Author: Jan Huisman
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The power of publicity. Gurlitt will get back his paintings
For more than a week the whole art-world marveled as the German authorities claimed they had recovered 1500 masterpieces. A unworldy man, Cornelius Gurlitt, had inherited them from his father, a suspected culprit of the nazis. It was claimed that many paintings were in fact nazi-loot, and either belonged to private collectors or to museums.…
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Feeling sick? Maybe you have the Neanderthal-virus
British scientists have discovered Neanderthal’ viruses in the DNA of modern sick humans. They made their discovery as they studied DNA samples of these ancient hominids and then compared them to the DNA of cancer patients alive today. As it turned out, the same DNA strings appeared in both samples. This suggests that these viruses were already…
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The dog is a European invention
Until recently, it was unclear when the first dog was domesticated. It was believed that domesticated dogs originated in East Asia about 15.000 years ago. Recently, an international research-project shows that the first dogs were in fact European, and they were bred about 30.000 years ago. Regarding the fact that other animals like pigs, cows…
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Who owns the Munich masterpieces?
As DisputedPast reported, a huge amount of priceless masterpieces was found in Munich, Germany, last week. Since then, authorities give few to no information regarding the art. Yesterday, finally some pictures were made public (link to website Kunstfund München). Next week, 500 paintings will be posted on the same website. Why are the authorities withholding this…
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Important battle in Swiss history may have been made-up
Ask an arbitrary Swiss man or woman what the most important event in Swiss history was, and the battle of Morgarten is likely to be named. In 1315, the Swiss confederation beat the Habsburgers at Morgarten and gained independence from the Holy Roman Empire. Every history museum in Switzerland sports this legendary event, as it is…
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A grim message on Armistice Day
Today exactly 95 years ago, the first Armistice Day was celebrated. This day marked the end of the Great War, or the First World War. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year 1918, a peace treaty was signed in Compiegne, France. The guns on all fronts halted…
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‘Romantic kristallnacht’ and ‘Stolpersteine’. The Kristallnacht remembered
Exactly 75 years ago, on the 9th and 10th of November 1938, the Nazis conducted a furious attacks on Jews. They set fire to their shops and synagogues, destroyed their homes. Also known as the ‘night of broken glass’, the Kristallnacht marked a new phase in the anti-Semitic policy of the Nazis. During the early…