Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) League of Nations, former international organization, established by the peace treaties that ended World War I. Like its successor, the United Nations, its purpose was the promotion of international p...

(Encyclopedia) Confessing Church, Ger. Bekennende Kirche, German Protestant movement. It was founded in 1933 by Martin Niemoeller as the Pastors' Emergency League and was systematically opposed to the Nazi-sponsored...

(Encyclopedia) Albers, Josef yōˈzĕf älˈbĕrs [key], 1888–1976, German-American painter, printmaker, designer, and teacher, b. Bottrop, Germany. After working at the Bauhaus (1920–33), Albers and his wife, t...

(Encyclopedia) Sirk, Douglas, 1900–87, German-American film director, b. Hamburg as Claus Detlef Sierck. A successful director in German theater and film, he fled the Nazi regime in 1937. Two years later he emigra...

(Encyclopedia) Trevor-Roper, Hugh Redwald, Baron Dacre of Glanton dāˈkə [key], 1914–2003, British historian, b. Glanton, Northumberland. He was educated at Oxford, where he was later (1957–80) Regius professo...

(Encyclopedia) ultimatum ŭlˌtĭmāˈtəm [key], in international law, final, definitive terms submitted by one disputant nation to the other for immediate acceptance or rejection. Since refusal to accept the terms...

(Encyclopedia) Schmeling, Max (Maximilian Schmeling), 1905–2005, German boxer. He debuted as a professional fighter in 1924 and came to the United States in 1928. Two years later the methodical slugger beat heavyw...

(Encyclopedia) Staunton, Howard, 1810–74, English chess player, writer, and editor, b. Westmoreland. Settling (1836) in London, he edited (1841–54) England's first major chess magazine and wrote (1845–74) a ch...

(Encyclopedia) Schaumburg-Lippe shoumˈbo͝orkh-lĭpˈə [key], former state, N Germany, E of the Weser River. In 1946 it was placed in Lower Saxony. Bückeburg was the capital. It was situated in a fertile agricult...

(Encyclopedia) Owens, Jesse, 1913–80, U.S. track star, b. Alabama. He was also called John Cleveland Owens, although his original name was said to be simply J. C. Owens. After his family moved to Cleveland he exce...