History

Eighty years ago, the Allies rained down hell on the city, one of Germany’s cultural capitals

A new exhibition on tour around the country reveals how a bloody Roman pastime took root here

A new futurist exhibition, Breaking Lines: Futurism and the Origins of Experimental Poetry, offers a warning about alliances with fascism

Claimed to have aphrodisiac effects, Italy’s most iconic dessert was born inside the brothels of Treviso to ‘refuel’ clients

The idea, proposed by the Tory leader, that people should wait 15 years before being eligible for a passport, is nothing more than crude xenophobia

The Soviet Union’s negotiating victory at Yalta in February 1945 was secured through vintage wine and roast goose

In the 1990s, Britain fell out of love with its concrete masterpieces – but then it all changed

In the Somport Tunnel beneath the Pyrenees, scientists try to solve the biggest mysteries of the cosmos

After 150 years, the city’s Victorian sewers are at last being upgraded – but Thames Water remains firmly lodged in the financial mire

The famous Grimm Brothers’ tales were originally penned by Giovan Battista Basile, an unknown Italian noble poet from Naples

On Holocaust Memorial Day, with anti-Jewish crimes at an all-time high, the country needs to remember more than ever

The making of an extraordinary memento that survived the concentration camp and a death march designed to bury the truth

There were at least six orchestras at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Eighty years after the camp’s liberation, most of their music has been lost to history. Can conductor Leo Geyer change that?

With his work for the fashion brand, the late photographer and art director Oliviero Toscani took the trangressive mainstream

Louis XIV built a Xanadu at Versailles – and sealed his family’s fate. But amid the extravagant luxury was thrilling innovation

The Republican presidents appear to have much in common. But their policies are poles apart and Donald must turn his back on Ronald to make his MAGA agenda work

Colourful stories abound of how local vintners deceived and humiliated German troops in occupied France. But the truth is rather more complex

Once a forgotten figure, athlete turned activist Werner Seelenbinder is finally getting the credit he is due

The Christmas tree in the Umbrian town of Gubbio in central Italy is so big, you can even switch the lights on from space

Daniel O’Connell, the 19th-century Kerryman, embodies Ireland’s discharge from the straps of England more than any other historical figure

An astounding, eccentric documentary uncovers a murky assassination plot involving Belgium, the CIA and Louis Armstrong

First published in 1924, his masterpiece Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain) is a highbrow ode to chilling

The German racing driver’s memorial site is in a fitting location, close to a fast-paced autobahn

As the second coming of Donald Trump threatens a sell-out of Kyiv, Europe finds itself pondering events of 75 years ago

A 1532 first edition of Machiavelli’s The Prince, which are vanishingly hard to come by, has just come on the market

The forgotten Scottish philosopher’s legacy resurfaced last week when his historic cello was played for the first time in 220 years

The 643 villagers of Oradour-sur-Glane were wiped out by the Nazis. Untouched by order of de Gaulle, the place where they lived and died is now a shrine

Two stunning exhibitions at the Helmut Newton Foundation celebrate the great photographer and the city he escaped from

An empty square in the centre of the German capital gives a warning from the recent past

My first Berlin adventure began at Checkpoint Charlie. My second began in Islington

Bonhoeffer fought against exclusion and for those who couldn’t fight for themselves

A new museum in Giza reminds us of Europe’s deepest origins