville Henderson being received by the foreign ministry in Berlin in 1939. Perhaps the most famous example.
He came in looking very serious, shook ...
2
votes
2answers
72 views
Where can I find American circus or carnival grounds plans?
I am looking for a circus or carnival floor plan, and even combining several search terms ("grounds" "site" "floor plan" and "carnival" and such) I have not been able to find one. Circus history sites ...
12
votes
5answers
1k views
How did the US/South Vietnam lose the Vietnam war?
South Vietnam was helped by US. Even when the US was gone, they had a 1 million army.
So why did they lose?
Even without US support, South Vietnam had about the same manpower, higher technology, and ...
-2
votes
0answers
106 views
Explain Chiang Kai Sheks' behaviour when eating chocolates? [closed]
What is the explanation for Chiang Kai Sheks' behaviour when eating chocolates?
In two different movies I have seen, the movies showed him taking a bite from chocolates, and then putting them back on ...
7
votes
0answers
135 views
What was the Nature of Resistance in 1938 Czechoslovakia?
I wonder if someone might help me. I'm writing a novel. My protagonist is a dual national (English born, German parents) bio chemist contracted to work for Freiburg University 1938. At the time ...
11
votes
2answers
174 views
What role did Lucky Luciano play in faciliting South Europe invasion?
On the night of July 9, 1943, 160,000 Allied troops landed on the extreme southwestern shore of Sicily. After securing a beachhead, Gen. George Patton's U.S. Seventh Army launched an offensive into ...
3
votes
2answers
141 views
What is Adios Bruce Lee?
A co-worker of mine came in wearing a shirt with this image on it:
This looks like a movie poster, but I'd never heard of that particular Bruce Lee movie, so I tried looking it up. As near as I can ...
3
votes
4answers
755 views
What is the oldest movie theater in the US that has been in continuous use as a movie theater?
It appears from Wikipedia that the oldest theater in continuous use is in Denmark, but since so much of the film industry is dominated by Hollywood, I was wondering what is the oldest movie theater in ...
7
votes
2answers
134 views
Why is Finland represented as a Soviet satellite in this 1947 cartoon?
The cartoon is a British one. I found it at http://lenta.ru/articles/2013/05/28/secretwar/ but without any specific attribution.
8
votes
1answer
72 views
Which Japanese military officers helped Ho Chi Minh?
According to Wikipedia, in 1946 during negotiations between the French and Ho Chi Minh,
One demand by the French was the return to French custody of a number of Japanese military officers (who had ...
17
votes
7answers
1k views
Why wasn't the Republic of Ireland invaded (by either side) in WW2?
Ireland was neutral in WW2, however it was never invaded (by either side). How come? Why wasn't Ireland invaded by the UK to prevent the Germans invading? Why didn't germany invade ireland? It would ...
1
vote
1answer
76 views
Cover Art of “Álbum de la Revolución Cubana”
On the cover of the famous "Álbum de la Revolución Cubana":
Who is the person whose face is painted in the top-right corner? What is his importance?
Is the cover (where we see Fidel Castro actively ...
2
votes
0answers
166 views
Was the Bosnian Crisis the trigger to WWI and not the assassination?
I've read that Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908, much to the dismay of the Serbs. Russia backed this action and was promised to have access to the Straits but were later denied. The ...
7
votes
1answer
119 views
Are submarine launched ballistic missiles still inaccurate?
In the early 1980s documentary First Strike, one of the arguments made for the development of the MX missile program was that in the event of a massive Soviet attack on the land-based missile and ...
12
votes
8answers
2k views
What was the ratio of German to Soviet losses on eastern front during different stages of the war?
I've read somewhere that the ratio of Soviet to German casualties on the eastern front was 1.4 for the whole war. But what about data for different stages of the war? (this ratio wasn't constant after ...
0
votes
1answer
177 views
Was there discrimination against Jewish people at the entrance exams to the most prestigious universities in the USSR?
The most prestigious universities in the USSR discriminated against Jewish applicants. Tanya Khovanova (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA) wrote:
This is a special ...
6
votes
4answers
283 views
Why didn’t Britain use its vast navy to get past trench warfare?
Before the start of World War I there was a large arms race between Britain and Germany and although Britain didn’t come out with the largest army – they had by far the largest navy in the world. This ...
14
votes
2answers
104 views
How popular was Mozart in France before WWII and after it?
Another intriguing statement by Robert Paxton:
I was surprised myself to learn that Mozart had been little played in
France before 1940, and that his prominence since 1945 in the French
...
9
votes
2answers
189 views
Why didn't the Arab states industrialize?
Why didn't the states of the Arabian peninsula industrialize around the time that Europe and East Asia were? Was it simply a lack of accessible natural resources? Why not import coal?
-2
votes
1answer
68 views
Why has the United States not attacked Iran in the past thirty years? [closed]
Why didn't the United States of America even try to attack Iran to change it's Islamic regime through a lightning war like Iraq war in past three decades?
According to my own opinion the Islamic ...
6
votes
4answers
23k views
If Bill Clinton was impeached, why did he finish up his second term
I don't understand how he could have been impeached but did not have to leave office.
2
votes
0answers
41 views
Who was Charles Kingston O'Mahony?
I've read his book The Viceroys of Ireland and am trying to find out more about him. The book was published in 1912 and I can't find any more information about him.
I was able to dig up references to ...
5
votes
1answer
189 views
What is this strange uniform?
Colonel John Tiltman wears a very strange uniform in this picture, dated 1919.
The original webpage where I saw the picture is http://www.colossus-computer.com/colossus1.html.
9
votes
2answers
229 views
Did Hitler make the right decision for Germany when he called off Operation Zitadelle (during the Battle of Kursk)?
On the night of 9/10 July, the Western Allies mounted an amphibious
invasion of Sicily. Three days later, Hitler summoned Günther von
Kluge and Erich von Manstein to his Wolfsschanze ...
3
votes
0answers
53 views
How many firearms were owned by civilian population between 1836 and 1912 in USA?
How many firearms in total were owned by civilian population between 1836 and 1912 in USA (cumulatively, not simultaneously)?
The timeframe is what I would consider "Old West" timeframe, but starting ...
18
votes
1answer
2k views
Did World War II-era bombs actually whistle?
In WWII-era films and newsreels, aerial bombs are often shown making a whistling sound as they fall; starting high pitched, then decreasing as the bomb approaches the Earth (example here, starting at ...
5
votes
1answer
98 views
How big was the percentage of white people in the USA who were not against granting the blacks equal rights?
How big was the percentage of white people in the USA who were not against granting the blacks equal rights at the time when the blacks finally got the equality of rights (which I think was in 1964).
...
26
votes
7answers
2k views
Why did Hitler declare war on the USA?
Since there had not been any offensives launched by either side against the other, why declare war just because Japan had attacked the USA?
8
votes
4answers
302 views
Why did the Germans fall behind the Americans in the development of the atomic bomb after an initial lead?
I actually know certain facts about this matter, but am seeking guidance in interpreting these facts into "theories."
1) Theory 1, Economic: The Americans spent something like $2 billion (in money of ...
0
votes
2answers
91 views
Was the N.E.P. of Russia successful in terms of economics?
The Soviet's New Economic Plan was indeed a successful plan in establishing a comparatively strong postwar economy for the Soviet Union, but there were many imperfections: food prices fluctuated ...
0
votes
1answer
87 views
What aspects of Soviet life were not controlled by Stalin?
Stalinism controlled social life through propaganda, political life through the use of political crime and the politicization of life and the workers life, with proletarianism dominating all aspects ...
5
votes
1answer
78 views
How were dogs used in WW1
I know that dogs were used in WW1. I know that they weren’t vital, but didn’t play a reasonable role in helping the soldiers in the trenches. However, there is one thing that confuses me: How were ...
8
votes
0answers
122 views
What was the situation of homosexuals in the early Soviet Union?
Between 1917 and 1930, homosexuality was decriminalised in the Soviet Union. From the Wikipedia article on LGBT history in Russia:
The Russian Communist Inessa Armand publicly endorsed both ...
4
votes
2answers
77 views
Did the break up of AT & T in 1984 lead to technological innovation?
Are there examples of technologies developed since 1984 that would not have been likely to be developed had the Bell system stayed intact rather than being broken up by the US government?
UPDT: To ...
10
votes
3answers
277 views
Was Antarctica a factor in the Falklands war?
Were Argentina's and the UK's Antarctic territorial claims significant in the Falklands War?
3
votes
2answers
148 views
Why did Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng receive different punishments for their role in the Xi'an Incident?
Having failed to persuade Chiang Kai-shek to abandon war with the communists and instead unite to fight Japan, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng finally opted for force and captured Chiang in the Xi'An ...
19
votes
2answers
285 views
Why did the USSR give Crimea to Ukraine?
In 1954 Soviets transferred Crimea from Russian Soviet Republic to Ukrainian Soviet Republic.
Why is this strange?
The whole act, at least officially, was meant to be "a gift", a token of ...
12
votes
3answers
403 views
Was the Titanic tragedy at least partly avoidable?
Was there any way that Titanic's collision with the iceberg could have been avoided after the iceberg had been spotted? Could the ship have been saved from sinking by the pilot or captain after the ...
1
vote
1answer
71 views
Was it impossible for the Germans to arrange a plane to East Asia for Subhas Bose?
Bose's journey from Germany to Singapore by submarine was a well-remarked incident of World War II history. But what was the need for the Germans or the Italians to use a submarine to transfer a ...
3
votes
1answer
67 views
What exactly was the Philby Plan?
From what I gather it was some sort of idea for an amicable settlement between Jews and Arabs in Palestine and somehow involved Ibn Saud. Weizmann and Churchill apparently supported it but Ibn Saud ...
6
votes
1answer
230 views
Did Erwin König Exist?
Erwin König Was a sniper supposedly killed by Vasily Zaytsev in the Battle of Stalingrad. The diary of Vasily Zaytsev mentions killing Erwin Konig, and there is a sniper scope in Russia, but there is ...
0
votes
2answers
4k views
Did the fights in the Ip Man movie series actually occur in real life?
In a series of movies called Ip Man 1 and 2, based in WW2, a Wing Chun martial arts master called Ip Man fought with a Japanese general and a western boxer named Twister. Did these events actually ...
8
votes
2answers
334 views
Did the Olympics make the Star Spangled Banner the US national anthem?
A long, long time ago, I remember watching a TV miniseries about the first Olympics of the modern era in 1896.
One of the amusing substories I remember involved the USA's National Anthem and the ...
