Susan Ronald’s new biography of Joseph P Kennedy covers his time as US Ambassador to Great Britain; a time which, as she tells Historia, his son Jack’s own political views and diplomatic skills – very different from his father’s – were formed. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, known as Jack to family and friends, was never meant […]
The ‘hidden’ Nazis of Argentina
Catherine Hokin’s latest novel, The Fortunate Ones, tells the story of Felix Thalberg, a young printer’s apprentice, whose life is changed forever when he meets a girl in a crowded Berlin dance hall. Despite his efforts to find her, Hannah vanishes that night without trace and it is two years before Felix sees her again, […]
An appearance of serenity: the French fashion industry in WWII
Author Catherine Hokin writes for Historia about a (perhaps conveniently) forgotten period in the history of Paris couture: the city’s occupation during the Second World War.
Auschwitz: the Biggest Black Market in Europe
Our guest this month, Chris Petit, filmmaker and author of The Butchers of Berlin, on life in the German garrison at Auschwitz. There were the Nazi death camps, where people were exported to die, and there was Auschwitz, where the choice after selection was immediate gassing or death deferred through forced labour. Then there was the […]
Hitler’s Sex Life
It may not be the weightiest of historical enigmas, but the sex life of Adolf Hitler has to be one of the most enduring. Historians probing the dictator’s psychology repeatedly find themselves turning to his sexuality in the search for some clue towards his warped world view. The issue of whether Hitler was gay, straight, […]