Lorraine Boissoneault

Oct 30, 2024 | smithsonianmag.com | Lorraine Boissoneault

Like Fight Club, there were rules about joining the secret society known as the Order of the Star Spangled Banner (OSSB). An initiation rite called “Seeing Sam.” The memorization of passwords and hand signs. A solemn pledge never to betray the order. A pureblooded pedigree of Protestant Anglo-Saxon stock and the rejection of all Catholics. And above all, members of the secret society weren’t allowed to talk about the secret society.

Oct 17, 2024 | smithsonianmag.com | Lorraine Boissoneault

When women of Salvation Army volunteered to join the front lines of World War I to support the American Expeditionary Force, they were given a few obvious supplies: gas masks, helmets and .45-caliber revolvers. But it turned out what they needed most were things much harder for the Army to supply: rolling pins, cookie cutters, flour and sugar.

Oct 12, 2024 | smithsonianmag.com | Lorraine Boissoneault

Following on the heels of President Donald Trump's inauguration this Friday, at least 3.3 million Americans gathered for marches around the country, rallying behind calls for a Women's March on Washington—though the rallies ultimately spready to many cities worldwide. In Washington, D.C., alone, crowd estimates were around 500,000, with protestors calling for gender equality, protection for immigrants, minority and LGBTQ rights and access to women's health services.

Sep 25, 2024 | smithsonianmag.com | Lorraine Boissoneault

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and where there’s fire, conspiracy theories are sure to follow. At least, that’s what happened in Germany on February 27, 1933, when a sizeable portion of the parliamentary building in Berlin, the Reichstag, went up in flames from an arson attack. It was the canary in the political coal mine—a flashpoint event when Adolf Hitler played upon public and political fears to consolidate power, setting the stage for the rise of Nazi Germany.

Sep 24, 2024 | smithsonianmag.com | Lorraine Boissoneault |Ellen Wexler

Archaeologists have found the distinctive design on artifacts from India, Europe, Africa, China and the Americas. When Adolf Hitler co-opted it, its meaning changed forever When German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann traveled to Ithaca, Greece, in 1868, one goal was foremost in his mind: discovering the ancient city of Troy using Homer’s Iliad. Many historians believed the epic poem to be no more than a myth, but Schliemann was convinced otherwise.