Major events are often rooted deeply in the past—the “long fuse” that leads to explosions.

During the German invasion of the USSR, the Soviet Secret Police (NKVD) brutally murdered between 10,000 and 40,000 political prisoners in Western Ukraine over the course of eight days, which sparked waves of ethnic violence following the German occupation of the region.

Higgins Industries is best known for the design and construction of landing craft, dubbed “the boats that won the war,” but the multi-faceted company also contributed to the most top-secret program of the war, the Manhattan Project.

During World War II, the US government waged a constant battle for the hearts and minds of the public. “Rosie the Riveter” and many other wartime propaganda posters remain relevant 75 years later.

Hilter's Gotterdammerung: The climactic Battle of Berlin as seen at the Great Patriotic War Museum in Moscow.