This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched. Greg Burgess's important new study explores the short life of the High Commission for Refugees (Jewish and Other) Coming from Germany, from its creation by the League of Nations in October 1933 to the resignation of High Commissioner, James G. McDonald, in December 1935. The book relates the history of the first stage of refugees from Germany through the prism of McDonald and the High Commission. It analyses the factors that shaped the Commission's formation, the undertakings the Commission embarked upon and its eventual failure owing to external complications. The League of Nations and the Refugees from Nazi Germany argues that, in spite of the Commission's failure, the refugees from Nazi Germany and the High Commission's work mark a turn in conceptions of international humanitarian responsibilities when a state defies standards of proper behaviour towards its citizens. From this point on, it was no longer considered sufficient or acceptable for states to respect the sovereign rights of another if the rights of citizens were being violated. Greg Burgess discusses this idea, amongst others, in detail as part of what is a crucial volume for all scholars and students of Nazi Germany, the Holocaust and modern Jewish history.

John Lucas has dedicated his nearly half-century of academic life at Penn State University to researching and writing about his first love of sport, track and field, and the Olympics. He has attended every Summer Olympics since the 1960 Rome Games and has written several books, including 'Future of the Olympic Games.' From his over 200 monographs and articles, Lucas has selected a score of his articles written since 1953 for this anthology. They cover the range of his academic interests. (Hardcover) "In 1962, six years before I first met him, John Lucas defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of Maryland on "Pierre de Coubertin and the Formative Years of the Modern Olympic Movement." Almost a half century later, following 8 books and some 250 scholarly articles on Olympic history, comes this book, "The Best of John Lucas," compiled by the world's doyen of seriously researched, thoroughly documented, and passionately written Olympic history. As I have done, enjoy " (Dr. Robert Barney, founder of OLYMPICA: THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OLYMPIC STUDIES and past-president of the North American Society for Sport History.)

Myths of the Cold War: Amending Historiographic Distortions provides a corrective for the distortions and omissions of many previous domestic and foreign (including Russian) studies of the Cold War, especially those published since 2000. The "present interest" motivation in Weeks's analysis is gaining a clear understanding of the bi-polar, $4 trillion, nuclear-war-threatening standoff that lasted over 40 years after World War II until the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. Without such knowledge and understanding of this dangerous conflict, any future encounter of the cold-war type with another nation-state is liable to be construed in confusing ways just as the U.S.-Soviet Cold War was. The consequence of such misunderstanding in the historiographic sense as well as in policy-making at the highest level is that the populations of the contending powers will have distorted conceptions of the reasons for the confrontation. The result of this, in turn, is skewed tendentiousness that masks concrete, underlying causes of intense inter-state contention. Practical benefits thus flow from an unprejudiced analysis of the past Cold War with Communist Russia. This understanding can help prevent a future conflict, such as one with Communist China, which some reputed sinologists are currently predicting, as well as one with post-Soviet Russia. Conversely, if a new cold war is imposed on the West, a clearer understanding of the post-World War II archetypical Cold War will be edifying.

Challenges the longstanding perception that modernist composers made art, not money, and that those who made money somehow failed to make art. Patrons have long appeared as colorful, exceptional figures in music history, but this book recasts patrons and patronage as creative forces that shaped the sounds and meanings of new French music between the world wars. Far from mere sources of funding, early twentieth-century patrons collaborated closely with composers, treating commissions for new music as opportunities to express their own artistry. Patrons developed new pathways to participate in music-making, going beyond commissions to establish ballet companies, manage performance venues, and establish state programs. The impressive variety of patronage activities led to an explosion of new music as well as new styles and -isms, indelibly marking the repertoire that this book examines, including a number of pieces frequently heard in concert halls today. In addition to offering new perspectives on well-known French repertoire, this book challenges conceptions of patronage as a bygone phenomenon. Complementing a dwindling cast of aristocratic patrons were new ranks of music publishers, impresarios, state bureaucrats, opera directors, and others capitalizing on their savings, social connections, and artistic vision to bring new music into the world. In chapters on French discourse around patronage, aristocratic commissions, the stimulus provided by the interwar dance craze, music publishing, the Paris Opera, state intervention in French musical life, and transatlantic musical exchanges, the book blends cultural history with primary source study and music analysis. It not only improves our understanding of French musical life and culture during the early twentieth century but also supplies us with essential insights into the ways modern music emerged at the intersection of music composition, aesthetic and national politics, and the creative labor of patrons.

Ireland, 1919: When Sinn Fein proclaims Dail Eireann the parliament of the independent Irish republic, London declares the new assembly to be illegal, and a vicious guerilla war breaks out between republican and crown forces. Michael Collins, intelligence chief of the Irish Republican Army, creates an elite squad whose role is to assassinate British agents and undercover police. The so-called 'Twelve Apostles' will create violent mayhem, culminating in the events of 'Bloody Sunday' in November 1920. Bestselling historian Tim Pat Coogan not only tells the story of Collins' squad, he also examines the remarkable intelligence network of which it formed a part, and which helped to bring the British government to the negotiating table.

Focusing on the people and the decisons they made, 'The Fall of Dublin' examines the attack on the Four Courts and the subsequent fighting in Dublin in June and July 1922 which signalled the beginning of the Irish Civil War. With the use of new sources the book challenges many of the pre-conceived thoughts on the fighting in Dublin - the role of the leadership on both sides, the personalities of those involved and even the destruction of the Four Courts. These sources not only shed new light on the conflict itself, but more importantly they are invaluable in telling the stories of the ordinary men and women on both sides of the divide who for many years have been forgotten. They include memoirs from people on the ground, military history bureau witness statements, a complete garrison list of people in the Four Courts, a copy of the army constitution and the proposed Free State constitution, and a copy of the republican proclamation.

In September 1938, Europe teetered on the brink of war. The German dictator, Adolph Hitler, planned the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia and its ultimate absorption into the Third Reich. Winston Churchill, who was then a member of parliament, understood Hitler's motives far better than those in the Chamberlain Government. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was desperate to avoid war. At the time of what became known as the Munich Crisis, Joseph P. Kennedy, who had no diplomatic experience, was the ambassador to the Court of St. James. Without authority from the State Department, Kennedy summoned Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh, then the most famous aviator in the world, from France and had him write a report overnight on the German air force. Shortly before Chamberlain left for his fateful meeting with Hitler at Munich, Kennedy secretly gave him "The Lindbergh Report." It was, perhaps, the most shocking document ever handed to a British prime minister.

In 2007, French fascist Le Pen won almost four million votes. In 2009 the British National Party won almost a million votes while Germany's fascist NPD won over 750,000. In 2010, fascist-led organisations like the Engish Defence League and Italy's Future and Freedom party emerged. To help activists understand this twenty-first century wave of fascism, this book gathers together the most important analyses from the 20th century.In "Building unity against fascism" you can read: * German socialist Clara Zetkin, Bolshevik leader Karl Radek and Italian communist Antonio Gramsci on the birth on fascism in the early 1920s* Leon Trotsky's article, including "Fascism: What It Is and How To Fight It," explaining why neither capitalist nor Stalinist parties were able to stop fascism in Italy, Germany and Spain in the 1930s.* Maurice Spector's detailed analysis of German fascism in power* Daniel Guerin's 1939 "Fascism and Big Business" and his 1945 preface to its French edition* Ted Grant's booklet, "The Menace of Fascism," which discussed British fascism, the second World War and the Jewish community in Britain* Analysis by Felix Morrow, James P Cannon and Farrell Dobbs of the rise and fall of fascist organisations in the USA in the 20th century.

How do southerners feel about the ways in which the rest of the country regards them? In this volume, twelve observers of the modern South discuss its persistent image as a people and place at odds with mainstream American ideals and values. Ranging from the South's climate to its religious fundamentalism to its great outpouring of fiction and autobiography, the contributors show how and why our perceptions of the region have been continually refashioned by national/southern tensions, trends, and events. At the same time, they show that although the nation has sought, time and again, to change the region, America also has used the South to expose and modify some of its own darker impulses. As editors Larry J. Griffin and Don H. Doyle point out, no single approach could clarify the complexities underlying this persistent notion of a ""Problem South."" Representing a diversity of backgrounds and interests, the writings in this volume are the products of strong and independent minds that cut across disciplines, disagree among themselves, blend contemporary and historical insights, and confront conventional wisdom and expedient generalities. Filled with fresh insights into the dynamics of the region's long-troubled relationship with the rest of the nation, this volume allows us all to view the current state and future course of the South, as well as its link to the broader culture and polity, in a new light.

How and why did the Congolese elite turn from loyal intermediaries into opponents of the colonial state? This book seeks to enrich our understanding of the political and cultural processes culminating in the tumultuous decolonization of the Belgian Congo. Focusing on the making of an African bourgeoisie, the book illuminates the so-called evolues' social worlds, cultural self-representations, daily life and political struggles. https://youtu.be/c8ybPCi80dc

COLONIAL MIXED BLOOD The navies built by the Arabs and King Solomon plied the oceans long ago. The Portuguese, Dutch, and British followed suit, and eventually the oceans were mastered. The colonial age came into being and brought with it increased movements of people and the mixing of genes. In Colonial Mixed Blood, author Allan Russell Juriansz, who was born in Sri Lanka, provides an account of this occurrence with reference to the Portuguese, Dutch, and British who colonized Sri Lanka for the period of the past five hundred years. The story begins in Riga, Latvia, in the late 1400s and centres on the Ondatjes and the Juriansz clan, their love story, their immersion in Christianity, and their struggles to survive the forces of colonialism and find happiness. A blend of history and fiction, Colonial Mixed Blood provides a background of the religious forces at work during this time in Europe and outlines the genealogy and life experiences of Juriansz's family as part of the colonial activity of the Dutch East India Company in Sri Lanka. They inherited an adventurous spirit from their first Dutch ancestors, and this spirit inspired their diaspora. But it was one hundred and fifty years of intense British influence that transformed them into loyal British subjects.

First published in 1853, 12 Years a Slave is the riveting true story of a free black American who was sold into slavery, remaining there for a dozen years until he finally escaped. This powerfully written memoir details the horrors of slave markets, the inhumanity practiced on southern plantations, and the nobility of a man who persevered in some of the worst of conditions, a man who never ceased to hope that he would find freedom and see his beloved family again. This edition has been slightly edited--for spelling and punctuation only--for easier reading by a modern audience. It also includes two helpful appendixes not found in the original book. Now a major motion picture

The Holocaust is one of the most intensively studied phenomena in modern history. The volume of writing that fuels the numerous debates about it is overwhelming in quantity and diversity. Even those who have dedicated their professional lives to understanding the Holocaust cannot assimilate it all.
There is, then, an urgent need to synthesize and evaluate the complex historiography on the Holocaust, exploring the major themes and debates relating to it and drawing widely on the findings of a great deal of research. Concentrating on the work of the last two decades, Histories of the Holocaust examines the "Final Solution" as a European project, the decision-making process, perpetrator research, plunder and collaboration, regional studies, ghettos, camps, race science, antisemitic ideology, and recent debates concerning modernity, organization theory, colonialism, genocide studies, and cultural history. Research on victims is discussed, but Stone focuses more closely on perpetrators, reflecting trends within the historiography, as well as his own view that in order to understand Nazi genocide the emphasis must be on the culture of the perpetrators.
The book is not a "history of the history of the Holocaust," offering simply a description of developments in historiography. Stone critically analyses the literature, discerning major themes and trends and assessing the achievements and shortcomings of the various approaches. He demonstrates that there never can or should be a single history of the Holocaust and facilitates an understanding of the genocide of the Jews from a multiplicity of angles. An understanding of how the Holocaust could have happened can only be achieved by recourse to histories of the Holocaust: detailed day-by-day accounts of high-level decision-making; long-term narratives of the Holocaust's relationship to European histories of colonialism and warfare; micro-historical studies of Jewish life before, during, and after Nazi occupation; and cultural analyses of Nazi fantasies and fears.

Readings on the Russian Revolution brings together 15 important post-Cold War writings on the history of the Russian Revolution. It is structured in such a way as to highlight key debates in the field and contrasting methodological approaches to the Revolution in order to help readers better understand the issues and interpretative fault lines that exist in this contested area of history. The book opens with an original introduction which provides essential background and vital context for the pieces that follow. The volume is then structured around four parts - 'Actors, Language, Symbols', 'War, Revolution, and the State', 'Revolutionary Dreams and Identities' and 'Outcomes and Impacts' - that explore the beginnings, events and outcomes of the Russian Revolution, as well as examinations of central figures, critical topics and major historiographical battlegrounds. Melissa Stockdale also provides translations of two crucial Russian-language works, published here in English for the first time, and includes useful pedagogical features such as a glossary, chronology, and thematic bibliography to further aid study. Readings on the Russian Revolution is an essential collection for anyone studying the Russian Revolution.

Beginning with an extensive overview essay of the period, this book focuses on the issues of the Progressive Era through contemporary accounts of the people involved. Each issue is presented with an introductory essay and multiple primary documents from the newspapers of the day, which illustrate both sides of the debate. This is a perfect resource for students interested in the controversial and tumultuous changes America underwent during the Industrial Age and up to the start of World War I. With the death of southern reconstruction, Americans looked first westward and then abroad to fulfill their manifest destiny. Along the way, robber barons built railroads and oil trusts, populism burned across the prairies, currency went off the gold standard, immigrants poured into urban areas, and the United States won imperial outposts in Cuba and the Philippines. Beginning with an extensive overview essay of the period, this book focuses on the issues of the Progressive Era through contemporary accounts of the people involved. Each issue is presented with an introductory essay and multiple primary documents from the newspapers of the day, which illustrate both sides of the debate. This is a perfect resource for students interested in the controversial and tumultuous changes America underwent during the Industrial Age and up to the start of World War I.

Today, country music enjoys a national fan base that transcends both economic and social boundaries. Sixty years ago, however, it was primarily the music of rural, working-class whites living in the South and was perceived by many Americans as hillbilly music. In Smile When You Call Me a Hillbilly, Jeffrey J. Lange examines the 1940s and early 1950s as the most crucial period in country music s transformation from a rural, southern folk art form to a national phenomenon. In his meticulous analysis of changing performance styles and alterations in the lifestyles of listeners, Lange illuminates the acculturation of country music and its audience into the American mainstream. Dividing country music into six subgenres (progressive country, western swing, postwar traditional, honky-tonk, country pop, and country blues), Lange discusses the music s expanding appeal. As he analyzes the recordings and comments of each of the subgenre s most significant artists, including Roy Acuff, Bob Wills, Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, and Red Foley, he traces the many paths the musical form took on its road to respectability. Lange shows how along the way the music and its audience became more sophisticated, how the subgenres blended with one another and with American popular music, and how Nashville emerged as the country music hub. By 1954, the transformation from hillbilly music to country music was complete, precipitated by the modernizing forces of World War II and realized by the efforts of promoters, producers, and performers.

In the summer of 1940, the German Luftwaffe was preparing to destroy London by bombing it for fifty-six consecutive days and nights.

To spare British children from witnessing the carnage and from possible death, millions of youth were evacuated from their London homes and sent away to safe locations. For many boys and girls, their lives would start over in new towns and often with unknown families. Historically, the idea of evacuating an entire generation of children, separating them from their parents, was unprecedented.

This is the story of one of those evacuee children, Jayne Jaffe, who at age nine, began witnessing the best and worst of humanity: war, love, death, separation, tears, euphoria, destruction and rebuilding.

For the first time, Jayne's remarkable journey is told with compelling narrative by author Jon Helminiak in "This Token of Freedom."

""This Token of Freedom" is an extraordinarily well written and heartwarming story about family courage in a time of historic global strife. It's important reminder of the upheavals wrought by WWII on British parents and their children." "The British Literary Society"

From democratic restoration in the 1980s up to today, most Latin American countries have been struggling constantly to find a workable balance between the need to strengthen the authority of state institutions and their citizens aspirations to have a real say in the decision-making process. This book looks at the contrasting ways in which both Brazil and Chile have been dealing with societal demands for participation during the last two decades. The contributors to this volume highlight a series of historical and political factors that help to understand why Brazil has been able to introduce innovative democratizing policies while Chile has largely failed in the advancement of participatory schemes as its decision-making process continues to be heavily top-down and technocratic. Contributors: Rebecca N. Abers, Gianpaolo Baiocchi, Adolfo Castillo D az, Herwig Cleuren, Gonzalo Delamaza, Vicente Espinoza, Joe Foweraker, Marcus Klein, Kees Koonings, Adalmir Marquetti, Patricio Navia, William R. Nylen, Paul W. Posner, Patricio Silva, and Brian Wampler.

This book examines forms of Chinese historical production happening outside the mainstream of academic history, through such new measures as the publication of textbooks, the writing of local history, the preservation of archival materials, and government attempts to establish orthodox historical accounts. The book does so in order to broaden the scope of modern Chinese historiography, when it focuses primarily on a small group of writers such as Liang Qichao, Gu Jiegang, and Fu Sinian. Directly linking historical writings to the formation of the nation, the justification of elite authority, and the cultivation of active citizenry, this book shows that historiography is essential to understanding the uniqueness of Chinese modernity. Originally published in hardcover.

As the only male head of state to address the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, Alberto Fujimori projected an image as a promoter of progressive policies to improve the condition of women, especially the poor, in society. And indeed, during his tenure, the Peruvian government did pursue such policies in several areas, including poverty relief, population control, and domestic violence. In Intersecting Inequalities, Jelke Boesten uses these policies as case studies, examining the relationship between gender/race/class/ethnic divisions and the state in its project of nation-building. Her investigation reveals that policies meant to further women's development and emancipation often reproduced the marginality they were supposed to fight. She also explores the strategies women developed to negotiate with and challenge the state.