The colorful slides open a rare window into West Germany in the early 1950s, a country still rebuilding from the devastation of the Second World War. They are believed to have been taken by a U.S. Army nurse stationed at the 97th General Army Hospital in Frankfurt during 1952 and 1953. At the time, Frankfurt was not only a hub for American military operations but also one of the many cities undergoing rapid reconstruction, where ruins stood alongside new buildings and signs of recovery....

These stunning photos of the Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe were captured by photographer John Florea during the 1950s. The mere name of Marilyn Monroe represents different images for different people. For some, it suggests the absolute standard of female sensuality. Beauty. Grace. Sophistication. For others, insecurity comes to mind. Misery. Tragedy. Florea started as a photographer for the San Francisco Examiner, then was signed onto the staff of LIFE in 1941, living in Hollywood and specializing in celebrity portraits of actresses, such as Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe....

Belgian refugees on the harbor at Ostend waiting for a boat to take them to England. 1914. The outbreak of war in 1914 left many Belgians homeless and penniless. Germany invaded Belgium on its way to France, sending hundreds of thousands of Belgian refugees fleeing for their lives. The number of people who fled the country from 1914-18 was approximately one-sixth of the Belgian population. They headed to the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands to flee the encroaching German troops....

On March 30, 1981, Ronald Reagan was 69 days into his presidency. As he exited the Washington Hilton Hotel after giving a speech, the president was struck by a bullet fired by John Hinckley, Jr. Three others were also shot – Press Secretary James Brady, Washington Police Officer Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy. Hinckley was armed with a .22 revolver with exploding bullets and was only ten feet away from Reagan when he began shooting....

Allegedly the last picture of Adolf Hitler before he committed suicide on April 30, 1945. Hitler (right) and his adjutant Julius Schaub looking at the ruins of the Reich chancellery, April 28, 1945. This last known picture of Hitler was taken approximately two days prior to his death as he stands outside his Berlin bunker entrance surveying the devastating bomb damage. With Germany lying in ruins after six years of war, and with defeat imminent, Hitler decided to take his own life....

In 1966, David Weston, an inventive mind from Yorkshire, introduced Tinker, a robot designed to tackle everyday household tasks. Tinker wasn’t just an ordinary gadget; it could wash cars, weed gardens, take babies for walks, and even accompany its owner on shopping trips. However, there was one major limitation—Tinker could only operate within a 200-meter radius of Weston’s garage. From there, Weston controlled the robot using a custom-built control panel, keeping it within arm’s reach, technologically speaking....

On May 07, 1954, Viet Minh forces won the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and ended French involvement in Indochina. This victory led to the Geneva Conference where the French and Viet Minh negotiated a ceasefire agreement. (Note: the other part of this photo collection: Vietnam War: Escalation and Withdrawal through rare photographs, 1968-1975 ). Under the terms of the Geneva Accords, France agreed to withdraw its troops from Indochina while Vietnam was temporarily divided into North and South Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh and Bao Dai respectively, at the 17th parallel....

Clint Eastwood, in full Clinton Eastwood, Jr., (born May 31, 1930, San Francisco, California, U.S.), American motion-picture actor who emerged as one of the most popular Hollywood stars in the 1960s and went on to become a prolific and respected director-producer. His roles and charisma made Eastwood an enduring cultural icon of masculinity During the Great Depression, Eastwood moved with his family a number of times before they finally settled in Piedmont, California, in 1940....

Founded in 1903, Harley-Davidson is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with its historical rival, Indian Motorcycles. The company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements, periods of poor economic health and product quality, and intense global competition to become one of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturers and an iconic brand widely known for its loyal following. The original 1903 Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory....

Thanksgiving in the 1950s and 1960s carried a warmth that still echoes through the photographs left behind. These vintage snapshots reveal families gathering around crowded tables, kitchens alive with activity, and living rooms filled with familiar rituals that marked the unofficial start of the holiday season. By mid-century, Thanksgiving stood as a firmly rooted national holiday, blending its historic origins with the rhythms of modern family life. The idea of giving thanks in North America dates back long before these mid-century celebrations....

In October 1963, a small tuxedo cat from the streets of Paris was chosen to do something no feline had ever done before. Her name was Félicette, and she would become the first cat launched into space. At just five and a half pounds, she hardly seemed like the face of cutting-edge science. Yet her calm nature and light build made her the perfect candidate for a mission that would mark France’s bold entry into the Space Race....

In today’s world, taking a photo of a fish you caught might seem like an ordinary occurrence, but it wasn’t always that way. Looking back at the early 1900s, when cameras were just becoming more accessible, fishermen took pride in capturing their big catches and preserving the memory of their successful fishing trips. These black-and-white snapshots depict the fishermen standing next to their boats or along the shoreline, holding up enormous fish that they had just caught....

Erwin Rommel helps to push his stuck staff car somewhere in Northern Africa, January 1941. Rommel was well respected by his men and enemies. He was a general that had “my men first, then me” kind of attitude. There were sometimes that he preferred to retreat, losing ground and resources, than the lives of his men, hoping he would have the chance to regroup and strike with more force....

French troops had invaded the industrial land around the River Ruhr. They tried to control the German workers and the public. In January 1923 France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr, an industrial area of Germany bordering their own countries. The occupation of Ruhr was in response to the Weimar Republic’s failure to continue its reparation payments in the aftermath of World War I. This region, full of factories and coal mines, contained resources the French and Belgians intended to use to make up for the unpaid reparations....

Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko on July 20, 1938, in San Francisco, California, was destined for greatness from a young age. She would go on to become one of Hollywood’s most enduring and beloved actresses, captivating audiences with her talent, beauty, and charm. Natalie’s journey into the world of entertainment began at the tender age of four when she made her debut in a Christmas play. Natalie Wood relaxing on a hammock, ca....

Joe Arridy didn’t have a last meal wish. Maybe he didn’t quite get what that meant. He was just 23, with an IQ of 46. He understood the simple joys of eating, playing, and the world of trains – things you could see, smell, and live. But things like God, justice, and evil were like elusive dreams to him. The doctors called him an “imbecile,” a term for someone who thinks like a child between four and six....

The first monarch to be crowned after India’s independence from British colonial rule, the Queen visited India on three occasions. The first of those visits came in 1961 when she and her husband Prince Phillip toured the country’s biggest cities like Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata (then called Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta respectively). They also visited India’s most recognizable monument, the Taj Mahal, and were the guests of honor for India’s Republic Day Parade that year....

A policeman directs buses in the intersection of Trafalgar Square, London. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, photographer Clifton R. Adams was commissioned by the National Geographic to document life in England. Adams’ beautiful autochromes—a process of producing color images by using potato starch—present images that capture the last of an England that was slowly heading towards modernity. Adams, who died in 1934, was instructed to record its farms, towns and cities, and its residents at work and play....

These photos were taken in 1950 by Life Magazine photographer Ed Clark who got a call from a friend at 20th Century Fox about a “hot tomato” the studio had just signed. His pictures of Marilyn offer a rare glimpse into the early days of an eventual pop-culture icon’s career when a young actress was unaware of what the coming years would bring. In a 1999 interview, Clark described the photo shooting: “She was almost unknown then, so I was able to spend a lot of time shooting her....

The Bonneville Salt Flats are in Utah, USA, near the border with Nevada, and as the name suggests it’s a very big and very flat area of land. Speed freaks began using the terrain for racing way back in 1912. Since 1935, Bonneville’s been one of the primary venues for land speed record attempts, with most land speed records recorded between 1935 and 1970 set there. The flats were first recognized for their potential as a speed-testing ground by Bill Rishel, who in 1896 had cycled across the area to win a competition run by the newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst....