In reading about the Nazi gold train that has been in the news recently I noticed that the last place that it had been seen was Konigsberg, now Kaliningrad. I decided to look it up and wikipedia says that the Germans who lived there mainly fled or were forcibly deported. There are many areas in countries that became Eastern Bloc countries that had sizable German minorities, or even majorities, including former Prussia, Silesia, the Sudetenland, and areas of Hungary. (I am not wondering about Alsace, or any other areas that might have changed hands with Western Europe as most of the territorial gains (or regains) made after the war were made by Eastern Bloc countries) . Do those countries still have people who identify as Germanic, or has the result of the last 70 years, part of it under strict centralized autocracies, been enough to reduce or remove those minorities?

Since it is the number of the beast, it would seem possible some stuff would go down in that year. I haven't found anything online about it Edit: Or during the year 666, for that matter

I love reading about world history, but I'm not anywhere close to being an expert on it. I've been wanting to learn more about Jewish history, and I wonder if the Bible is a good place to start. If it is, which version would be best? Can you recommend any other books about Jewish history that are aimed at complete beginners?

EDIT: Just to clarify, I know that the Bible has a lot of ridiculous stuff in it. I'm thinking of reading it for the same reason why someone studying Mesopotamian history would read the Epic of Gilgamesh, or someone studying Greek history would read the Iliad, just to get a sense of how people back then saw the world.

I know it was around the 16th century, but what I want to know is what sparked the new Era.

Charles Darwin is rather rightfully credited as the father of modern evolutionary thought due to his proposal of the mechanism of natural selection. However, this mechanism was not widely accepted until the development of the Modern Synthesis in the early-mid 1900s.

What were the competing ideas for mechanisms of evolution? As somebody taught about evolution in modern times it seems impossible to think of it in any other way.

And a bonus question: why was Charles Darwin revered for his work during his own time, if his major contribution was ignored? Without natural selection, don't Darwin's ideas simply echo the work of others before him?

Despite being white, I've always been pretty fascinated with the black experience in America. But like all areas of history once it ventures into the realm of the popular, hero worship, stereotypes and gross generalizations tend to distort our view of things.

Much has been written about black soldiers during the US Civil War and after World War II. I'm interested in the soldiers in between, from the Buffalo Soldier era and beyond World War I, especially the experience of soldiers and their families during and right after the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection. Are there any good collections of diaries, letters, or books written by black soldiers or their families? This can be either a collection published in book-form, websites, or holdings at state or university archives.

I was first introduced to the racial issues of the Philippine War by Howard Zinn (not a great historian in my view but a good writer who introduced me to some new areas of US history at the time) while I was in college. I'd like to do some primary research in the area but since it's such a small topic, and not as popular as the Civil Rights movement or the experience of Civil War veterans, it tends not to be have a prominent place in archives holdings.

Any help would be appreciated, as always!

I remember reading or hearing how the Nazi's gave the Jews of Germany and their other territories the offer to move themselves out of their homes and move to safe places. I remember hearing that the Nazi's also put the Jews on boats and tried to ship them off to other countries, in order to get them out but without harm?

Can anybody elaborate on this?

And if so, same question for that new language.

Did Islam spreading to parts of sub-Saharan Africa broker peace? Can I get a brief overview if possible

While the Consumer Price Index says that $1 was worth $28.45 today, what could you really buy for a penny in New England in the 1850's?

I am a docent at a museum and I like to share a 1853 large cent with young visitors. They love it, but I'd like to be able to accurately say what one could buy for a cent (other than penny candy!) Could you buy a bun? a newspaper? a ride downtown? a spool of thread? Thanks in advance!

How is the word Hoplite/Hoplites pronounced? Would it be proper to say "Hop-Li-Tay(s)" or "Hop-Light(s)?"

Please ignore the very early stages of the competition, let's start when at least one side claimed to have enough nukes to wipe out the other. Examples of scenarios I can think of are:

1. Was there ever a time during this period in which one side didn't actually have the response capability they claimed, but made it seem like they did?

2. Was there a time when one side could have eliminated the threat of a retaliatory response but didn't know they could pull it off?

3. Were one sides weapons systems actually later found to be faulty, and a significant number would have failed?

4. Was there a brief period where one side had enough nukes to make a war "winnable" while the other side only had a few?

5. Any scenarios you can think of.

Please correct me if my thoughts on the early stages of the cold war are incorrect.

Thanks!

I was mainly wondering how in the discovery of China and America how attempting to communicate worked and at what point they were able to effectively at least relay an idea back and back forth but really for an era of history where new lands and people were discovered it would've been an issue to overcome.

I realise written records are a bit patchy, but do we have any records of some large military engagements in the Americas? How many people were involved, and what were these battles fought for?

I often hear about the domination of one empire over weaker neighbours, but never the sort of large-scale interstate warfare that plagued Europe and much of Asia during the period immediately leading up to and following la conquista.

I have always been a fan of early American history, specifically Native American history, but I've always wanted to know how the early settlers/Europeans were able to be so much more developed than the Native American people. How/what were the catalysts that allowed Europeans to develop so much faster that other nations. How were they able to sail across an ocean with firearms & explosives & attack a people that were still in their Stone Age?

Seriously, if you check out where some of the top american aerospace achievements happened, AV is in there. What made NASA, the Air Force, and companies all go "Yeah, that seems like a good place for testing and building."

The global spice trade had a huge influence on European colonialism because spices were so valuable. But today spices are plentiful and cheap and it seems laughable that they could have driven the economy of entire empires.

When did the spice trade collapse, and what precipitated it?

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I'm trying to find a quote I read a few years ago in a Thomas Jefferson biography. The quote is related to Jefferson's views on religion, and if I recall correctly is something along the lines of

My religious sect is apiarian, seeking only the sweetness from all things

Unfortunately, I can't remember the biography this quote would have been from. It could have been The Art of Power by Jon Meacham or American Sphinx by Joseph Ellis, but I searched digital copies of these books and couldn't find any keywords.

Has anyone read this quote or something similar from Jefferson? Specifically him describing apiarianism as a religious sect.

Edit: /u/smileyman posted the quote (and source!) below. Embarrassingly, my memory of the quote was pretty off.

Edit: I'm asking about commoner, and lower nobility households.

English is not my main language, hence the misunderstanding.

(repost because no answer was given)

Was life different or largely the same, it seems like it remained largely the same from what I read? Was 476 actually treated as the fall of the roman empire within italy itself?