Conrad Schumann was immortalized in this photograph as he leapt across the barricade that would become the Berlin Wall. The photo was called “The Leap into Freedom”. It became an iconic image of the Cold War. Born in Zschochau, Saxony during the middle …
This image might be one of the most impressive photographs of all time. While it might just look like a regular Polaroid of some industrial sludge in a rundown warehouse, you’re looking at the epicenter of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Known as “the E…
Berlin after the War was a post-apocalyptic world. One of the largest and most modern cities in Europe was left a wasteland. There were vast piles of rubble everywhere. Other areas were rows of building walls with collapsed interiors — the skeletons of …
Before World War I Germany was a prosperous country, with a gold-backed currency, expanding industry, and world leadership in optics, chemicals, and machinery. The German Mark, the British shilling, the French franc, and the Italian lira all had about e…
Maoris of 'C' Company, 28th Maori Battalion of the 2nd New Zealand Division perform the 'Haka' (ancestral war dance) for the visit of King George II of Greece, his wife the Queen, his cousin Prince Peter and Major General Freyberg. The location was at an a…
In the summer of 1944 the Soviet Union launched Operation Bagration, a large-scale, complex offensive against the Nazi invaders in Belarus, Poland and the Baltic republics. This vital Soviet offensive was launched just after Allied troops had landed in …
The "Soviet flag over Reichstag" photograph is full of symbolism and represents a historic moment. Erected in 1894, the Reichstag's architecture was magnificent for its time. The building contributed much to German history and was considered by the Red …
In the years before she became synonymous with glossy television drama and sharp-tongued glamour, Joan Collins was already building a reputation as one of Britain’s most striking young screen actresses. Born on May 23, 1933, in London, England, Collins …
Emerging at the dawn of the 20th century, Art Deco captured a world in transition — one balancing tradition and modernity, craftsmanship and technology. Born in Paris in the 1910s, just before World War I, this new aesthetic quickly became a symbol of progr…
Long before Photoshop and digital touch-ups, the art of seduction was perfected with paint. In the 1940s and 1950s, pin-up girls became cultural icons, their images gracing bomber planes, barracks walls, and magazine pages. They weren’t just pictures…
In the mid-1980s, as personal computers began slowly making their way into households and offices across Yugoslavia, a new magazine appeared on newsstands: Računari. Launched in 1984, its name simply translated to “computers” in Bosnian, and its pages were …
The colorful slides open a rare window into West Germany in the early 1950s, a country still rebuilding from the devastation of the Second World War. They are believed to have been taken by a U.S. Army nurse stationed at the 97th General Army Hospital in Fr…
Bacon perfectly toasted in disposable trays, sonic-powered dishwashers, and refrigerators that rose from the floor at the touch of a button—these were once visions of everyday life. In 1962, a book titled 1975: And the Changes to Come by Arnold B. Barac…
A walk through vintage advertising reveals a world where women were constantly told they were not enough. One ad warns, “Don’t let them call you SKINNY,” while another claims cigarettes will keep them thin. If worrying about their weight was not enough, the…
Scattered across the fractured landscapes of the Balkans, colossal monuments rise from the earth like remnants of a forgotten civilization. These striking, futuristic forms—often isolated and weathered—once carried deep meaning in a country that no longer a…
In the heart of the western Balkans, an ancient tattooing tradition quietly endured for centuries, passed down through generations by the steady hands of mothers. Known as sicanje, this ritual was far more than decorative—it was a sacred practice rooted in …
Terry Fox was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist whose remarkable determination turned personal tragedy into a national movement. In 1980, after losing his right leg to cancer, Fox set out on an ambitious cross-country run to rai…
The year 1990 marked the beginning of democracy in Romania, a time of social unrest and political struggles that would shape the country’s trajectory for years to come. It was a period of newfound freedom but also deepening divisions, some of which still re…
Teenage girls in the 1940s experienced a surprising degree of independence, a lifestyle that might inspire envy in many modern teens. Raised in a time when societal norms emphasized dressing well to attract a future husband and working part-time jobs to…
The 1980s saw the AIDS epidemic surge to catastrophic levels, leaving communities devastated and countless lives hanging in the balance. Across the U.S. and beyond, people were dying at an alarming rate, while others were gripped by fear of a mysterious dis…