During the 1990s, the world witnessed the worst conflict since the end of World War II. The violence, bloodshed and ethnic cleansing within the Former Yugoslavia was unthinkable. The conflict began after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence on February 29, 1992. As a result, a group of Bosnian Serbs rebelled and created their own… Read More "Negotiating the Dayton Peace Accords"
Secretary Ron Brown’s Plane Crashes in Croatia
On April 3rd, 1996, just before the Easter holiday, Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown was killed in a plane crash in Croatia. He was 54 years old. He was on a trip to Dubrovnik, flying from Zagreb to meet with President Franjo Tuđman on an official trade mission. Brown had offered to make the trip… Read More "Secretary Ron Brown’s Plane Crashes in Croatia"
A Soldier Uncovers the Horrors of the Nazis’ Hadamar Camp
As a soldier in the U.S. Army towards the end of World War II, George Jaeger, who was part of V Corps’s four-man war crimes team, happened upon the town of Hadamar, located between Frankfurt am Main and Cologne. Hadamar has since become notorious as the site of a top-secret extermination site involved in the sterilization… Read More "A Soldier Uncovers the Horrors of the Nazis’ Hadamar Camp"
Life in Ceausescu’s Romania
Romania in the 1970s was a study in contrasts. Traditionally a rich agricultural breadbasket, its backward economy could not provide enough food for its inhabitants. A despotic, communist dictatorship, it still enjoyed a close relationship with the United States, as Secretary of State Henry Kissinger used Nicolae Ceausescu, who ruled Romania from 1967 to 1989,… Read More "Life in Ceausescu’s Romania"
The Birth of NATO
After the devastation of World War II and the ensuing Cold War with the Soviet Union, nations across the globe sought out alliances to protect themselves and to avoid a possible World War III. The United Nations was created, as were various regional alliances, such as the Rio Treaty for the Western Hemisphere. Europe’s growing… Read More "The Birth of NATO"
Halt! We want to Surrender!–Europe, 1945
May 1945 — the end of World War II. Time to drink a beer, have fun, and enjoy the countryside. But hold on — what’s that on the horizon? A Nazi Panzer division? George Jaeger was born in Vienna, emigrated to the U.S. and became an interpreter for the U.S. Army. He later served as… Read More "Halt! We want to Surrender!–Europe, 1945"
Escape from the Nazis via the Kindertransport
Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, November 9-10, 1938 — SA forces vandalize Jewish-owned stores and synagogues. Five days later, a delegation of British Jewish and Quaker leaders appeal in person to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and ask that the British government permit the temporary admission of unaccompanied Jewish children. The British Parliament acted swiftly and ultimately… Read More "Escape from the Nazis via the Kindertransport"
KAL 007: A Targeted Assassination?
On September 1, 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 en route on its second leg from Anchorage, Alaska to Seoul, South Korea was shot down by a Soviet interceptor aircraft into the Sea of Japan when it deviated from its intended route into Soviet territory. The total death toll of 269 passengers included the U.S.… Read More "KAL 007: A Targeted Assassination?"
Leaving with Their Heads Held High – The U.S. Expulsion from Eritrea, 1977
Throughout its history, there have been numerous occasions where the United States has been forced to shut down its embassies quickly, usually because of war or because the U.S. had fallen into disfavor with the host government. Eritrea in 1977 was one of those instances. However, with the fall of Saigon and the panicked evacuation from… Read More "Leaving with Their Heads Held High – The U.S. Expulsion from Eritrea, 1977"
Yeltsin Under Siege — The October 1993 Constitutional Crisis
For Russians, it was yet another dramatic confrontation which played out in the streets of Moscow, one which marked the growing frustration many people had with their elected President. The constitutional crisis of 1993 was a political stand-off between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the Russian Parliament that was resolved by military force. The relations… Read More "Yeltsin Under Siege — The October 1993 Constitutional Crisis"