World War II
Explore World War II—major battles, global alliances, and the events that changed the course of the 20th century.
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As borders were redrawn in Central Europe after World War I, a surprising idea of unification briefly emerged: the merging of Romania and Hungary into a single state. This sounds crazy, but this was an actual proposal after WWI. The two states had been rivals for decades. So, how could this union benefit both countries?…
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Across the 1800s, the Ottomans had an important role to play in European politics—not necessarily due to their immense power, but because of the people they ruled over and their geopolitical location. The huge Russian Empire was feared across Europe, and its ambitious eyes often wandered toward the Ottomans, specifically for control over the Balkans…
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The National Socialist ambitions for a pan-German state had already raised tensions between Germany and the Allies. The German Army saw a war with the Allies as unwinnable and had planned a coup against Hitler’s regime. This was known as the Oster Conspiracy, named after its mastermind, Hans Oster. For this plan to work, the…