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Books > History > European history
Robert Knight's book examines how the 60,000 strong Slovene
community in the Austrian borderland province of Carinthia
continued to suffer in the wake of Nazism's fall. It explores how
and why Nazi values continued to be influential in a post-Nazi era
in postwar Central Europe and provides valuable insights into the
Cold War as a point of interaction of local, national and
international politics. Though Austria was re-established in 1945
as Hitler's 'first victim', many Austrians continued to share
principles which had underpinned the Third Reich. Long treated as
both inferior and threatening prior to the rise of Hitler and then
persecuted during his time in power, the Slovenes of Carinthia were
prevented from equality of schooling by local Nazis in the years
that followed World War Two, behavior that was tolerated in Vienna
and largely ignored by the rest of the world. Slavs in Post-Nazi
Austria uses this vital case study to discuss wider issues relating
to the stubborn legacy of Nazism in postwar Europe and to instill a
deeper understanding of the interplay between collective and
individual (liberal) rights in Central Europe. This is a
fascinating study for anyone interested in knowing more about the
disturbing imprint that Nazism left in some parts of Europe in the
postwar years.
The Emergence of the French Public Intellectual provides a working
definition of "public intellectuals" in order to clarify who they
are and what they do. It then follows their varied itineraries from
the Middle Ages through the Renaissance and the Enlightenment to
the nineteenth century. Public intellectuals became a fixture in
French society during the Dreyfus Affair but have a long history in
France, as the contributions of Christine de Pizan, Voltaire, and
Victor Hugo, among many others, illustrate. The French novelist
Emile Zola launched the Dreyfus Affair when he published
"J'Accuse," an open letter to French President Felix Faure
denouncing a conspiracy by the government and army against Captain
Alfred Dreyfus, who was Jewish and had been wrongly convicted of
treason three years earlier. The consequent emergence of a
publicly-engaged intellectual created a new, modern space in
intellectual life as France and the world confronted the challenges
of the twentieth century.
This fascinating history book details the Moorish arrival, conquest
and rule over Spain and the Iberian peninsula in Europe. We hear of
how the Moors arrived and conquered the Iberian peninsula,
remaining for some 800 years. Tariq ibn-Ziyad, arriving in 711 AD,
began an upheaval never before seen in the European continent. The
Moorish brought industriousness and commerce, a sophisticated code
of laws, beautiful architecture, and outstanding scholarly
achievements in astronomy and mathematics - together, these would
forever shape the culture of Spain and Portugal. Stanley Lane-Poole
was a historian and archaeologist who worked in partnership with
the British Museum for eighteen years. Specializing in Middle
Eastern and North African culture and architecture, it was through
years of painstaking study and compilation of existing documents
that the author was able to compose this, and other histories.
Based on original sources, this important book on the Holocaust
explores regional variations in civilians' attitudes and behavior
toward the Jewish population in Romania and the occupied Soviet
Union. Gentiles' willingness to assist Jews was greater in lands
that had been under Soviet administration during the inter-war
period, while gentiles' willingness to harm Jews occurred more in
lands that had been under Romanian administration during the same
period. While acknowledging the disasters of Communist rule in the
1920s and 1930s, this work shows the effectiveness of Soviet
nationalities policy in the official suppression of antisemitism.
This book offers a corrective to the widespread consensus that
homogenizes gentile responses throughout Eastern Europe, instead
demonstrating that what states did in the interwar period mattered;
relations between social groups were not fixed and destined to
repeat themselves, but rather fluid and susceptible to change over
time.
Rosemary Wakeman's original survey text comprehensively explores
modern European urban history from 1815 to the present day. It
provides a journey to cities and towns across the continent, in
search of the patterns of development that have shaped the urban
landscape as indelibly European. The focus is on the built
environment, the social and cultural transformations that mark the
patterns of continuity and change, and the transition to modern
urban society. Including over 60 images that serve to illuminate
the analysis, the book examines whether there is a European city,
and if so, what are its characteristics? Wakeman offers an
interdisciplinary approach that incorporates concepts from cultural
and postcolonial studies, as well as urban geography, and provides
full coverage of urban society not only in western Europe, but also
in eastern and southern Europe, using various cities and city types
to inform the discussion. The book provides detailed coverage of
the often-neglected urbanization post-1945 which allows us to more
clearly understand the modernizing arc Europe has followed over the
last two centuries.
Based on the heart-breaking true story of Cilka Klein, Cilka's
Journey is a million copy international bestseller and the sequel
to the No.1 bestselling phenomenon, The Tattooist of Auschwitz 'She
was the bravest person I ever met' Lale Sokolov, The Tattooist of
Auschwitz In 1942 Cilka Klein is just sixteen years old when she is
taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. The Commandant at
Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces
her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly
that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival. After
liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator by the Russians and
sent to a desolate, brutal prison camp in Siberia known as Vorkuta,
inside the Arctic Circle. Innocent, imprisoned once again, Cilka
faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, each day a battle
for survival. Cilka befriends a woman doctor, and learns to nurse
the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under unimaginable
conditions. And when she tends to a man called Alexandr, Cilka
finds that despite everything, there is room in her heart for love.
Cilka's Journey is a powerful testament to the triumph of the human
will. It will move you to tears, but it will also leave you
astonished and uplifted by one woman's fierce determination to
survive, against all odds. Don't miss Heather Morris's next book,
Stories of Hope. Out now. - - - - - - - - 'Her truly incredible
story is one to be read by everyone.' Sun 'Cilka's extraordinary
courage in the face of evil and her determination to survive
against the odds will stay with you long after you've finished
reading this heartrending book.' Sunday Express 'Her courage and
determination to survive makes for a heartrending read.' Daily
Mirror
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