Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-178). Also available via the Internet.

During the battles for East Prussia in the final year of the Second World War, the ruthless conduct of German troops resulted in vast material and personal damage. By focusing on the besieged ‘Festung Königsberg’ in the spring of 1945, this dissertation argues that the violence that transpired in Germany in 1945 can only be understood by devoting sustained attention to local actors and factors. By combining social history and military history approaches, the research restores agency to the German army, the Wehrmacht, as an active participant in the radicalisation of the German home front. This case study demonstrates that due to the fragmentation of Germany, the decisions and orders of Wehrmacht commanders had a disproportionately large impact at a local level. The radical nature of these decisions was the direct result of the commanders’ violent experiences during the preceding years, while the barbarised mindset of the rank-and-file encouraged the rigorous enforcement of military authority. The dissertation’s findings contribute to four themes within the historiography of the Second World War. First, it contributes to the recent debate surrounding the German Volksgemeinschaft by drawing attention to the limits of loyalty to the regime, and the actors and events that prompted this fidelity to shift. Secondly, by analysing a large number of unused archival sources, it provides the first in-depth urban history of everyday life in Königsberg during its 1945 siege. Thirdly, it challenges the conventional historiographical view in which fanatical Party officials were the main perpetrators of late-war violence by emphasising the significance of the Wehrmacht as a key actor. Even though large numbers of German troops operated in close proximity to German civilians, their conduct has hardly been considered as an explanation of the events of 1945. Lastly, this dissertation combines and transcends the different perspectives on German domestic and martial law, suggesting that the two were ever more closely intertwined as the war progressed, resulting in a shift of behavioural patterns. The focus on Königsberg and its immediate surroundings has allowed for a re-examination of late-war society, being the first to focus attention on the triadic relationship of Wehrmacht, Party, and civilian population.

The Rosetta Stone is one of the most important stone fragments in history. It is the most popular single object in London’s British Museum, has been the object of scholarly research and has had much written about it. Indeed, any account of the history of translation will at least mention the Rosetta Stone. Today, the name “Rosetta” is used metaphorically in the context of translation, foreign-language learning, and even space exploration. In the light of this, one would assume that all sources are in agreement on the facts but, surprisingly, this is not the case. This article shows that sources disagree even in the most obvious aspects, such as the material, colour, condition of the stone and, in particular, with respect to its discovery. Based on an excursion to Alexandria, Rashíd and the – in all likelihood – real discovery site in the Nile delta, this article provides facts and casts some doubt on the reliability of internet sources.

Über 50 Schlösser, Burgen und Gärten Sachsens präsentieren sich in dieser hochwertigen Broschüre unter dem gemeinsamen Dach “Schlösserland Sachsen”. Berauschende Fotos von Sachsens besten FotografInnen setzen die historischen Kostbarkeiten ins richtige Licht. Redaktionsschluss: 31.03.2021

Über 50 Schlösser, Burgen und Gärten Sachsens präsentieren sich in dieser hochwertigen Broschüre unter dem gemeinsamen Dach “Schlösserland Sachsen”. Berauschende Fotos von Sachsens besten FotografInnen setzen die historischen Kostbarkeiten ins richtige Licht. Redaktionsschluss: 31.07.2021

Über 50 Schlösser, Burgen und Gärten Sachsens präsentieren sich in dieser hochwertigen Broschüre unter dem gemeinsamen Dach “Schlösserland Sachsen”. Berauschende Fotos von Sachsens besten FotografInnen setzen die historischen Kostbarkeiten ins richtige Licht. Redaktionsschluss: 30.04.2023

Il matemathicum Theti redige il suo primo trattato a partire dagli anni Sessanta, dopo aver appreso i rudimenti dell’arte della guerra ed essersi accostato all’ingegneria militare sotto la guida di due valenti capitani d’arme: i fratelli Pompeo e Prospero Colonna. L’interesse di Carlo Theti nei riguardi della teoria è ormai cosa affermata, poco nota invece è la struttura dei suoi Discorsi di fortificatione che vengono qui presentati ed analizzati in una loro esauriente articolazione, ponendo particolare attenzione al contenuto dei manoscritti conservati nella Sächsische Landesbibliothek –Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek di Dresda. Il Libro Settimo, in particolare, illustra con esempi l’esperienza compiuta dal Theti in vari contesti territoriali, in cui si rifletteva un forte interesse per le questioni che riguardavano le difese di frontiera. Il contributo si sofferma sulla funzione dei disegni che accompagnano i pareri di Carlo Theti rispettivamente: sull’assedio di Arlem, sul castello di Anversa, la Goletta di Tunisi, la rocca di Ostia, la capitale Vienna e le fortezze del limes ungherese di Jvar e Canisia. I manoscritti analizzati confermano che il trattato e il trattatista si collocano entro le coordinate di un dibattito sull’architettura fortificata che proprio nella seconda metà del Cinquecento si fa ricco di eventi e proposte. Egli a differenza degli altri appare un precursore della moderna storiografia, avverte la necessità di approfondire come teorico una tematica per molti versi dibattuta, e con tale scelta egli andava confrontandosi su un terreno che era perseguito da uomini d’arme e ingegneri militari. Al Theti si può dunque attribuire la caratteristica della professione di esperto super partes, di consigliere di principi e militari che hanno creduto e che fondavano il proprio sapere su una conoscenza tutta empirica dei fenomeni.

Der Beitrag bietet eine zusammenfassende Beschreibung der Vorburg der Burg Stolpen, der Hanewald genannt, von den Anfängen der Überlieferung noch aus bischöflicher Zeit, über die Zerstörungen im Dreißigjährigen Krieg und den nachfolgenden fortifikatorischen Ausbau durch Wolf Kaspar von Klengel, bis zur Gegenwart.

In dieser Forschungsarbeit geht es um die königliche Modellkammer der Universität Göttingen. Diese historische Lehrsammlung hat bis heute zahlreiche Spuren hinterlassen. Trotz Professionalisierung der Sammlungsarbeit und der ständigen Einbindung der Modelle ins universitäre Curriculum der philosophischen Fakultät, insbesondere der angewandten Mathematik, existierten fast zu keiner Zeit angemessene Nutzungsbedingungen. In den 1880er Jahren wurde die Sammlung aufgelöst, wobei der Prozess der Auflösung in den Akten detailliert dokumentiert ist. Darüber hinaus sind bis heute 24 Modelle der ehemaligen Sammlung erhalten. Aufbau und Umfang der Göttinger Modellkammer korrespondieren mit den universalen Modellsammlungen der Zeit, deren Ursprung in höfischen, städtischen und bürgerlichen Kunstkammern zu finden ist. Genutzt wurden Modelle und Modellsammlungen zum Beispiel zu Zwecken der Machtdemonstration, zum Planen und Entwerfen, als Muster, zum Spielen und Experimentieren, aber vor allem in Lehre und Bildung. Neben der Erforschung der alltäglichen Praxis der historischen Sammlungsarbeit steht die Untersuchung der curricularen Nutzung mit der königlichen Modellkammer im Fokus der Arbeit. Dazu wurden einige der heute noch vorhandenen historischen Modelle der Sammlung eingehend untersucht, analysiert, in Bezug auf ihre historische curriculare Praxis befragt und individuell kontextualisiert. Besonders durch die Begegnung mit den Objekten ergaben sich vielfältige Fragestellungen. Letztendlich erzwingen die zahlreichen Informationslücken, die sich bei der Erforschung des alltäglichen Umgangs mit der historischen Lehrsammlung durch Schrifttum und Objekte zwangsläufig auftun, ein überwiegend heuristisches Vorgehen. / This research paper is about the königliche Modellkammer (Royal Model Chamber) of the University of Göttingen. This historical teaching collection has left numerous traces to this day. Despite the professionalisation of the collection's work and the constant integration of the models into the university curriculum of the Faculty of Philosophy, especially applied mathematics, appropriate conditions of use existed almost at no time. In the 1880s, the collection was dissolved, and the process of dissolution is documented in detail in the files. In addition, 24 models from the former collection have been preserved until now. The structure and scope of the Göttingen Model Chamber correspond to the universal model collections of the time, whose origins can be found in courtly, municipal and bourgeois art chambers. Models and model collections for example were used for purposes of demonstrating power, for planning and designing, as patterns, for playing and experimenting, but above all in teaching and education. In addition to researching the everyday practice of historical collection work, the focus is on investigating curricular use with the royal model chamber. To this end, some of the historical models of the collection that still exist today were examined in detail, analysed, questioned in relation to their historical curricular practice and individually contextualised. Especially through the encounter with the objects, a variety of questions emerged. Ultimately, the numerous gaps in information that inevitably open up when researching the everyday use of the historical teaching collection through written material and objects force a predominantly heuristic approach.