Cecily von Ziegesar

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Based on the novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, this film portrays the life of a German child, named Bruno, throughout prewar Germany. Bruno is an eight-year old child who lives a wealthy life in Berlin along his mother, Elsa, his elder sister, Gretel, and father. Ralf, Bruno's father, is a German-soldier pertaining to the Nazis, the National Socialist German Workers' Party, who "advocated totalitarian government, territorial expansion,…

A willful manipulator of the throne or revolutionary thinker? The legacy of Johann Friedrich Struensee is left in history as a controversy. During the 1770's, Christian VII's reign in Denmark was underscored with the illness of the king, which gave way for a German doctor, Johann Friedrich Struensee, to rise to power and become a ruler. As the king’s doctor and confidant, Struensee essentially gained the persuasive power of a king and later accumulated all of the governmental power so he could…

Today, many view man as corrupt and not in control of his own destiny. One of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance period, Michelangelo, incorporated mental insight, realism and passion in his work. One of Michelangelo’s sculptures rejects many modern misconceptions of men. The sculpture, David, is the story of a young boy who chose to fight a stronger opponent in order to save his people. While wearing no armor, he defeated Goliath using his bravery and skill. Compared to artwork…

Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz wrote one of the most influential works of military philosophy called On War. Clausewitz’s family was in the middle class but in 1827 King Friedrich Wilhelm III confirmed the family’s nobility. Clausewitz was in the Prussian army and first starting fighting when he was thirteen. Prussia ended up withdrawing from the French Revolution which left Clausewitz bored. Because Clausewitz was bored, he picked up an interest for art, science, and education which had…

The Curious Little Bone Hunter Ernst Stromer was a determined man. He visited the Bahariya Oasis to look for mammal fossils with his pal Richard Markgraf, but he found some other intriguing fossils that captivated him for the rest of his life. Between 1940 and 1944, Stromer identified the bones of Aegyptosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and the largest known carnivorous dinosaur, Spinosaurus. He also found 42 other types of dinosaurs, fish, crocodiles, and turtles. Ernst Stromer discoveries were…

small dispute between two countries but soon spread through the entirety of Europe. The expansion was largely due to alliances made prior to the war. These alliances were made due to fear, revenge, common enemies, and a desire for protection. Otto von Bismarck of Germany formed numerous alliances during his time as chancellor of Prussia and then later Germany. Bismarck’s alliances included The Three Emperors League, which was instituted in 1873 then…

The rocket was invented during the 1200s by the Chinese Mongols. These individuals built small rockets originally for fire works. Over the next 700 years however, the rocket evolved. People began to make bigger and stronger rockets, where they were beginning to be used in warfare, causing the invention to take a turn for the worse. However, in the late 1900s, NASA began an operation trying to land men on the moon before the Soviets did using the rocket. This task at hand had never been achieved…

Born in April 20, 1889, Adolf Hitler was born to Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl, the fourth of six children in Braunau am Inn, Austria, near the Austro-German border. In his home, Hitler lived in an abusive childhood, regularly beaten by his violent father who was a strict Austrian customs official. While his father was brutish, constantly mistreating his wife, Klara Polzl and his children, Hitler's mother was very submissive, kind, and worried for Hitler's safety against his father, she had a…

From 1880 to 1914, there was an increasing trend of European nations dominating African colonies. Belgium, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and Portugal were all overtaking and claiming lands in Africa during the late 1800’s and throughout the early 1900’s. The European acquisition of African colonies was influenced by strong feelings of nationalism and Social Darwinism. Althoughter, political and economic incentives and racial attitudes are what drove the European accessions of African colonies…

One of the great questions of history is: How was the Nazi party allowed to come to power? It is important to note that the National Socialists did not win power through a coup or by forcibly taking over but in fact were democratically elected into power by the German people. This means that normal people allowed one of the most evil regimes in history to take total control over their entire lives. It makes one have to ask: How did the Nazis convince the German people to accept them and their…