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Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > Second World War
Basing his extensive research into hitherto unexploited archival documentation on both sides of the Rhine, Allan Mitchell has uncovered the inner workings of the German military regime from the Wehrmacht's triumphal entry into Paris in June 1940 to its ignominious withdrawal in August 1944. Although mindful of the French experience and the fundamental issue of collaboration, the author concentrates on the complex problems of occupying a foreign territory after a surprisingly swift conquest. By exploring in detail such topics as the regulation of public comportment, economic policy, forced labor, culture and propaganda, police activity, persecution and deportation of Jews, assassinations, executions, and torture, this study supersedes earlier attempts to investigate the German domination and exploitation of wartime France. In doing so, these findings provide an invaluable complement to the work of scholars who have viewed those dark years exclusively or mainly from the French perspective. Allan Mitchell received his PhD from Harvard in 1961 and then taught at Smith College (1961-1972) and the University of California (1973-1993). He has recently published three books: a paperback edition of The Great Train Race: Railways and the Franco-German Rivalry, 1815-1914 (Berghahn Books, 2006); Reves Parisiens. L'echec de projets de transport public en France aux XIXe siecle (Ponts et Chaussees, Paris, 2005); and A Stranger in Paris: Germany's Role in Republican France, 1870-1940 (Berghahn Books, 2006)."
Sent across the ocean by their parents and taken in by foster parents and distant relatives, approximately 1,000 children, ranging in age from fourteen months to sixteen years, landed in the United States and out of Hitler's reach between 1934 and 1945. Seventy years after the first ship brought a handful of these children to American shores, the general public and many of the children themselves remain unaware of these rescues, and the fact that they were accomplished despite powerful forces in and outside the government that did not want them to occur. This is the first published account, told in the words of the children and their rescuers, to detail this unknown part of America's response to the Holocaust. It will challenge the belief that Americans did nothing to directly and actively save Holocaust victims. Judith Tydor Baumel, Holocaust scholar and sister of two rescued children, provides an introduction explaining why, when, how, and where the rescues were carried out, who the heroes and heroines were, and which individuals and organizations placed almost insurmountable obstacles in their path. This account presents both recollections and experiences recorded at the time of the rescued children, their descendants, and their rescuers. The story demonstrates what a small group of determined people can do to change the course of history.
The essays in this book reflect on the significance of the
Holocaust sixty years afterwards. In this time it has become
embedded in collective memory This book explores the idea that even
thought the tenets of Nazism--racism, dictatorship, expansionism
--have become unacceptable in the western world, little has
actually changed. Since 1945 crimes against humanity and human
rights have occurred throughout the world. The Holocaust thus
pre-figures a "death-drive" in contemporary culture: the idea that
the ability to deliver death is the supreme expression of
self-affirmation.
The infamous reign of Adolf Hitler occurred half a century ago, but how he managed to escape so many attempts on his life remains a mystery. "Target Hitler" addresses the subject anew and is the only book for general audiences which recounts this fascinating topic in depth. Duffy and Ricci have pulled together the known and hitherto unknown facts about the German resistance to create an absorbing tale. Although many Germans harbored deep hatred for the Nazis and risked their lives trying to topple the regime, most of these would-be assassins were forgotten or slighted in the history of that period. The authors wish to right that wrong. This eminently readable narrative concentrates on the efforts of a group of conspirators within the German army who first began to plot against Hitler in the fall of 1938, and whose story culminates in the famous July 1944 bombing. Bound together by their religious beliefs and a determination to rid their homeland of the Nazi scourge, some of these men were generals, one a field marshal. It is intriguing to think how the course of world history would have been altered had these men accomplished their mission. That fate denied such an outcome is tragic. But now, at least the bravery of those who tried to rid the world of the horror Hitler inflicted will be remembered as the heroes they are.
A photo chronicle of the HJ in over 230 b/w and 30 color photos including its late war formation and campaigns throughout Normandy and Austria.
"The first book-length account of a story too long overlooked" Claro Solis wanted to win a gold star for his mother. He succeeded--as did seven other sons of "Little Mexico." Second Street in Silvis, Illinois, was a poor neighborhood during the Great Depression that had become home to Mexicans fleeing revolution in their homeland. In 1971 it was officially renamed "Hero Street" to commemorate its claim to the highest per-capita casualty rate from any neighborhood during World War II. Marc Wilson now tells the story of this community and the young men it sent to fight for their adopted country. "Hero Street, U.S.A." is the first book to recount a saga too long overlooked in histories and television documentaries. Interweaving family memories, soldiers' letters, historical photographs, interviews with relatives, and firsthand combat accounts, Wilson tells the compelling stories of nearly eighty men from three dozen Second Street homes who volunteered to fight for their country in World War II and Korea--and of the eight, including Claro Solis, who never came back. As debate swirls around the place of Mexican immigrants in contemporary American society, this book shows the price of citizenship willingly paid by the sons of earlier refugees. With "Hero Street, U.S.A.," Marc Wilson not only makes an important contribution to military and social history but also acknowledges the efforts of the heroes of Second Street to realize the American dream.
The Nazi occupation of Europe of World War Two is acknowledged as a defining juncture and an important identity-building experience throughout contemporary Europe. Resistance is what 'saves' European societies from an otherwise chequered record of collaboration on the part of their economic, political, cultural and religious elites. Opposition took pride of place as a legitimizing device in the post-war order and has since become an indelible part of the collective consciousness. Yet there is one exception to this trend among previously occupied territories: the British Channel Islands. Collective identity construction in the islands still relies on the notion of 'orderly and correct relations' with the Germans, while talk of 'resistance' earns raised eyebrows. The general attitude to the many witnesses of conscience who existed in the islands remains ambiguous. This book conversely and expertly argues that there was in fact resistance against the Germans in the Channel Islands and is the first text to fully explore the complex relationship that existed between the Germans and the people of the only part of the British Isles to experience occupation.
April 1945. As Allied bombs rain down on Europe, a 400-year-old institution looks set to be wiped off the face of the Earth. The famous white Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, unique and precious animals representing centuries of careful breeding, are scattered across rural Austria and Czechoslovakia in areas soon to be swallowed up by Soviet forces – there, doubtless, to become rations for the Red Army. Their only hope lies with the Americans: what if a small, highly mobile US task force could be sent deep behind German lines, through fanatical SS troops, to rescue the horses before the Soviets arrive. Just five light tanks, a handful of armoured cars and jeeps, and 300 battle-weary GIs must plunge headlong into the unknown on a rescue mission that could change the course of European history. So begins Operation Cowboy, the greatest Second World War story that has never been fully told. GIs will join forces with surrendered German soldiers and liberated prisoners of war to save the world’s finest horses from fanatical SS and the ruthless Red Army in an extraordinary battle during the last few days of the war in Europe.
This book provides students with an understanding of the motives behind the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the consequences of this action on Japan, on the United States, and on the outcome of World War II. This essential reference guide is devoted to one of the most important military events in American history: the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941, "the day of infamy." Distinguished military historian Spencer C. Tucker is the editor of this thorough study of the Japanese attack that contains reference entries as well as primary documents and oral histories describing the circumstances that led up to the attack, the event itself, and its immediate aftermath and consequences, thereby providing readers with the necessary context to understand all aspects of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Readers will understand why Japanese leaders decided to go to war with the United States, what they expected to accomplish in attacking Pearl Harbor, why this key American base was not better defended, and what the aftereffects of the attack were for the outcome of the war. Biographies on major players in the crisis such as Franklin Roosevelt, Chester Nimitz, Isoroku Yamamoto, and Hideki Tojo will provide insight into the individuals who played key roles in the events before, during, and after December 7, 1941. Addresses historical controversies such as whether Roosevelt knowingly allowed the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor in order to bring the United States into World War II and what the consequences of a third Japanese carrier strike might have been Includes primary source documents-including oral histories by participants in and victims of the attack-that help readers to better grasp the motivations behind the Japanese attack, the reasons why Pearl Harbor was not better able to resist, and what it was like to live through the attack itself Provides an ideal resource for high school and college students as well as interesting reading for general audiences seeking authoritative historical information on the Pearl Harbor attacks
By mobilizing a million housewives, the upper- and middle-class leaders of Women's Voluntary Service made a vital contribution to Britain's war effort. At the same time they sought to sustain their own authority as social leaders. James Hinton's original and evocative study reconstructs an intimate portrait of a women's public world neglected by historians. It challenges accepted accounts of the democratizing impact of the Second World War. Among women the war reinforced, not democracy, but the continuities of class.
The battle of Kursk was the last major German offensive on the Eastern Front. The battle began well for the Germans, but the Russians delayed them long enough for reserves to come forward. Soon the defenders outnumbered the attackers, and Hitler called off the attack. The Russian victory at Kursk resulted from a massive rebuilding of the Red Army in 1943, which included new unit organizations and weapons designed to counter the German Tiger and Panther tanks. The German defeat signalled the transfer of the initiative to the Russians and demonstrated to the Western Allies that the Soviet Union could defeat the Germans without a second front. Based on recently declassified Russian information and an analysis of captured German records, this book gives a detailed description of both the German and Soviet forces involved and evaluates the quality of the units on both sides.
The robbery and restitution of Jewish property are two inextricably linked social processes. It is not possible to understand the lawsuits and international agreements on the restoration of Jewish property of the late 1990s without examining what was robbed and by whom. In this volume distinguished historians first outline the mechanisms and scope of the European-wide program of plunder and then assess the effectiveness and historical implications of post-war restitution efforts. Everywhere the solution of legal and material problems was intertwined with changing national myths about the war and conflicting interpretations of justice. Even those countries that pursued extensive restitution programs using rigorous legal means were unable to compensate or fully comprehend the scale of Jewish loss. Especially in Eastern Europe, it was not until the collapse of communism that the concept of restoring some Jewish property rights even became a viable option. Integrating the abundance of new research on the material effects of the Holocaust and its aftermath, this comparative perspective examines the developments in Germany, Poland, Italy, France, Belgium, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
..".a scholarly yet readable book...pioneering work" Journal of Jewish Studies Based on numerous in-depth and personal interviews with members of three generations, this is the first comprehensive study of German-Jewish refugees who came to England in the 1930s. The author addresses questions such as perceptions of Germany and Britain and attitudes towards Judaism. On the basis of many case studies, the author shows how the refugees adjusted, often amazingly successfully, to their situation in Britain. While exploring the process of acculturation of the German-Jews in Britain, the author challenges received ideas about the process of Jewish assimilation in general, and that of the Jews in Germany in particular, and offers a new interpretation in the light of her own empirical data and of current anthropological theory. Marion Berghahn, Independent Scholar and Publisher, studied American Studies, Romance Languages and Philosophy at the universities of Hamburg, Freiburg and Paris. These subjects, together with history, later on formed the basis of her scholarly publishing program.
The Halbjuden of Hitler's Germany were half Christian and half Jewish but, like the rest of the Mischlinge (or "partial-Jews"), were far too Jewish in the eyes of the Nazis. Thus, while they were allowed for a time to coexist with the rest of German society, they were granted only the most marginal or menial jobs, restricted from marrying Aryans or even leading normal social lives, and sent eventually to forced-labor and concentration camps. More than 70,000 Germans were subjected to these restrictions and indignities, created and fostered by Hitler's morally bankrupt race laws, yet to this day few personal accounts of their experiences exist. James Tent movingly recounts how these men and women from all over Germany and from all walks of life struggled to survive in an increasingly hostile society, even as their Jewish relatives were disappearing into the East. It draws on extensive interviews with twenty survivors, many of whom were teenagers when Hitler came to power, to show how "half Jews" coped with conditions on a day-to-day basis, and how the legacy of the hatred they suffered has forever lingered in their minds. Tent provides gripping stories of life beneath the boot-heel of Nazi rule: a woman deemed unsuited for a career in nursing because the shape of her earlobes and breasts indicated she was not "racially suited," a man arrested for "race defilement" because he lived with an Aryan woman, and many others. Writing with a deep and abiding respect for his subjects, Tent shows how Nazi discrimination and persecution affected the lives of the Mischlinge beginning in 1933, and he tells how such treatment intensified through the later years of the war. These testimonies offer rare insight into how Nazi persecution functioned at a very personal level. Tent's witnesses share experiences in school and problems in the workplace, where the best survival strategy was to find an unobtrusive niche in a nondescript job. They tell of obstacles to personal and romantic relationships. And they soberly remind us that by 1944 they too were rounded up for forced labor, certain to be the next victims of Nazi genocide. "In the Shadow of the Holocaust" demonstrates the lengths to
which the Nazis were willing to go in order to eradicate Judaism-a
fanaticism that increased over time and even in the face of
impending military defeat. These people mostly survived the
Holocaust, yet they paid for their re-assimilation into German
society by remaining silent in the face of haunting memories. This
book breaks that silence and is a testament to human endurance
under the most trying circumstances.
YESTERDAY'S HEROES contains all 433 Medal of Honor citations such as this excert: ... Although machinegun bullets kicked up the dirt at his heels, and 88mm shels exploded within 30 yards of him, Pfc. Dutko nevertheless made his way to a point within 30 yards of the first enemy machinegun and killed both gunners with a handgrenade. Although the second machinegun wounded him, knocking him to the ground, Pfc. Dutko regained his feet and advanced on th 88-mm gun, firing his Browning automatic from the hip. When he came within 10 yards of this weapon he killed its 5-man crew with 1 long burst of fire. Wheeling on the machinegun which had wounded him, Pfc. Dutko killed the gunner and his assistant. The third German machine gun fired on Pfc. Dutko from a position 20 yards distant wounding him a second time as he proceeded toward the enemy weapon in a halr run. Along with the citations are Official Communiques from the front, and newspaper accounts of various battles. Yesterday's Heroes is a dramatic look at the courage of the American soldier in World War II. Kenneth Jordan is also the author of Heroes of Our Time: 239 Men of the Vietnam War Awarded the Medal of Honor 1964-1972, and Forgotten Heroes: 131 Men of the Korean War Awarded the Medal of Honor 1950-1953 (both titles are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).
What was the role played by local police volunteers in the Holocaust? Using powerful eye-witness descriptions from the towns and villages of Belorussia and Ukraine, Martin Dean's new book reveals local policemen as hands-on collaborators of the Nazis. They brutally drove Jewish neighbors from their homes and guarded them closely on the way to their deaths. Some distinguished themselves as ruthless murders. Outnumbering German police manpower in these areas, the local police were the foot-soldiers of the Holocaust in the east.
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