Images

A 1641 illustration of the Polish Sejm or Parliament (National Library of Poland).

A 1778 oil-on-canvas painting, Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw, by Bernardo Bellotto. (Royal Castle, Warsaw)

An oil-on-canvas c. 1680 portrait of John III Sobieski (aka Jan Sobieski, reign 1674-96), ruler of Poland-Lithuania. The artist is disputed but may be Daniel Schultz or Andreas Stech. (National Museum, Warsaw)

Baranów Sandomierski Castle, Poland, built in the 1590s.

A letter carried by the Zeppelin airship LZ 129 Hindenburg. The transatlantic zeppelins offered a postal service to their passengers. This letter was carried on the Hindenburg's first crossing to New York in May 1936. The postage stamps were...

A photo of the leader of fascist Italy Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) at the gates of Tripoli, Libya, raising the "sword of Islam" and proclaiming himself the "protector of Islam" (20th of May 1937). The photo was retouched: the groom holding...

The leader of fascist Italy Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) delivering a speech in Piazza Duomo in Milan in 1930. (German Federal Archives)

Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) at the fascist congress in Naples (24th of October 1922), held as a "general test" for the March on Rome implemented a few days later.

The leader of fascist Italy Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) and Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) watch a parade staged in Rome for the German dictator's visit to Italy (6th of May 1938).

Mugshot of the future Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), following his arrest by Swiss police for lack of identification papers (19th of June 1903). Mussolini was wrongly identified as "Benedetto" instead of Benito.