History Impossible

NOTE: Please stick through the intro. There's an important announcement.WARNING: This episode contains the use of offensive racial epithets and disturbing depictions of bigotry that some listeners may find upsetting.What was like to be a child and grow up during the rise of the Nazis? Many have given us memorable answers to that question. There are even those who are still alive and remember it, however vaguely, though we are quickly losing them to the passage of time. But a more pressing and unusual question must be asked, especially in the context of this story: what was it like to be a child and grow up during the rise of the Nazis…while also being black?In this episode of History Impossible, we're going to explore this question by looking at the epic life story of a one Hans-Jurgen Massaquoi, the son of African nobility and German peasantry. We'll see how his existence was allowed for by the incredible story of Liberia itself, as well as its relationship with the early Weimar Republic. We'll look at how h