When I talk to people of a Stalinist bent they often argue that the accounts of the Gulags being essentially slave camps where people were worked to death in terrible conditions as being extremely overblown and primarily anti-communist propaganda, that there were few excess deaths associated with the gulags, that they had good standard of food, shelter and healthcare, that most of the people there were for actual crimes and not for not liking Stalin's mustache enough, and most importantly that when compared to other prison systems, including those of western democratic states, that they weren't really anything special and if anything were better off. The particularly mention chain gangs in America at the same time as an example of prison labour comparable if not worse than what Gulag inmates had to do, and also point towards the extremely high incarceration rate of modern America and the many issues that plague its prison system today in terms of violence, injustice and terrible conditions.

Is this fair, and have the Gulags gotten far too much focus when they weren't really much worse in terms of scope or conditions than prisons in the capitalist nations?

There is a popular meme that America invades middle eastern countries for oil, is this view actually true in regards to America’s reasons to go to war in the Middle East?

So far, I've only watched a bunch of documentaries and read a bunch of articles. I've read and do continue to read extensively about Nazi Germany and totalitarianism there and seem to understand it it seems, though it never ends.

I'd like to know about the Soviet Union, preferably before and during Stalin's era as leader of the Soviet Union. It should depict cultural life in the Soviet Union, and how communism changed that. Also, economic policies implemented by the regime. Importantly, it should be objective, no whitewashing. I could well be "books".

The way the French Revolution is often presented, it seems like it took place almost entirely in Paris. I am aware of a bit of what was going outside of Paris, like counter-revolution in The Vendée and the royal family's attempted escape from the country. But was the Revolution really as focused on the capital city as it seems to a layman? And what might an average person's experience have been during the Revolution outside of Paris, either in another city or in the countryside?

My great grandmother at one point told my mother a few stories about her father who was born in Scotland and later moved to Canada. He lived in Scotland between the late 1880's to the really early 1900's. She told my mother that he worked part time as a mime, and that she even found a photo of him in his costume when she was younger, but when she brought it to her father he burned the photo. She said that in the photo he was wearing cookie buttons. So I'm wondering if there is any historical accuracy to this, or if my great grandmother was just going a bit crazy before she passed away.

They wouldn’t of got Britain involved in the war, and they definitely could of done it, and the war only being against France and Russia would of been far easier for Germany

In the prepping community there is a common tendency to want to collect hard commodities like silver or gold that could be used for barter in an economic collapse. Obviously there have been historical examples of economic collapse and hyperinflation, but I am curious if there are any noteworthy examples of people rapidly shifting to some commodity or barter system of some kind in the wake of a collapse.

I have heard that during the Weinmar era of hyperinflation, much of the world essentially traded essentials to Germany for anything valuable that could be taken out of Germany, so I would imagine there would be examples, but this was just a passing remark I heard in a podcast. I've also heard passing remarks that the hyperinflation of the currency led to many entering prostitution as it would represent a way for foreign wealth to enter from the outside world.

I am curious how well employing the "stack silver and gold" strategy was in previous examples of economic collapse.

The 8.8cm Flak, later used on several German Tanks and Tank Destroyers, is known as one of the most effective guns of WW2 and for knocking out any allied tank with ease. So why didn't the allies just try to copy it and made an own Tank destroyer with it?

I've seen a lot of answers in this subreddit be removed if they are an anecdote about the historical subject that is asked about, even if the person has lived through the specific event him or herself. This got me thinking, aren't most primary sources an anecdote of some sort? I can see that you would want to collect a large number of personal accounts to get a proper understanding of an event, but doesn't that mean that every individual anecdote has historical value?

I teach history, and this battlefield has been a place I have wanted to experience for a long time. I am reading Alistair Horne's Price of Glory on recommendation from this page. Whenever I go to battlefields like this I try to research as much as I can from first hand accounts. I am unfamiliar with WW1 and would appreciate any help or sources to read.

If being a believer of the Judaism religion, it would not be of surprise that there would be some that would abondon their believes in order to sustain their life in such a harsh time. Was this possible? If so, how popular was it?

The Minie Ball was invented in 1849 and was used in the Civil War. Was there a difference in tactics that is noticeable when comparing say the Civil War to the War of 1812, or Mexican American War?

First off, a disclaimer: ‘Medieval’ is a bit of stretch because we can go up to 17th century Golden Era Antwerp as inspiration.

I want to make a small port/harbour town for D&D. Instead of just going at it, I’d like to have a better understanding of what makes a port or harbour.

This lead to questions like:

• Is there a typical layout for the infrastructures? (“Building A would generally be built close to building B.” or “Building X would generally not be close to the water.”)
• Which structures or buildings are deemed ‘essential’?
• etc…

I’m mostly looking for sources like maps or historical paintings, but (architectural) documentation or (personal) insights are definitely welcome as well!

Many thanks!

I was thinking about pirates the other day and it occurred to me that it's an extremely specific crime - robbery by ship upon another ship or a coastal area, with the goal of stealing cargo?

Setting aside whether one thinks copyright infringement is or should be criminal, if we assume the perspective of the victims of it, it seems odd to me that piracy would win out over banditry or larceny or anything else.

In Black Adder the general is planning an attack, carefully lays his toy soldiers out neatly, then chuckles and literally gets a broom to sweep them away. He's utterly indifferent to the slaughter he's ordering, and takes a perverse joy in finding the men who thought they'd tucked themselves away in "safe" jobs and personally ordering them into the lines, to their deaths.

In the meantime, army commanders I've actually met are haunted by their choices. The most traumatized airmen I've known was haunted by the responsiblity of giving aircraft permission to fly, even though he always made the right call and none of his ever went down.

Were WW1 commanders truly indifferent to the men they ordered to their deaths, or is the Black Adder interpretation a fiction?

I'm looking for an authoritative text on the pre-history of ancient Greece, starting with the Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean civilizations, OR a history of ancient Greece that starts with/includes the Cycladic Civilization.

Any suggestions?