Today:
Welcome to this week's instalment of /r/AskHistorians' Sunday Digest (formerly the Day of Reflection). Nobody can read all the questions and answers that are posted here, so in this thread we invite you to share anything you'd like to highlight from the last week - an interesting discussion, an informative answer, an insightful question that was overlooked, or anything else.
A hearty "gratias vobis" to everyone who shared some really interesting stories about how they got interested in history.
/u/commiespaceinvader took a question about adoption in postwar Germany and managed to discuss a crucial but overlooked area of queer history, the experience of orphans during and after World War II, and the trials of reuniting families after WWII...while providing advice on writing realistic historical fiction.
/u/Iphikrates explained why being an athlete in ancient Greece was way better than your day job.
/u/Subs-man deserves major props for going the distance to learn new things in order to explain how racism and imperialism negatively affected treatment of people with mental illnesses in colonial Africa.
Gosh, this sub is the best.
Shout out to /u/nottheprinceofwales who, taking a couple of days to perfect the answer, composed a superb writeup on alternate Abrahamic creation myths from the perspective of the "Gnostic weirdos!"
I'd like a shout-out to the incomparable /u/kieslowskifan and the unbeatable /u/lazespud2 for not only delivering the best take down of Cold War myths surrounding the USSR's invovlement in terrorism but also bringing on great quotes.
I know it's unseemly to toot my own horn, but I was proud of my ability to summon an answer more or less off the top of my head for /u/thucydideswasawesome in response to his question about the historiography of serfdom in Eastern Europe.. Aside: The way in which Central European countries like Germany and Austria used their eastern neighbors in Poland and Ukraine as resource colonies, much as Britain, France and Spain used the New World, is a really understudied aspect of Early Modern economic development.
Mods, would this have been considered a flair-worthy response? If not, how would I expand and flesh out my answer to make it better?
Weekly rundown:
/u/the_alaskan on "Why was Canada practically nonexistent in the Pacific during WWII?"
/u/discovering_nyc answered "Most of New York City's subway system was privately owned until 1940. Why did the city obtain control over the lines at that point?"
/u/lazespud2 on "Did the Stasi files prove that the USSR sponsored terrorist organizations around the globe?"
/u/discovering_NYC knocked it out of the park as usual on Most of New York City's subway system was privately owned until 1940. Why did the city obtain control over the lines at that point?