Germany

For the first time, researchers have discovered remnants of Roman-era wooden spikes meant to deter attackers.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Wooden Spikes Described by Julius Caesar

Until recently, no traces of the military technology had ever been found

Ella Hawkins’ stunning biscuit art emulates book covers, scalloped-edged Tiffany lamps, pottery shards, mosaic tiles, medieval manuscripts, Elizabethan fabrics and more.

The Timeless Draw of Decorating Cookies

Intricate designs painted by biscuit artist Ella Hawkins are part of a lengthy baking tradition

Sophie Scholl (center) bids farewell to her brother Hans (left) and friend Christoph Probst (right) before their departure for the Eastern Front in July 1942.

Hans and Sophie Scholl Were Once Hitler Youth Leaders. Why Did They Decide to Stand Up to the Nazis?

Archival evidence offers clues on the radicalization of the German siblings, who led a resistance movement known as the White Rose

Murnau mit Kirche II (1910), a roughly 38- by 42-inch painting by Wassily Kandinsky

Kandinsky Painting Returned to Heirs of Jewish Collectors Could Sell for $45 Million

The masterpiece once belonged to Johanna Margarete Stern, who died at Auschwitz in 1944

The findings suggest Neanderthals made deep cut marks on the foot bones of straight-tusked elephants to access the rich deposits of fat in the animals' foot pads.

Neanderthals Hunted and Butchered Massive Elephants 125,000 Years Ago

Meat from the gigantic animals could have fed hundreds of hominids, according to a new analysis of bones found in central Germany

The middle section of Dance on the Beach (1906) by Edvard Munch

This 13-Foot-Long Munch Painting Was Hidden From the Nazis in a Norwegian Forest

"Dance on the Beach" will be going up for auction for the first time since the 1930s

The finely crafted, decorative ceramics

Archaeologists Unearth 3,000-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

The Bronze Age well was full of decorative ceramics, jewelry and other items likely used for ritual purposes

The 800-year-old pendant is made of copper and plated in gold.

Cool Finds

Neutron Imaging Reveals Tiny Bones Inside 800-Year-Old Pendant

The high-tech method allowed researchers to examine the artifact without opening it

A tableau of sculptures or living beings, the Nativity scene (as well as the closely related Adoration of the Magi) traces its origins back some 1,500 years.

What Nativity Scenes Tell Us About the Evolution of Christianity

From ancient mosaics to Saint Francis of Assisi, depictions of Jesus's birth reflect the changing conventions of the world's largest religion

Christmas market in Goslar, Germany, at dusk

A Brief History of Christmas Markets

Now a global phenomenon, the holiday tradition traces its roots to medieval Europe

Twenty-eight stumbling stones in Salzburg, Austria, commemorate victims of the Nazis.

Spain's Oft-Forgotten Nazi Ties

A new law recognizes the thousands of Spaniards killed by the Germans during World War II

Egyptologist Zahi Hawass is leading a push to repatriate the Rosetta Stone, the Dendera Zodiac and the bust of Nefertiti to Egypt.

History of Now

Who Gets to Tell the Story of Ancient Egypt?

On the eve of the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, some of the country's artifacts, from the Rosetta Stone to the bust of Nefertiti, remain overseas

Workers converting a 15th-century granary (large brown building pictured) into a parking garage in Erfurt, Germany, uncovered graves from a medieval Jewish cemetery.

How Construction of a Parking Lot Uncovered New Insights About Medieval Jews

A new DNA study suggests Ashkenazi Jews living in 14th-century Germany were surprisingly genetically diverse

Police set up barrier tape in the exhibition room of the Celtic and Roman Museum in Manching.

Thieves Stole Hundreds of Celtic Coins From a German Museum

The gold coins date back to 100 B.C.E. and are worth approximately $1.7 million

Aerial view of the original Luna Luna

Drake Resurrects Avant-Garde Amusement Park Designed by Basquiat, Dalí and Hockney

The rap star has invested nearly $100 million to bring back the ambitious 1987 carnival

Nazis set an estimated 1,400 synagogues on fire during Kristallnacht.

These 84-Year-Old Nazi Photos Paint a Harrowing Picture of Kristallnacht

The images show mobs ransacking Jewish-owned homes, businesses and synagogues in 1938

Piet Mondrian's New York City I (1941)

Has This Piet Mondrian Painting Been Hanging Upside Down for 77 Years?

Intriguing new observations suggest that it has—but curators are going to leave it the way it is

Last Generation protesters throw mashed potatoes at a Monet painting in Germany. 

Why Are Climate Activists Throwing Food at Million-Dollar Paintings?

In the most recent stunt, protesters tossed mashed potatoes at Monet's “Grainstacks” in Germany

Crowds on the first day of Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany

Crowds Pour in for Oktoberfest After Two Years of Pandemic Closures

For the first time since 2019, millions will travel to Munich for the famous beer festival

Paula, Sam and Sol Messinger aboard the M.S. St. Louis in May 1939. The U.S. denied the ship entry, forcing its 937 passengers to return to Europe. More than a quarter of these refugees were later killed in the Holocaust.

Untold Stories of American History

Why Was America So Reluctant to Take Action on the Holocaust?

A new Ken Burns documentary examines the U.S.' complex, often shameful response to the rise of Nazism and the plight of Jewish refugees

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