Locations of events.

She holds up the line at the supermarket checkout. Fumbling awkwardly in her purse for small change. What do you think when you have to wait behind this shabbily dressed old woman? That elderly people are a burden on our society? Czech author Božena Němcová saw it differently: in Babička — meaning 'Grandmother' in English — she describes how an old woman positively influences the lives of those around her.

Adam Smith is one of the central figures of economic history. His 'invisible hand' is still cited today as a central maxim of economic liberalism. However, his view of things was also time-bound. The beginning of industrialisation and the rise of the bourgeoisie gave his theses their impact.

Why does poverty exist, and how can we eliminate it? Around 1800 this question occupied all English people who saw the misery in the slums of industrial cities. The young Malthus found his own answer. He wrote that the rich could not eliminate poverty. For the reason for poverty was the poor person himself.

Italy too has its fascist war crimes. But no Nuremberg trial forced the Italians to take notice of them. A glimpse into the Italian soul is offered by Ennio Flaiano's 'A Time to Kill,' about an absurd adventure during the Abyssinian War.

Martin Luther lived in an era of transition. Traditional economic models were disappearing. The new monetary and fiscal policy was robbing many people of their livelihoods. The Augustinian monk Martin Luther formulated his views in the face of these developments. Some of them were neither progressive nor backward-looking, but simply unworldly.