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walter benjamin was a german philosopher, cultural critic, and writer. he was born in 1892 and died in 1940. benjamin is best known for his contributions to the field of cultural criticism and his exploration of the relationship between art, technology, and modernity. he is considered one of the most important figures in the frankfurt school of critical theory, and his ideas have had a significant influence on later thinkers and scholars. some of his most famous works include "the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction" and "the arcades project."

walter benjamin was known for his unique and thought-provoking ideas, which he expressed in his writing and speeches. here are a few of his most famous quotes:

-"experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him."
-"to be happy is to be able to become aware of oneself without fright."
-"the only way of knowing a person is to love them without hope."
-"the story is told of an automaton constructed in such a way that it could play a winning game of chess, answering each move of an opponent with a countermove. a puppet in turkish attire and with a hookah in its mouth sat before a chessboard placed on a large table. a system of mirrors created the illusion that this table was transparent from all sides. actually, a little hunchback who was an expert chess player sat inside and guided the puppet's hand by means of strings. one can imagine a philosophical counterpart to this device. the puppet called "historical materialism" is to win all the time. it can easily be a match for anyone if it enlists the services of theology, which today, as we know, is wizened and has to keep out of sight."
-"the true picture of the past flits by. the past can be seized only as an image which flashes up at the instant when it can be recognized and is never seen again."

frida kahlo is known for her self-portraits, which are considered some of the most influential and iconic works of art in mexican history. some of her most famous paintings include "self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird," image "the two fridas," image and "the broken column." image these paintings are known for their vivid colors, emotional intensity, and their exploration of themes related to identity, gender, and mexican culture. frida kahlo's art continues to inspire and influence artists around the world.

won't be fought with sticks and stones*

irma grese was one of the female nazi perpetrators, her career is explained as “full of depravity, horror, extreme cruelty, forced bisexuality, and murder.” she is known for performing her duties without hesitation and doing so without remorse.

in the prosecution of irma grese, having numerous witness accounts of her cruelty, grese still maintained that she did not purposely harm anyone. she denied many accusations of beating prisoners unconscious, sending them outside the camp to be shot or allowing her dog to attack prisoners. grese does, however, admit some beatings at the bergen-belsen trials, here are a few questions and answers taken from the trial transcripts:

• in lager "c" you used to carry a walking-stick, too, and sometimes you beat people with the whip and sometimes with the stick? - yes.
• were you allowed to beat people? - no.
• so it was not a question of having orders from your superiors to do it. you did this
against orders, did you? - yes.

grese’s responses to these questions demonstrate that superiors did not order her to take these actions. there is also the understanding that superiors felt the prisoners were replaceable; railways constantly brought in new prisoners, allowing camp guards to see them as disposable.

the most unhappy and depressive model.

if you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools.
plato

between 1978 and 1995, ted kaczynski, also known as the unabomber, used homemade bombs to attack universities and airlines. he targeted educational and technological institutions because he thought technological advancement would destroy the human race. his bombs killed three people and injured 23 others. the fbi spent more than $50 million trying to capture the 53-year-old harvard graduate. it was not until his brother contacted authorities that the fbi finally located him in a shack in western montana. kaczynski eventually confessed and pleaded guilty to all charges.

hitler's right-hand man. he was sentenced to death on trial at nuremberg. but he committed suicide on the night before his execution by swallowing a capsule of cyanide.

(see: #747)

in 1925, a tennessee teacher named john t. scopes was arrested for teaching charles darwin's theory of evolution, which said that "higher" forms of life, such as humans, olved from "lower" life forms, such as apes. many rural americans felt this theory was at odds with the creationism they believed in and their traditional christian values.

william jennings bryan, the great populist hero, spoke for the prosecution. scopes was defended by famous defense attorney clarence darrow. in his questioning, darrow made bryan seem foolish and ignorant. the trial settled nothing, though. scopes was fined $100, and the ruling was later reversed on a technicality.

in oregon, reformer william s. u'ren established the referendum, in which the people voted to decide some issues directly. in new york, governor charles evans hughes pushed through the first workmen's compensation act, providing benefits for injured workers.

the secret ballot was one of many reforms first proposed by the populists. in the past, each party had a brightly colored ballot; after marking it, the voter dropped it into a ballot box in full view of everyone in the room. the secret ballots looked the same and were marked in private, so people did not have to reveal how they had voted.

tecumseh, a powerful shawnee i chief, made a strong alliance of the tribes along the western american frontier in what is now michigan and indiana. in november 1811. the governor of the indiana territory, william henry harrison, launched an attack on warriors led by tecumseh's brother. the fierce battle of tippecanoe was a draw. however, it was discovered that some of tecumseh's warriors had used british weapons, adding to the demand for war. after war was declared, general harrison led a force into canada, where he defeated the british and indians at the battle of the thames. tecumseh was killed there. without his leadership, his confederacy quickly collapsed.

aaron burr was a brilliant, erratic man with great personal charm-and huge ambition. he served as vice president during jefferson's first term, but the president considered him a dangerous schemer and replaced him for the 1804 election. burr ran for governor of new york instead, but lost. he blamed the defeat on vicious newspaper attacks alexander hamilton had written. when hamilton refused to apologize, burr challenged him to a duel with pistols and fatally wounded him. with a warrant out for his arrest, burr, still vice president, fled west. he was arrested and put on trial for treason in 1807. he was acquitted due to lack of evidence, but he spent the rest of his life in obscurity.

burr and hamilton's duel image

buying the louisiana territory raised a constitutional issue for president jefferson, since the document said nothing about purchasing new lands. jefferson decided that keeping france from controlling the mississippi river was too important, though, to turn down the opportunity. so the purchase was judged necessary and the senate readily approved it in 1803. congress paid france about $15 million for the land.

the louisiana purchase doubled the land area of the nation, adding 800,000 square miles and more than 200,000 people-primarily american indians, spanish, and french.

even before the revolution daniel boone and other pioneers blazed trails and led pioneers into the western wilderness. in 1775, boone joined several indian trails together to create the wilderness road. thousands of pioneers used this road to cross the cumberland gap into what is now kentucky. boone eventually moved west to missouri, where he continued to hunt and explore the wilds well into his eighties.