December 7, 1941 will forever be one of the most memorable dates in American history. The attack on Pearl Harbor, a preemptive…
József Mindszenty: The Cardinal who Lived in Embassy Budapest
József Mindszenty was a Roman Catholic cardinal ordained shortly after World War II who staunchly resisted the fascist and later…
The Fall of the Berlin Wall — November 9, 1989
At the end of World War II, Germany was partitioned into four separate areas, each controlled by the four allied…
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956
The early 1950s witnessed a thaw in the Communist monolith. Stalin’s death in 1953 led to Khrushchev’s “secret speech” in…
Establishing Ties with Pakistan — 1947
It was the end of one era and the beginning of another. In August 1947 the British Empire, which had…
The Birth of the Chemical Weapons Convention (and the OPCW)
Recent events in Syria have once again spotlighted the dangers of chemical weapons and international efforts to catalog and destroy…
Cain and Abel: Splitting Up North and South Korea
With the end of World War II in August 1945, there was still no consensus on Korea’s fate among Allied…
An American Diplomat in Vichy France
Shortly after Nazi Germany invaded France in May 1940, the French government surrendered and signed the Second Armistice. Under its…
After D-Day — Life in Paris After Liberation
The Allied invasion of France under the Supreme Command of General Dwight Eisenhower began on D-Day, June 6th ,1944. As…
Guests of the Gestapo
Nazi Germany launched the Spring Offensive against France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in May 1940. Within six weeks it had…