HistoryBytes

Avid reader, history aficionado, knowledge seeker, book lover, researcher & learner. Very outspoken and zero tolerance for bullshit.

[HistoryBytes @HistoryBytes_]

Biblioteca Joanina, Coimbra library, Portugal.

[Katja Hoyer @hoyer_kat]

Markus Lanz is a major political talk show on German TV, watched by ~1.5 million people. Last night it featured a certain Anglo-German historian and her book WEIMAR. I'm grateful for the opportunity to bring some *carefully* drawn observations from history into current debates.

[Katja Hoyer @hoyer_kat]

Hitler's first victim or willing accomplice? Austria's annexation into Nazi Germany has a complex place in memory politics. Many surprising details in this fresh episode of Reichs & Republics as we dissect the origins, events and legacy of the Anschluss.
Out now on all platforms.

[Katja Hoyer @hoyer_kat]

WEIMAR is out in the US and in Canada today!! 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇩🇪📚
“A charged, eminently accessible history that speaks to a troubled present as well as to the past," says the starred review from Kirkus.

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

📝 Clarification: The 9.1 million-barrel commercial crude draw cited in our previous post comes from the American Petroleum Institute’s weekly inventory estimate, not the official government count.

The Energy Information Administration’s official U.S. petroleum supply report is scheduled for release Wednesday morning and will determine whether the larger-than-expected crude draw is confirmed.

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

⛽️ U.S. Crude Stockpiles Plunge Roughly 17 Million Barrels as Hormuz Crisis Drags On

U.S. crude inventories fell sharply last week for a combined draw of about 17 million barrels, according to American Petroleum Institute data. Commercial crude drew down 9.1 million barrels, while the Trump administration released another 7.9 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — the national emergency stockpile.

🔸 The breakdown:
◽️ Crude: -9.1 million barrels
◽️ Gasoline: -1.2 million barrels
◽️ Distillates: +1.3 million barrels
◽️ Cushing hub: -1.1 million barrels
◽️ SPR: -7.9 million barrels

The SPR draw brings the reserve to about 349 million barrels, its lowest level since August 2023, as Washington taps emergency stocks to ease prices. The drawdowns come as the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz — the chokepoint for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil — passes its third month. The API’s chief has warned the SPR is nearing levels of “genuine concern,” with limited room to respond to another shock.

[Sam Dalrymple @SamDalrymple123]

Chanderi Beyond the Saris

Chanderi, nestled in the Vindhyachal mountain range, is one of the most extraordinary towns in Madhya Pradesh.

[Furkan Gözükara @FurkanGozukara]

🚨 DISGUSTING: Ari Melber exposes the massive Epstein coverup! Assistant Lesley Groff claimed she only booked standard massages, but leaked FBI files prove she arranged $1,300 payments and scheduled school girls.

The Washington establishment protects elite predators!

[Samantha Ruddy @samlymatters]

The girl in your freshman social studies class who raised her hand to ask why there’s no white history month is running half the major news outlets.

[Katja Hoyer @hoyer_kat]

Nazi analogies and Weimar warnings are everywhere in politics these days. They usually backfire. Evoking the ghosts of Germany's past doesn't tackle present-day challenges.
Using Hitler comparisons is just bad politics, I argue in the Washington Post👇
https://t.co/CAeK1WkB6S

[Puraani_Kitaab @Puraani_Kitaab]

"اب تک دل خوش فہم کو تجھ سے ہیں امیدیں"

[Yugoslavian Visuals @YugoslavVisuals]

Yugoslav People's Army soldiers surrendering during the Slovenian War of Independence, 1991.

[Knowledge of London @Knowledgepoint]

WW2 stretcher railings are a fascinating piece of repurposed history found throughout London. During the Blitz, the government manufactured over 600,000 steel stretchers to handle expected civilian casualties. Following the war, this massive stockpile was upcycled to replace metal fencing that had been scrapped for the war effort. The original wire mesh is still visible in the railing frame.

[Cold War Conversations Podcast @ColdWarPod]

NEW EPISODE- #CIA and #MI6 Covert Action in Communist #Albania at the Dawn of the #ColdWar

Listen here 🎧🎧https://t.co/C8Ebn3dCVo

#spies #covertaction #espionage #Balkans @iconbooks

[Nick Short 🇺🇦 @nickfshort]

Got back to Blighty in the early hours to find this from @guywalters waiting for me. Woop, woop! Many thanks to @Iain_MacGregor1 for the copy. Will be diving right in. On #DDay82 of all days too.

[alex kershaw @kershaw_alex]

Two of my books on D Day. Please follow me on Substack. https://t.co/y6G2nmqblW

[Iain_MacGregor1 (@iainmacgregor1.bsky.social) @Iain_MacGregor1]

Excellent first review for my new book in #TheSundayTimes today by @dcsandbrook . Pleased does not do it justice! @LittleBrownUK @TheSohoAgencyUK @MrHenryLord 🍾 Out 28 July.

[Iain Cameron @theiaincameron]

Such a sad photo. Two scientists on a remote island collect seeds from the last known example in the world of a type of tree, hoping to preserve it.

Imagine being beside the last known of anything in the world. A humbling experience

Photo and story: https://t.co/PwLMhe21w7

[Vali Nasr @vali_nasr]

@gonultol 👉 Erdogan and Putin, the End of an Unlikely Partnership https://t.co/4mrrBOPFUL

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

In 1967, during the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War, Israeli forces attacked a US naval vessel, killing 34 servicemen and civilian analysts.

Here’s a look back at Al Jazeera’s investigation into the attack and the controversy surrounding it ⤵️https://t.co/xlhzM7lmrq

[Vali Nasr @vali_nasr]

@brhodes is spot on 👇🏼