Volume 57 Issue 12 December 2007

A century ago international anarchists were causing public outrage and panic with their terror tactics. Matt Carr considers the parallels with al-Qaeda today.

Dietrich Karsten was a Protestant pastor who opposed the Nazi regime in the 1930s but died for Hitler as a soldier in the war. His granddaughter, Lena Karsten, enlisted the help of film-maker Tony Wilson and historian Gabriel Fawcett to find his grave and tell his story. The result is a powerful feature documentary Confessions of a German Soldier. Lena Karsten gives an insight into what she discovered.

Charlotte Crow describes how a recent visit to India on the 150th anniversary of the Indian Mutiny became a flashpoint for Indians and Britons over the commemoration by the two nations.

Clive Foss introduces the Kharijites, a radical sect from the first century of Islam based in southern Iraq and Iran, who adopted an extreme interpretation of the Koran, ruthless tactics and opposed hereditary political leadership. After causing centuries of problems to the caliphate, they survive in a quietist form in East Africa and Oman.

Patricia Cleveland-Peck visits the Big Apple in search of its blossoming.

Patricia Cleveland-Peck visits an annual festival of North American history and culture.

Alison Barnes explains our special fondness for the Christmas legend.

Carola Hicks takes a seasonal look at the stained glass of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, the subject of her new book.