20 Rare Pics From The Past With Fascinating Backstories

1.

A lesbian couple pose for an artistic picture somewhere in France in 1920. Their names and the artist is unknown. For clarification, Corona re-released numerous vintage pictures but is not the actual photographer.

2.

This colorized Nazi propaganda photo shows the Reichsfurer of the SS Heinrich Himmler with a Ukrainian boy in occupied Ukraine in 1942. This was part of the program called the Lebensborn Project. The Nazi would confiscate any qualified Aryan child from occupied territories, transport them to Germany, and have them adopted and raised by a true German family. Thousands of children were stolen this way all across the Reich, but mostly it occurred on the Eastern front.

3.

An iron worker poses for a picture in Stalingrad, USSR (now Russia) in 1932. The hard working factory workers were major for the Soviet uprising, but yet just 15 years later, you can see that communism haven't made their lives better.

4.

Chris Pederson cleans the sidewalk in Spokane, Washington in 1980. The entire area is covered in ash from the eruption of Mt. St Helens. Earthquakes and steam vent episodes occurred for 2 months after the eruption as well. One of the earthquakes caused the largest land slide in US history when almost half the volcanos side slid away. 57 people died during the eruption, with around $1 billion in damage caused. 1,600 times the energy released when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan was released when Mt. St Helens blew. The ash covered the state, causing accident deaths due to poor visibility and also cost around $2-4 million per town to clean up.

5.

A young man shows off his tribal tattoos known as Lanna tattoos somewhere in northern Thailand in 1895. These tattoos still exist in some small villages in the area today, but are getting more and more uncommon and may eventually disappear.

6.

Residents of Pyongyang cross whats left of a bridge on the Taedong River to flee the advancing Chinese Communist troops in North Korea in 1950. North Korean invaded South Korea earlier that year, and took over most of the country. The US and its allies then landed, relieved the South and took over most of North Korean as well. This picture and the event was part of the massive US retreat after China entered the war, which pushed back the US and their allies to where the front lines became for the next 2 years before the fighting stopped. Those front lines would also be the current borders between the 2 nations. No Peace Treaty exists between North and South Korea, just a cease fire agreement that is still honored to this day, for now.

7.

Terry Fox outside Toronto, Canada, during his cross country Marathon of Hope in 1980. He was running with a prosthetic leg as he lost his leg due to his cancer. The marathon was all for cancer research and awareness and he hoped to cross the entire country of Canada. However he was forced to stop after 143 days of running, as his cancer was spreading. He would sadly die a year later, but his message made a lasting impact and help generate lots of donations and support for cancer research.

8.

Engineer Alexei Ananenko (second left) and soldiers Valeri Bezpalov (center) and Boris Baranov (far right) are fitted with protective gear after they volunteered to dive down into the waters and drain the fluid near the reactor during the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in Pripyat, Ukraine in 1986. They were able to find the valves, shutting off the water to clear the area and contain the disaster as best as possible. Though the damage is still devastating, their actions actually prevented it from being worse, as far more radioactive material could have been released. All 3 thought they would die from radiation poisoning believing it was a suicide mission that had to be completed when they volunteered. Many even reported it that way to immortalize the bravery of the USSR's men. However they all did survive and 2 of them are still alive.

9.

Continuing from the previous picture, a German scientist helps destroy contaminated vegetables after the fallout. What you may not know is the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster may have been prevented overall. When temperatures rose on the reactor, the engineers decided to run some tests, including disabling some safety measures and testing the effects. After simulating a failure of the system, a real problem arose, and soon the reactor exploded. The blast killed 31 people, but the fallout caused the entire area to be unlivable. You can't remain in a certain area for so long before the radiation kills you. At least 12 cities had to be fully abandoned, most notably where the reactor was located, Pripyat, which had a population of around 50,000.

10.

A model poses for pictures in Tokyo, Japan in the 1890s. This was part of a group of erotic pictures done tastefully and playfully. Japan rarely did such pictures during this time, as it was during the transition period from very traditional to modern. Grid view

11.

Captain Joseph W. Kittinger II jumps out of a helium balloon at a record of 102,800 feet (31,300 m) or 31 kilometers (19 miles) high above New Mexico, US in 1960. He would fall for 4 minutes and 36 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour (988 km/h) before pulling his parachute. This was the highest recorded parachute jump ever before Felix Baumgartner broke it in 2012, with Kittinger, at age 84, assisting in directing that jump. He also flew for the Air Force during the Vietnam War and was even shot down and captured, being tortured and imprisoned for nearly a year. Kittinger did a number of firsts, and would reach the rank of Colonel before retiring.

12.

A young woman is picking up coal that has fallen off factory trucks in an effort to sell it in Dublin, Ireland in 1972. For many during this time, this was one of the only ways for income in the poor neighborhoods near the factories.

13.

A small child waves an American flag during demonstrations by white students against desegregation with the use of school busing in Boston, US, in 1974. The courts forced the desegregation, and the busing system was part of the forced move. The white public did not react well, with riots and demonstrations daily. Many parts of the country were forced to desegregate in late 1960s and 1970s, and Boston was actually one of the few places that had a very prolonged fight against desegregation even after it went into effect.

14.

Continuing on with the unrest in Boston over desegregation, this picture in 1976 was taken of another person, Joseph Rakes, using the American flag in a far worse way than the child above. This prize winning picture called "The Soiling of Old Glory" shows people attacking black lawyer and activist Ted Landsmark who had helped lobby for the desegregation and integration of the busing system. The picture appears to show Rakes trying to stab Landsmark, but the pole is longer than the picture shows. He was actually swinging the pole, trying to hit Landsmark instead, and in fact would entirely miss him. Landsmark was bloodied in the assault all the same by the other attackers. Rakes was arrested, but despite being convicted and sentences to 2 years in prison for his assault, the sentence was suspended. Most activism stopped by 1980 as desegregation became a mainstay. However, fearing future unrest, the court ordered mandate for desegregation in Boston did not expire until 1988.

15.

A young teenage girl found guilty of having a relationship with a German officer is led to a public shaming in a town in France in 1944. In a moment she would have her hair shaved off, and would walk through the center of town in her undergarments with nasty labels written all over her face. Sometimes the Swastika would be put on an accused forehead

16.

A French soldier listening for incoming aircraft somewhere near the front during WWI in 1916. The Germans used the same type of device, but theirs was portable, with wheels. This version was not easy to move.

17.

A woman smiles for the camera as she casually dumps water out from her home during the massive flooding in Thailand in 1983. 42 counties were affected as water slowly came in from heavy rains.

18.

Disney characters Spaceman and Spacewoman at the Tomorrowland park in Disneyland in California, US, in 1960. The park banked on what at the time was the common belief that within 25 years man would colonize the moon and Mars. It also focused on many other future ideas like flying cars, rocket ships to travel anywhere, and many other things that still do not exist today.

19.

Argentinian soldiers in a makeshift POW camp somewhere on the Falkland Islands during the Falkland War in 1982. Disputes over the island triggered Argentina to occupy them. The UK would not stand for that, and launched an invasion to reclaim the islands. The 2 month war was won by the UK, who lost 225 killed with another 1000 casualties. Argentina lost 649 killed and another 13,000 casualties. The British also accidentally killed 3 civilians with inaccurate shelling. The way the British forced the issue for islands that were believed to have no real value surprised the world. In the end though, no other nation stepped in outside of debates on the UN floor.

20.

A woman feeds an African child in Belgium in 1958. This was at the last known public human zoo. That's right, an African family resides within the fence and Belgians watch them and feed them as if they are animals.