alot of things are different, german is close to other latin languages, but polish isnt, why is that?

I don't know if this is appropriate here, but I'm looking to get my dad a book for Christmas. I remembered that he quite likes Fisk, and I was wondering if there would be other authors worth looking into. I don't really know enough about this area to successfully use the search bar...

Any help would be appreciated.

I watched a show by the Smithsonian that claimed, during the Nazi occupation of France, Britain attacked France's navy. They said it was because Churchill feared what would happen if the fleet fell into the hands of the Nazis. After this happened France nearly declared war on Britain. How true is that? What would the consequences have been if France did attack Britain?

With the Axis presumably able to block access to the black sea through Greece, the Baltic sea through Denmark, and monitor the arctic ocean via Norway, how difficult was it to supply the Soviet Union?

My ancestors are among them. In fact a lot of German families that settled in the region I'm from left around the same time. My ancestors arrived in 1853. Was there anything in particular during that time that would have been driving them to the US?

The irish obviously got their food from somewhere before, why didn't they keep some or all of these sources if they worked before?

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To clarify, I don't mean to ask about things like fire or tools that were probably discovered separately all over the world. I'm talking about specific things that were able to make "news" all over the ancient world.

A question on medieval Europe...

If a castle was under siege but the lord surrendered, how would he be treated? If the war went on, would he be locked in the cells and his men killed? And if the surrender was short after the arrival of the offender (showing that there was no intention of fighting back), would the terms be lighter?

I would like an answer exploring all these situations, because it is hard to think of a king conquering territories but killing his new vassals*, either it is to think of him saying "damn, that was easy! You must be honest, so let's put you on the vanguard of my next battle" and thinking there would be 0% chance of betrayal.

*especially when he would need the castle as a strategic position

Edit: Put some needed information

She was born in Belfast in 1840 and immigrated to America in 1856. From my research it looks like the Irish language was falling out of official use in Northern Ireland in the latter half of the 19th century. It's clear that she knew English well enough, but how commonly was Irish used while she was living in Ireland and would a young person have learned it/spoken it at home? Any insight would be appreciated.

Edit: My pinyin sucks. Chiang Kai-shek was from Zhejiang.

When did feudalism in Russia end? Was it the same time serfs were no longer bound to their land in the late 1800s?

I'm reading Maus, and mentioned frequently are the true rumors about the camps and the gassing that reached the outside. How did this information make it out?

In addition to a slew of movies and tv shows, it seems like every midwestern minimall was portrayed as having a karate dojo around this time. Why? How did Chinese and Japanese self defense forms capture the mentality of Western youth so passionately?

I keep seeing news articles and Facebook posts talking about how operation cyclone essentially armed a group that would end up fighting against the west. Is there validity to these claims?

First, like the title says, around what time did painted roads become the norm? Was it before the highway system? Also, I'm assuming there wasn't an immediate standard to colors and paint spacing. Was this resolved federally? Finally, if there's any cool or relatively unknown facts about the creation of US roadways, I'd be interested.

Hello guys, I was just wondering if any of you would be able to offer any advice about what books I could purchase on the titled subject. I am particulary interested in the politcal machinations of each side but anything would be great!

Kind Regards