This seems to be true for many neighborhoods on Chicago’s West Side. For instance, Pilsen was a predominantly German and Czech neighborhood that’s now the center of the Chicago Mexican community. Likewise, Humboldt Park was once predominantly Polish and Ashkenazi Jewish but is now predominantly Puerto Rican. I’ve heard it’s also the case among some other Midwestern cities, like on the South Side of Milwaukee and the West Side of Cleveland.

I hope it’s within the scope of the sub, but I recognize that there may be an unhealthy dose of revisionism driving this question.

In terms of the breakup of Austria-Hungary, in the long term it has led to several stable states with weaker economies. Whether revisionist or nationalist, some of our contemporaries look back and wonder what a United States of Central Europe might look like today.

On the other hand, the bloody Yugoslav conflict suggests that unity was simply untenable.

Did any of the Great Powers secretly (or not-so-secretly) push for divided nation-states with the knowledge that these buffer states would be easier to subjugate? Or were the Soviets, who reaped the rewards later, too wrapped up in the civil war?

I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into this. My Opa has been gone since I was 2 and my Oma told me a lot about his life before she passed away 10 years ago. I am trying to piece together some of the information she gave me and understand more about his life. He was a Lithuanian man who just turned 18 when the war broke out and was drafted. My oma has always said that he defected to the Allies, specifically Russia, early on and served the rest of the war as a cook for the Russian army. My father says he was never told this story and I am wondering how plausible it is. Would this be possible/make sense historically? I have a photo of him in his uniform on a ship and I'm told it's him coming to Canada after the war. Can you tell more about his service based on the uniform? Any insight is greatly appreciated!

I was reading about the Joseon process of selecting crown princesses or queens and to my suprise read that it was preferred that the girls selected be a year or two older than their prospective groom (edit actually two or three years older) which suprised me since it goes against what most cultures I can think of regard as suitable age differences for marriage. Was the a general Korean thing or was it just for future Kings? Was there any reason for wanting the queen to be older than the king?

​

During the battle of Marathon, while the Persians retreated, Cynaegirus—brother of Aeschylus—is said to have grabbed the prow of one of their ships with one bare hand. This prevented the ship from launching.

How does that work? Wouldn’t there have been a half dozen Persians pushing it out into the water?

Ancient historians are prone to hyperbole from time to time, but the hyperbole had to be believable. That must have made sense to people at the time. Can anyone explain it?

Basically all tv shows/movies depict the men celebrating all night long after battle, not showing the slightest sign they are mentally scarred by battle they just involved themselves in. Is this accurate?

I've read that Sarah Schenirer was a leader in female Jewish education and the Bais Yaakov, but I'm less clear on the context around her decision to create schools for Jewish girls. Did she have any particular inspirations to draw from? Was it informed by contemporary education organizations and philosophies? Was there a growing demand or need for such institutions?

No seriously. I've brought up all sorts of debates - mostly that the Richat Structure is nothing more than an eroded mantle plume. I don't have any stronger than that. Smarter people than me, please explain why one of us is wrong,

Did the people of the USSR construct fallout shelters and train their children to hide in the case of a nuclear strike? Was there a genuine, pervasive fear of a potential nuclear war among the people?

I’ve been watching the Netflix series “Last Kingdom” which takes place during the Viking invasions of England.

I know the show is really off the ball in terms of historical accuracy. I am just very, very confused about the difference, monarchy and lineage of the Kings of Wessex and the Kings of the Anglo-Saxons.

Is there a difference between the two titles? Who is Æthelwold and Alfred in history? The show seems to describe Alfred as who Edward the Elder really was.

This is a lot but the entire character placement chronologically is confusing my small brain.

In the past two months I have consumes about two bottles a day of wine. I know that's a lot. But compared to ancient civilization maybe 2,000 years ago was that even possible? Weren't you more worried about food over alcohol so are we not privileged to have this alcoholism privilege?

When looking up modern techniques everything essentially boils down to I) use a laser or II) use a laser to level the foundation, and then use the foundation to build level.

​

It got me curious how ancient engineers managed to build massive structures squarely and level without the use of modern technology. Did it really just come down to a plumb line?

If I wanted to build, say, a stone wall around my yard, with no modern technology, how would I ensure the blocks were level at all four corners, the walls stood straight and the height was even all the way around?

Was the change due to political pressure? Lobbying? Internal decisions from major media outlets? Something else?