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.
Dive into a compelling podcast episode where writer Derek Thompson interviews historian Richard J. Evans about his book "Hitler’s People." Hear fresh research on Nazi support, Weimar politics, and antisemitism as Evans debunks myths and reveals how ordinary Germans enabled Hitler’s rise to absolute power. Read my full reflection and listen to the podcast.
On May 8, 1945, drenched but ecstatic, Wilkes-Barre’s streets exploded with horns, confetti, and church bells as Coal Region residents celebrated VE Day victory. From umbrella-clad crowds in Public Square to ticker-tape showers from office windows, the rainy jubilation captured both relief and remembrance. Read the full story.
On V-E Day 1945, Anthony Kupko of Schuylkill Haven, PA raised a toast in a brewery in war-ravaged Nazi Germany - while memories of liberating Buchenwald’s starving survivors lingered painfully. His account blends victory’s relief with the haunting aftermath of the Second World War, offering a profound glimpse into a Coal Region soldier’s return home. Read the full story.
In a March 1945 letter, Sgt. Irvin Schwartz shared insights about Nazi Germany's desperate "total war" efforts to turn back Allied attacks.
In March 1945, Irvin Schwartz's hometown newspaper published news of his Bronze Star. A week later they shared the news he had been wounded.
In his first letter from inside Germany, Pfc. Irvin Schwartz describes interactions with residents of newly occupied Nazi territory.
A soldier from Schuylkill County was stunned when he found photographs from the Pennsylvania Coal Region in a magazine published in Nazi Germany.
A powerfully simple advertisement ran in the Hazleton Standard-Speaker on May 9, 1945 to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany.
Private Jim Shurskis detailed the destruction of Nazi Germany and the refugees returning to their homes in an April 1945 letter.