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On this day – November 9th, 1938
On this day, November 9th, 1938, Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, began. This violent event, orchestrated by the Nazi party, targeted Jewish businesses and synagogues for a period of about 48 hours. The result was the complete destruction of many of these businesses and synagogues, and even 91 deaths.
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The Pastry War
Rowdy soldiers, an angry business owner, and brewing tensions between nations. All of these were factors that pushed the start of the Pastry War, an armed conflict between France and Mexico that took place between 1838 and 1839. Before the Pastry War, the Mexican government was in shambles. As Mexico was a newly independent nation, having only declared independence around 17 years prior, the nation and its leadership were very much unstable. In fact, after the declaration of Mexican independence, the presidency changed every single year, leaving the country in a very fragile state. Because of this, the country developed into a highly unlawful one, where government and military officials…
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Coconut Curry Samgyetang
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Politics For Dinner (@politicsfordinner)
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On this day – October 3rd, 1990
On October 3rd, 1990 the German Democratic Republic (East) united with the Federal Republic of Germany (West), and for the first time since 1945 one German state existed.
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The Rangoon Bombing
How did a secret plan to overthrow a government and incite revolution backfire? This is exactly what happened in 1983 during the Rangoon bombing, when North Korea attempted to assassinate Chun Doo-hwan, the 5th president of South Korea. In 1983, South Korea was a struggling nation. The country was not only recovering from the heartbreak of a civilian airplane being shot down by communist forces, killing all on the flight, but was also plagued by widespread discontent with the repressive, military-style government employed by Chun Doo-hwan. North Korea saw this chaos and dissatisfaction as their chance to incite revolution and overthrow the government in South Korea. President Chun Doo-hwan was…
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On this day – April 4th, 1949
On April 4th, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO was formed primarily as a military alliance against the Soviet Union. Belgium, Denmark, Canada, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Luxembourg, and Great Britain all decided to sign the treaty to form NATO after United States President Harry Truman expressed a need for an alliance in the struggle between democracy and communism. NATO has now grown from 12 to 32 member allies and still remains a crucial part of international safety today.
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On this day – March 23rd, 1933
On March 23rd, 1933, the Enabling Act was passed by the German parliament. This act enabled Adolf Hitler to pass laws without the involvement of Reichstag, the German Parliament. This law allowed Hitler to assume complete dictatorial control over Germany and allowed the National Socialist party to start taking steps to their revolution.
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The War of the Stray Dog
Can you imagine a world in which a dog caused the outbreak of a war? This may seem unlikely, but it did happen in the 1925 War of the Stray Dog between Bulgaria and Greece. Before we get to how a dog started a war, let’s go back to Bulgaria and Greece’s complex, intertwined history of conflict. After both countries had fought for their independence from the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s, they joined together with two other nations, Montenegro and Serbia, to form the Balkan League. These nations had all gained their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but because large numbers of their populations remained under Ottoman rule,…
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On this day – February 3rd, 1989
On February 3rd, 1989, after more than 30 years as dictator of Paraguay, Alfredo Stroessner was overthrown in a coup d’etat led by General Andres Rodriguez. He was driven into exile in Brazil where he lived until the end of his days.
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The Longest Running Friendly Feud
Imagine starting a 50 year international conflict over a virtually unusable body of rock. While this seems extremely silly and unlikely, it is exactly what happened between Denmark and Canada in what is now known as the Whisky War. I am here to explain how this conflict started, and how it finally ended in June of 2022. It all began with Hans Island. Never heard of it? That’s probably because it is only half a square mile large and has no great natural resources. Many have referred to it as an unremarkable piece of rock. While negotiating territorial lines in the Arctic, both Denmark and Canada realized that they…
