On June 6, 1944, as Allied troops stormed ashore at Normandy, women in Scranton, PA gathered at St. Peter's Cathedral to pray. This photograph from the Scranton Tribune captures that moment — the Coal Region holding its breath on the "longest day." Read the story.
“In a democracy we are not all of the same mind, but we are all of the same purpose.” In 1939, as authoritarian regimes reshaped education across Europe, a rabbi in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region offered a different vision rooted in independent thought and cooperation. His words reveal how Americans understood democracy on the eve of World War II. Read the Full Story.
A walk through Vienna, Austria became something else entirely when small brass markers in the pavement stopped me cold. This reflection traces my first encounter with Stolpersteine, memorials to Holocaust victims placed where they once lived. Read the Full Story.
In April 1944, a B-17 named Banshee was shot down over Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia, sending Shenandoah, PA native Chester Majewski plunging 20,000 feet into enemy territory. What followed was a desperate escape through mountains, hunger, and fear. His hometown newspaper captured the story that he barely wanted to tell. Read the Full Story.
In 1943, Charles H. King left Pottsville to fight for democracy. Instead, he found segregation, humiliation, and hard truths about race in the U.S. Navy. His memoir captures the moment he realized who he was in a divided America, and why that awakening shaped his life. Read the full story.
In February 1945, a Schuylkill County anti-aircraft gunner wrote home from France, describing daily life near the front as the war neared its end. His letter offers a view of war-time service far from home. Read the full story.
On Christmas Day, my family walked Fairview Cemetery near my childhood home. Among familiar names, I stopped at Harold E. Malick’s grave. A paratrooper with the 101st Airborne, he survived Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge. I always pause there. Read the full story.
This holiday episode of the Public History podcast revisits It’s a Wonderful Life as more than a Christmas classic. We unpack the war trauma behind Jimmy Stewart’s performance, the clash between Bedford Falls and Potterville, and why Frank Capra’s critique of power still feels uncomfortably relevant today. Read the full story.
Hughestown, PA native Joe Toye enlisted days after Pearl Harbor, jumped into Europe with Easy Company, 506th PIR, and was gravely wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. He came home to Pennsylvania, built a life at Bethlehem Steel, and later was portrayed by Kirk Acevedo in HBO’s Band of Brothers. Read the full story.
On the first anniversary of Pearl Harbor, the Pottsville Republican displayed flags of the Allied “United Nations” on its Mahantango Street headquarters. This patriotic gesture reminded the Coal Region of the global fight against fascism and honored the sacrifices made for victory in World War II. Read the full story.