Funeral of Ernst vom Rath, a German diplomat assassinated in 1938 by 17-year-old Herschel Grynszpan. The assassination triggered the violent attack on German Jews called 'Kristallnacht', the Night of Broken Glass. (Credit: Everett Collection Historical/Alamy Stock Photo)

Adolf Hitler Tried (and Failed) to Be an Artist

The Holocaust, during which some 6 million Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and other people were systematically exterminated by Nazi Germany during World War II, was one of the most horrific war crimes ever committed.

Holocaust

The Holocaust was one of the worst war crimes ever committed. Learn more about Anne Frank, Kristallnacht, Nazi concentration camps and other Holocaust facts.

Holocaust: Definition and Facts | HISTORY

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Holocaust: Definition and Facts (Video) | HISTORY

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

Sarah Pruitt is a writer and editor based in seacoast New Hampshire. She has been a frequent contributor to History.com since 2005, and is the author of Breaking History: Vanished! (Lyons Press, 2017), which chronicles some of history's most famous disappearances.

Sarah Pruitt

Erin Blakemore is an award-winning journalist who lives and works in Boulder, Colorado. Learn more at <a title="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://erinblakemore.com__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!CIEioOBTV4yFbQEmSGiq4cXk2F0ZNZuyS9kOYFTisC017l-98oL6xawo3XPhTUEFtLr8Doo8X-r3lzfonSLnZm75SSl8$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://erinblakemore.com__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!CIEioOBTV4yFbQEmSGiq4cXk2F0ZNZuyS9kOYFTisC017l-98oL6xawo3XPhTUEFtLr8Doo8X-r3lzfonSLnZm75SSl8$">erinblakemore.com</a>

Erin Blakemore

Missy Sullivan,&nbsp;special projects editor at HISTORY.com,&nbsp;is an award-winning journalist and editor who previously held editorial positions at&nbsp;The Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney magazine and Forbes.

Missy Sullivan

Madison Horne

Religion and spiritual issues, including Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, the Bible, Wicca, Buddhism and more, are at the core of human values and history.

Religion

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

Holocaust - Stories

When Hitler Tried (and Failed) to Be an Artist

How a Sentimental Yiddish Song Became a Worldwide Hit—and a Nazi Target

Why 90 Percent of Danish Jews Survived the Holocaust

The Heartbreaking WWII Rescue That Saved 10,000 Jewish Children From the Nazis

Americans Were Shocked by Kristallnacht—But Their Outrage Soon Faded

10 Kristallnacht Photos That Capture the Horror of ‘The Night of Broken Glass’

Watch the Emotional Reunion of a Concentration Camp Survivor and One of His Liberators

Holocaust Photos Reveal Horrors of Nazi Concentration Camps

Kristallnacht Started When This Diplomat Was Murdered in Cold Blood