What is your favourite Historical era, and why?

The witch craze in early modern Europe. The darkest recesses of the human imagination made manifest in a long-ignored episode of European history as bizarre as it is horrifying. It represents the coming together of ideas and fantasies from the lowest orders of society to the highest to create a phenomena that we will likely never fully understand. To study the witch hunts is to study culture, society, folklore, religion, law, psychology and anthropology.

Not an era but Russian history. I did 2 modules on it at university and found both really interesting. I wish I could speak Russian.....

Same! Since I was a little kid, I've always been so interested in the World Wars, particularly the second. I find modern history the most interesting in general, but specifically WW2. I loved studying the political, social, economic, technological etc aspects of it, and I could always write for hours. My family, some of whom are still living, were kept in concentration camps in Germany so it can be quite difficult to study, but people over the years have helped me understand more and more about this which makes me feel a lot closer to them

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I'm really sorry to hear about your family being kept in concentration camps. I've been on a Battlefield trip to France and Belgium and to the Holocaust memorial/museum in Berlin - the History is so sad but also so fascinating! Have you been to any museums for the world wars?

My three principal points of interest are:

• Ancient Greece and Rome, because the mythology is fantastic, the architecture spectacular, and the societies and conflicts are interesting too and both have had such a large impact on history.

• The general period between (roughly) 1700-1850, including the colonial and Napoleonic times. I really like the outfits people wore here lol and a lot of technological advances were made during this period.

• World War II, firstly because it's still comparatively recent (in living memory for a lot of elderly people) which actually scares me. I can't believe such atrocities would be committed in such a 'modern' time. Learning about the Nazis themselves is also quite interesting, mainly just to hear about some of the crazy things they believed such as Atlantis. Very often in war, there isn't really a 'right' or 'wrong' side as both sides are just acting in their own self-interest, for territory, resources, influence etc., but WW2 was genuinely a battle of good vs evil and the sheer scale of the war is incredible.

It really is fascinating. I've been to a few small ones and a couple of fayres and exhibitions, but I'd love to go over to Germany and Poland to see the major ones, and possibly even visit the one I believe my great grandmother, her sister, and her mother was in. I've always really wanted to visit the Anne Frank museum as well, so that's on my list of things to do

A great range of History! I agree about it being scary that these things happened in more recent times, but what is even more scary is things like this could be happening again - Putin and Trump come into mind - do you think it's a possibility?



Whereabouts were they in? I've been to the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam, again so sad (I nearly cried!) but positive in a way that the story has been told and there is a lot of awareness to try and prevent this happening again.

It really is fascinating. I've been to a few small ones and a couple of fayres and exhibitions, but I'd love to go over to Germany and Poland to see the major ones, and possibly even visit the one I believe my great grandmother, her sister, and her mother was in. I've always really wanted to visit the Anne Frank museum as well, so that's on my list of things to do

I've actually been to Auschwitz. It was fascinating but you can really feel the evil in the air. A lot of it is pictures with text like a museum, but they have this room which is just full of human hair, and another full of shoes. The worst bit (for me at least) were these tiny little closet type things. They were like 1m square with a small door on one side on the floor to halfway up. Apparently the nazis would put several people in there and close the door - it was complete darkness and no room to sit or anything. People would be left there for hours. I get very claustrophobic so just looking made me feel really nauseous.