STR Germany

The steel doors of the Vatican open onto the smallest sovereign state on Earth, home to a thousand citizens within a hundred acres. For over a century, the kingdom and then the Republic of Italy has surrounded this tiny independent state. We think of the Pope today as a spiritual leader, but behind St. Peter’s, … Read more

The first officer was on the bridge at 3:00 in the morning when he heard a low, mechanical whine. It was the sound of a submarine’s electric motors running at high speed. He had perhaps two seconds to register it before the night fractured. The torpedo struck the ship amidships, below the waterline, just forward … Read more

Je n’aurais jamais imaginé que le son le plus douloureux de toute ma vie ne serait ni un cri ni des pleurs déchirants, mais le silence total de ma fille devant le miroir. J’ai 52 ans, je m’appelle Rosalba, et si vous me croisez dans la rue, vous penserez que la vie m’a toujours souri. … Read more

Pierwszej nocy po ślubie, zamiast spokoju, czekał mnie koszmar. Ledwo wróciliśmy z wesela, a teściowa, Elżbieta Nowak, zaczęła krzyczeć, że nie mam prawa prosić męża o pomoc w sprzątaniu. Gdy próbowałam się bronić, mój świeżo poślubiony mąż, Piotr, zamiast stanąć po mojej stronie, wrzucił mnie do zimnej spiżarni i zamknął drzwi na klucz. Zostałam sama, … Read more

Hitler had studied history, but he drew fatally unbalanced conclusions from it. He knew the Balkans had always spelled trouble, and he initially held back from that glue pot. In 1939, after the conquest and dismemberment of Poland, he entered into the infamous pact with Stalin and turned his attention to France and Britain. By … Read more

Als ich an diesem Donnerstagabend unsere Wohnung in München betrat, sah alles völlig normal aus. Genau das machte mich nervös, denn bei uns stand plötzlich jedes Möbelstück verdächtig perfekt an seinem Platz. Mein Mann Tobias begrüßte mich aus der Küche, küsste meine Wange und fragte, ob ich Hunger hätte. Seine Stimme klang locker, aber seine … Read more

Ernst Kaltenbrunner woke at 6:30 in the morning, later than most of his SS colleagues, but early enough to keep up the appearance of military discipline. Standing six feet seven inches tall, with a face scarred from his university dueling days, he was a figure that frightened even his own men. He often started his … Read more

The Battle of Berlin ended not with a dramatic last stand, but with a series of desperate negotiations, suicides, and a final surrender that took place in a building I’m standing in front of right now. This is where German General Helmuth Weidling signed the unconditional surrender of the Reich’s capital. By April 29, 1945, … Read more

Lara équilibrait trois assiettes sur son bras gauche en évitant un enfant qui courait entre les tables. Le restaurant était bondé, bruyant, étouffant sous la chaleur de midi. Elle travaillait là depuis assez longtemps pour savoir que cette heure ne tolérait aucune distraction. Pourtant, quelque chose la fit ralentir lorsqu’elle aperçut une vieille dame seule … Read more

At 8:30 in the morning, somewhere along the Ukrainian front, the battlefield was strangely quiet. No artillery, no machine gun bursts, no explosions. Just the distant sound of engines and the faint buzzing of drones somewhere above the tree line. A small assault team moved forward in an armored vehicle. Their objective wasn’t to destroy … Read more