Samo, a French arms dealer, became king after leading a Slavic federation to victory against the Turks. He established the first Slavic state, which dissolved after his death in 658.
Tag: Germany
The way a communist state handles border control is key to handling internal dissidents. It’s always about tracking who goes out, as well as who goes in. Operation Border Stone in Czechoslovakia took this policy to another level.
On 11 September 1944, a massive, intense air battle took place over the mountains between Germany and what was then Czechoslovakia. The memory of this battle is still alive today.
I’ve written lots about how Germany and German influences affected Bohemia and Czechia. This is what led to a backlash after World War II.
This article explores the little-known story of how Czechoslovakia expelled Germans after the war.
Accidents of geography have determined as much of world history and culture as anything else. Rivers and mountains became natural, then political, borders. The Czech town of Hranice used to be a meeting point between 3 countries.
In 1024, Italy tired of German rule and wondered if French nobility would like to be the King of Italy. Would this have been good for France, or would it have been a bad idea?
Many countries have memorials to fallen heros, and stories of bravery from wartime. Czechia is unusual in that it has heros from both sides of World War II.
You may think ‘fake news’ is a modern invention, but you’d be wrong. One of Czechoslovakia’s most famous disinformation campaigns was Operation NEPTUNE.
This article explains why Czechoslovak spies carried out such a nefarious plot.
In the 19th century, various states on the Italian peninsula united to become a single, new country. While some papal states merged with the others, the Vatican refused to be under the control of an earthly ruler. It even considered moving the seat of the Holy See to Malta.
During World War II, Prague wasn’t as affected by bombing as many other European cities were. This was because planes didn’t have the range to reach Prague, and also because the Allies had more important targets in mind. This article describes the few Allied bombings of Prague, which happened towards the end of the war.