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Düstere Geheimnisse: Was mysteriöse Fundstücke über die deutsche Vergangenheit verraten
True History mit Gruselfaktor – Was geheimnisvolle Alltagsgegenstände und mysteriöse Fundstücke über die dunkle deutsche Vergangenheit verraten
Was sagt uns eine Schädelkalotte über kannibalistische Umtriebe und die Ängste von Steinzeitmenschen? Und was hat ein unscheinbares Trinkglas mit Hinrichtungen und der Medizin im Spätmittelalter zu tun? Von diesen und anderen Mysterien erzählt uns der Wissenschaftsredakteur und SPIEGEL-Autor Guido Kleinhubbert in seinem Buch. Darin rekonstruiert er die deutsche Geschichte von der Steinzeit bis heute auf der Grundlage von bisher wenig beachteten archäologischen Entdeckungen und historischen Objekten. Er offenbart die düsteren Geschichten, die sich hinter geheimnisvollen Alltagsgegenständen und rätselhaften Fundstücken verbergen, und zeigt, was sie uns über die deutsche Vergangenheit und unsere Vorfahren verraten. Ein spannendes Lesevergnügen voller True History mit Gruselfaktor.
Was sagt uns eine Schädelkalotte über kannibalistische Umtriebe und die Ängste von Steinzeitmenschen? Und was hat ein unscheinbares Trinkglas mit Hinrichtungen und der Medizin im Spätmittelalter zu tun? Von diesen und anderen Mysterien erzählt uns der Wissenschaftsredakteur und SPIEGEL-Autor Guido Kleinhubbert in seinem Buch. Darin rekonstruiert er die deutsche Geschichte von der Steinzeit bis heute auf der Grundlage von bisher wenig beachteten archäologischen Entdeckungen und historischen Objekten. Er offenbart die düsteren Geschichten, die sich hinter geheimnisvollen Alltagsgegenständen und rätselhaften Fundstücken verbergen, und zeigt, was sie uns über die deutsche Vergangenheit und unsere Vorfahren verraten. Ein spannendes Lesevergnügen voller True History mit Gruselfaktor.
- GenresNonfiction
272 pages, Paperback
Published October 15, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
June 7, 2026
3.5 stars
short review for busy readers:
40 short articles with photos about recent finds in Germany of a macabre or unusual bent. Organised chronologically by artifact, 9,000 BC to the 1940s. Easy to read. Very recent information.
in detail:
Wonderful to find out about very recent (2020s) historical discoveries, but the author leans way too much on speculation and sensationalism when the facts are thin.
Examples of interesting finds and cultural oddities from German history:
🦇The grave of a prehistoric woman shaman with highly unusual physical deformations. The grave was a pilgrimage site centuries after her death as votive offerings show.
🦇The history of "Waterloo Teeth", that is, the use of dead people's teeth for artificial dentures and how "modern" examples could be deadly due to the materials they were made from.
🦇The belief that drinking the still gushing blood of a decapitated criminal would cure epilepsy. It wasn't just gawkers and anatomists at executions!
🦇The various and inventive ways people had of "pinning the dead" to discourage ghosts and revenants, including hacking off feet, chaining the legs together, face-down burials, and holding mock "wedding ceremonies" in lieu of funerals for women who died before marriage.
🦇The making of floral art from the hair of a deceased relative. Once commonly found in German living rooms, but today people find it creepy and don't want it in their homes.
🦇A massive underground hewn stone complex of unknown origin or use which was discovered and used as a bunker in WW2.
🦇A glass dildo from the 1500-1600s that could be filled with warm water for a more "lifelike" feel...found in the refuse pit of a nunnery for upper crust women.
Overall an interesting and highly informative collection of articles about little known German history, culture, customs and the institutions that research and preserve them today.
⚠️ Warning -- don't read this book after you've eaten (like I did once)! 🤢
short review for busy readers:
40 short articles with photos about recent finds in Germany of a macabre or unusual bent. Organised chronologically by artifact, 9,000 BC to the 1940s. Easy to read. Very recent information.
in detail:
Wonderful to find out about very recent (2020s) historical discoveries, but the author leans way too much on speculation and sensationalism when the facts are thin.
Examples of interesting finds and cultural oddities from German history:
🦇The grave of a prehistoric woman shaman with highly unusual physical deformations. The grave was a pilgrimage site centuries after her death as votive offerings show.
🦇The history of "Waterloo Teeth", that is, the use of dead people's teeth for artificial dentures and how "modern" examples could be deadly due to the materials they were made from.
🦇The belief that drinking the still gushing blood of a decapitated criminal would cure epilepsy. It wasn't just gawkers and anatomists at executions!
🦇The various and inventive ways people had of "pinning the dead" to discourage ghosts and revenants, including hacking off feet, chaining the legs together, face-down burials, and holding mock "wedding ceremonies" in lieu of funerals for women who died before marriage.
🦇The making of floral art from the hair of a deceased relative. Once commonly found in German living rooms, but today people find it creepy and don't want it in their homes.
🦇A massive underground hewn stone complex of unknown origin or use which was discovered and used as a bunker in WW2.
🦇A glass dildo from the 1500-1600s that could be filled with warm water for a more "lifelike" feel...found in the refuse pit of a nunnery for upper crust women.
Overall an interesting and highly informative collection of articles about little known German history, culture, customs and the institutions that research and preserve them today.
⚠️ Warning -- don't read this book after you've eaten (like I did once)! 🤢
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review