I believe Julius Caesar simplifies it down to ‘Gauls are barbarians, Germans are super-barbarians’, with Germans being physically stronger, more independent, more warlike, less urbanized, and more closer to being nomads. I know that Germans and Gauls really aren’t two distinct groups, but is Caesar correct? What other differences are there?

I mean, the mainland japanese defense was regarded as almost impenetrable, even to the point that a land invasion was deemed almost impossible. So how did the bombers actually pull off the bombings with practically no escorts? Was it because of their high altitude flight?

What caused the decline of Spain after the colonization of the Americas?

I teach 8th grade U.S. History, and I had a student ask "Why didn't the North suggest slaves count as people for representation votes in Congress if slaveowners free their slaves?"

This way, Southerners would have to decide which is more important to them -- representation or the institution of slavery?

Were there other reasonable suggestions before the 3/5's Compromise?

Sorry for a two-pronged question, but were there other reasonable suggestions before settling on the Great Compromise as well?

I grew up in Israel, so obviously Theodor Herzl is a big figure in our school history classes. I remember from school they mentioned that Herzl in Altneuland envisions Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people but also the homeland for other people with full equal rights to non Jewish people. How much is this view correct? How much did Herzl support a multi-ethnic / cultural Israel?

I am Israeli, so I know Israel is designated as a Jewish state but I was wondering if there was ever a consideration to include Romani people as citizens due to the shared experiences in the holocaust?

How far away was the communism in the Soviet Union actually from what Marx actually described as communism and what were the main differences?

It is often repeated that during the early days of the Soviet Union people adhered to the “glass of water” theory, that held that satisfying sexual desires should be as easy as having a drink of water to quench your thirst. But was it really true for all people or only for some kind of minority? Or was not true at all, and this claim is based on some isolated anecdotes?

I read that Napoleon claimed to follow Allah and to even be one of his descendant, to get the Egyptians to support him against the Mameluke, during his Egyptian campaign. Did the Egyptians fell into it, or were they just playing along, and how did this blaspheme was accepted by his christian support?
In my mind, people were still pretty religious at this time and it would be considered a crime by most.

As far as I know, it was fairly popular before World War II but of course no one would dare try to pull it off today. At what point did people stop?

My daughter complains that she doesn't learn enough at school, history included. I am of the opinion that she will never learn enough history if she depends solely on what is taught in public school, including sanitized events and so many important details not included. So... If you were to pick 1 or a few history books to be well rounded in history as a (very bright) 7th grader, what would they be?

Today the ability to read and write is essential for most members of the society and is taught as part of even the most basic education. People who are illiterate have difficulties with participating in much of the modern world.

My layman historical knowledge assumes the typical European farmer in the Middle Ages could not read and write much besides his own name.

What changed and when?

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Edit: Can't edit the title. Therefore, please ignore typos and grammar mistakes in this post about literacy ;)

Everyone is talking about Hitler hating Slavs, and some people tell me that's only communist propaganda, and that communists also made up the reasons Hitler hated slavs for, I am sceptic of both sides, is there any real proof Hitler hated slavs?

Was it just any settlement small enough to not be a city.

What about manors, did people who worked them form a village?

Did cities have suburbs, and was anything beyond the walls considered a village?

Did every village have farms, and how far would they be from a city they supplied, did cities have their own farms or did they employ other settlements?

I know this varied according to century and kingdom but i am hoping for a rule of the thumb sort of thing.

I'm just curious but from photographs that are available it seems most aircraft were destroyed on the ground by the time occupation forces arrived. Also by the fact that the Hiroshima bombers went unescorted seems to hint that the airforce was in a pretty poor shape by the time the war ended. Are there any explanations for this?