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Books > History > European history > From 1900 > Second World War
This open access book offers a framework for understanding how the
Holocaust has shaped and continues to shape medical ethics, health
policy, and questions related to human rights around the world. The
field of bioethics continues to face questions of social and
medical controversy that have their roots in the lessons of the
Holocaust, such as debates over beginning-of-life and medical
genetics, end-of-life matters such as medical aid in dying, the
development of ethical codes and regulations to guide human subject
research, and human rights abuses in vulnerable populations. As the
only example of medically sanctioned genocide in history, and one
that used medicine and science to fundamentally undermine human
dignity and the moral foundation of society, the Holocaust provides
an invaluable framework for exploring current issues in bioethics
and society today. This book, therefore, is of great value to all
current and future ethicists, medical practitioners and
policymakers - as well as laypeople.
Historians have long noted that Jews often appear at the storm
center of European history. Nowhere is this more true than when
dealing with the tumultuous years between the Nazi seizure of power
in Germany on January 30, 1933 and the proclamation of the State of
Israel on May 14, 1948. Yet, the events of Jewish history must also
be viewed within the broader contexts of European, American, and
global history. Spanning sixteen years of destruction and rebirth,
A World in Turmoil is the first book of its kind, an integrated
chronology which attempts to provide the researcher with clear and
concise data describing the events as they unfolded. From the
murder pits of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, to the battlefields in
all the major theatres of operation, to the home fronts of all the
major and minor combatants, A World in Turmoil covers a broad
spectrum of events. Although major events throughout the world are
noted, the volume concentrates on events in Europe, the Middle
East, and the Americas. While the volume deals primarily with
politics, significant social and intellectual trends are woven into
the chronology. Augmented by an introductory essay and postscript
to help place events in their historical context, by a
bibliography, and by name, place, and subject indexes, the volume
provides scholars and researchers alike a basic reference tool on
sixteen of the most important years in modern history.
Scholarship often presumes that texts written about the Shoah,
either by those directly involved in it or those writing its
history, must always bear witness to the affective aftermath of the
event, the lingering emotional effects of suffering. Drawing on the
History of Emotions and on trauma theory, this monograph offers a
critical study of the ambivalent attributions and expressions of
emotion and "emotionlessness" in the literature and historiography
of the Shoah. It addresses three phenomena: the metaphorical
discourses by which emotionality and the purported lack thereof are
attributed to victims and to perpetrators; the rhetoric of
affective self-control and of affective distancing in fiction,
testimony and historiography; and the poetics of empathy and the
status of emotionality in discourses on the Shoah. Through a close
analysis of a broad corpus centred around the work of W. G. Sebald,
Dieter Schlesak, Ruth Kluger and Raul Hilberg, the book critically
contextualises emotionality and its attributions in the post-war
era, when a scepticism of pathos coincided with demands for factual
rigidity. Ultimately, it invites the reader to reflect on their own
affective stances towards history and its commemoration in the
twenty-first century.
Based on newly-discovered, secret documents from German archives,
diaries and newspapers of the time, Gun Control in the Third Reich
presents the definitive, yet hidden history of how the Nazi regime
made use of gun control to disarm and repress its enemies and
consolidate power. The countless books on the Third Reich and the
Holocaust fail even to mention the laws restricting firearms
ownership, which rendered political opponents and Jews defenseless.
A skeptic could surmise that a better-armed populace might have
made no difference, but the National Socialist regime certainly did
not think so - it ruthlessly suppressed firearm ownership by
disfavored groups. Gun Control in the Third Reich spans the two
decades from the birth of the Weimar Republic in 1918 through
Kristallnacht in 1938. The book then presents a panorama of
pertinent events during World War II regarding the effects of the
disarming policies. And even though in the occupied countries the
Nazis decreed the death penalty for possession of a firearm, there
developed instances of heroic armed resistance by Jews,
particularly the Warsaw ghetto uprising.
Mimi Rubin had fond memories of growing up in Novy Bohumin,
Czechoslovakia, a place that ten thousand people called home. It
was a tranquil town until September 1, 1939, when the German army
invaded the city. From that day forward, eighteen-yearold Mimi
would face some of the harshest moments of her life.
This memoir follows Mimi's story-from her idyllic life in Novy
Bohumin before the invasion, to being transported to a Jewish
ghetto, to living in three different German concentration camps,
and finally, to liberation. It tells of the heartbreaking loss of
her parents, grandmother, and countless other friends and
relatives. It tells of the tempered joys of being reunited with her
sister and of finding love, marrying, and raising a family.
A compelling firsthand account, "Mimi of Novy Bohumin,
Czechoslovakia: A Young Woman's Survival of the Holocaust" weaves
the personal, yet horrifying, details of Mimi's experience with
historical facts about this era in history. This story helps keep
alive the memory of the millions of innocent men, women, and
children who died in the German concentration camps during the
1930s and 1940s.
In this riveting real-life thriller, Philippe Sands offers a unique account of the daily life of senior Nazi SS Brigadeführer Otto Freiherr von Wächter and his wife, Charlotte. Drawing on a remarkable archive of family letters and diaries, he unveils a fascinating insight into life before and during the war, as a fugitive on the run in the Alps and then in Rome, and into the Cold War. Eventually the door is unlocked to a mystery that haunts Wächter's youngest son, who continues to believe his father was a good man - what happened to Otto Wächter while he was preparing to travel to Argentina on the 'ratline', assisted by a Vatican bishop, and what was the explanation for his sudden and unexpected death?
Based on never previously explored personal accounts and archival
documentation, this book examines life and death in the
Theresienstadt ghetto, seen through the eyes of the Jewish victims
from Denmark. "How was it in Theresienstadt?" Thus asked Johan Grun
rhetorically when he, in July 1945, published a short text about
his experiences. The successful flight of the majority of Danish
Jewry in October 1943 is a well-known episode of the Holocaust, but
the experience of the 470 men, women, and children that were
deported to the ghetto has seldom been the object of scholarly
interest. Providing an overview of the Judenaktion in Denmark and
the subsequent deportations, the book sheds light on the fate of
those who were arrested. Through a micro-historical analysis of
everyday life, it describes various aspects of social and daily
life in proximity to death. In doing so, the volume illuminates the
diversity of individual situations and conveys the deportees'
perceptions and striving for survival and 'normality'. Offering a
multi-perspective and international approach that places the case
of Denmark into the broader Jewish experience during the Holocaust,
this book is invaluable for researchers of Jewish studies,
Holocaust and genocide studies, and the history of modern Denmark.
The extraordinary experiences of ordinary people-their suffering
and their unimaginable bravery-are the subject of Judy Glickman
Lauder's remarkable photographs. Beyond the Shadows responds to the
world's looking the other way as the Nazis took power and their
hate-fueled nationalism steadily turned to mass murder. In the
context of the horror of the Holocaust, it also tells the uplifting
story of how the citizens and leadership of Denmark, under
occupation and at tremendous risk to themselves, defied the Third
Reich to transport the country's Jews to safety in Sweden. Over the
past thirty years, Glickman Lauder has captured the intensity of
death camps in Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, in dark and
expressive photographs, telling of a world turned upside down, and,
in contrast, the redemptive and uplifting story of the "Danish
exception." Including texts by Holocaust scholars Michael Berenbaum
and Judith S. Goldstein, and a previously unpublished original text
by survivor Elie Wiesel, Beyond the Shadows demonstrates
passionately what hate can lead to, and what can be done to stand
in its path. "This is photography and storytelling for our times,
about what hate leads to, and how we can stand up to it. Beyond the
Shadows is powerful and revealing, and sharply relevant to all of
us who believe in the human family." - Sir Elton John
First English translation of the memoirs of Austrian Romani
Holocaust survivor, writer, visual artist, musician, and activist
Ceija Stojka (1933-2013), along with poems, an interview,
historical photos, and reproductions of her artworks. "Is this the
whole world?" This question begins the first of three memoirs by
Austrian Romani writer, visual artist, musician, and activist Ceija
Stojka (1933-2013), told from her perspective as a child interned
in three Nazi concentration camps from age nine to twelve. Written
by a child survivor much later in life, the memoirs offer insights
into the nexus of narrative and extreme trauma, expressing the full
spectrum of human emotions: fear and sorrow at losing loved ones;
joy and relief when reconnecting with family and friends; desire to
preserve some memories while attempting to erase others; horror at
acts of genocide, and hope arising from dreams of survival. In
addition to annotated translations of the three memoirs, the book
includes two of Stojka's poems and an interview by Karin Berger,
editor of the original editions of Stojka's memoirs, as well as
color reproductions of several of her artworks and historical
photographs. An introduction contextualizes her works within Romani
history and culture, and a glossary informs the reader about the
"concentrationary universe." Because the memoirs show how Stojka
navigated male-dominated postwar Austrian culture, generally
discriminatory to Roma, and the patriarchal aspects of Romani
culture itself, the book is a contribution not only to Holocaust
Studies but also to Austrian Studies, Romani Studies, and Women's
and Gender Studies.
Under the Swastika in Nazi Germany begins in flames in 1933 with
Adolf Hitler taking power and ends in the ashes of total defeat in
1945. Kristin Semmens tells that story from five different
perspectives over five chronologically distinct phases in the Third
Reich's lifespan. The book offers a much-needed integrated history
of insiders and outsiders - Nazis, accomplices, supporters, racial
and social outsiders and resisters - that captures the complexity
of Germans' lives under Hitler. Incorporating recent research and
the voices of those who often remain silent in histories of this
period, Under the Swastika in Nazi Germany delivers an up to date,
engaging and accessible introduction. Its narrative is further
supported by well-chosen images, some familiar and others rarely
seen. By revealing the potent combination of coercion and consent
at work during the dictatorship, the book allows a deeper
understanding of Nazi Germany and provides a vital platform for
further inquiry into these twelve years of German history.
Shortlisted for the 2021 Wolfson History Prize and a finalist for
the 2021 Cundill History Prize Told for the first time from their
perspective, the story of children who survived the chaos and
trauma of the Holocaust-named a best history book of 2020 by the
Daily Telegraph "Impressive, beautifully written, judicious and
thoughtful. . . . Will be a major milestone in the history of the
Holocaust and its legacy."-Mark Roseman, author of The Villa, the
Lake, the Meeting How can we make sense of our lives when we do not
know where we come from? This was a pressing question for the
youngest survivors of the Holocaust, whose prewar memories were
vague or nonexistent. In this beautifully written account, Rebecca
Clifford follows the lives of one hundred Jewish children out of
the ruins of conflict through their adulthood and into old age.
Drawing on archives and interviews, Clifford charts the experiences
of these child survivors and those who cared for them-as well as
those who studied them, such as Anna Freud. Survivors explores the
aftermath of the Holocaust in the long term, and reveals how these
children-often branded "the lucky ones"-had to struggle to be able
to call themselves "survivors" at all. Challenging our assumptions
about trauma, Clifford's powerful and surprising narrative helps us
understand what it was like living after, and living with,
childhoods marked by rupture and loss.
In 1943, Primo Levi, a twenty-five-year-old chemist and "Italian citizen of Jewish race," was arrested by Italian fascists and deported from his native Turin to Auschwitz. Survival in Auschwitz is Levi's classic account of his ten months in the German death camp, a harrowing story of systematic cruelty and miraculous endurance. Remarkable for its simplicity, restraint, compassion, and even wit, Survival in Auschwitz remains a lasting testament to the indestructibility of the human spirit. Included in this new edition is an illuminating conversation between Philip Roth and Primo Levi never before published in book form.
Invisible Ink is the story of Guy Stern's remarkable life. This is
not a Holocaust memoir; however, Stern makes it clear that the
horrors of the Holocaust and his remarkable escape from Nazi
Germany created the central driving force for the rest of his life.
Stern gives much credit to his father's profound cautionary words,
"You have to be like invisible ink. You will leave traces of your
existence when, in better times, we can emerge again and show
ourselves as the individuals we are." Stern carried these words and
their psychological impact for much of his life, shaping himself
around them, until his emergence as someone who would be visible to
thousands over the years. This book is divided into thirteen
chapters, each marking a pivotal moment in Stern's life. His story
begins with Stern's parents-"the two met, or else this chronicle
would not have seen the light of day (nor me, for that matter)."
Then, in 1933, the Nazis come to power, ushering in a fiery and
destructive timeline that Stern recollects by exact dates and calls
"the end of [his] childhood and adolescence." Through a series of
fortunate occurrences, Stern immigrated to the United States at the
tender age of fifteen. While attending St. Louis University, Stern
was drafted into the U.S. Army and soon found himself selected,
along with other German-speaking immigrants, for a special military
intelligence unit that would come to be known as the Ritchie Boys
(named so because their training took place at Ft. Ritchie, MD).
Their primary job was to interrogate Nazi prisoners, often on the
front lines. Although his family did not survive the war (the
details of which the reader is spared), Stern did. He has gone on
to have a long and illustrious career as a scholar, author, husband
and father, mentor, decorated veteran, and friend. Invisible Ink is
a story that will have a lasting impact. If one can name a singular
characteristic that gives Stern strength time after time, it is his
resolute determination to persevere. To that end Stern's memoir
provides hope, strength, and graciousness in times of uncertainty.
This book explores, for the first time, the impact of the Holocaust
on the gender identities of Jewish men. Drawing on historical and
sociological arguments, it specifically looks at the experiences of
men in France, Holland, Belgium, and Poland. Jewish Masculinity in
the Holocaust starts by examining the gendered environment and
ideas of Jewish masculinity during the interwar period and in the
run-up to the Holocaust. The volume then goes on to explore the
effect of Nazi persecution on various elements of male gender
identity, analysing a wide range of sources including diaries and
journals written at the time, underground ghetto newspapers and
numerous memoirs written in the intervening years by survivors.
Taken together, these sources show that Jewish masculinities were
severely damaged in the initial phases of persecution, particularly
because men were unable to perform the gendered roles they expected
of themselves. More controversially, however, Maddy Carey also
shows that the escalation of the persecution and later enclosure -
whether through ghettoisation or hiding - offered men the
opportunity to reassert their masculine identities. Finally, the
book discusses the impact of the Holocaust on the practice of
fatherhood and considers its effect on the transmission of
masculinity. This important study breaks new ground in its coverage
of gender and masculinities and is an important text for anyone
studying the history of the Holocaust.
The Bloomsbury Companion to Holocaust Literature is a comprehensive
reference resource including a wealth of critical material on a
diverse range of topics within the literary study of Holocaust
writing. At its centre is a series of specially commissioned essays
by leading scholars within the field: these address genre-specific
issues such as the question of biographical and historical truth in
Holocaust testimony, as well as broader topics including the
politics of Holocaust representation and the validity of
comparative approaches to the Holocaust in literature and
criticism. These original essays are complemented by a host of
other features designed to benefit scholars and students within
this subject area, including a substantial section detailing new
and emergent trends within the literary study of the Holocaust, a
concise glossary of major critical terminology, and an annotated
bibliography of relevant research material. The volume will be of
interest and value to scholars and students of Holocaust
literature, memorial culture, Jewish Studies, genocide studies, and
twentieth and twenty-first century literature more
broadly.Contributors: Victoria Aarons, Jenni Adams, Michael
Bernard-Donals, Matthew Boswell, Stef Craps, Richard Crownshaw,
Brett Ashley Kaplan and Fernando Herrero-Matoses, Adrienne Kertzer,
Erin McGlothlin, David Miller, and Sue Vice.
The history of spatial identities in the Third Reich is best
approached not as the history of a singular ideology of place, but
rather, as a history of interrelated spaces. National Socialists,
it is clear, attached great importance to place: it was at the
heart of their utopian political project, which was about re-making
territories as well as people's relationships with them. But in
this project, Heimat, region and Empire did not constitute separate
realms for political interventions. Rather, in the Third Reich, as
in the preceding periods of German history, Heimat, region and
Empire were constantly imagined, constructed and re-moulded through
their relationship with one another. This collection brings
together an exciting mixture of international scholars who are
currently pursuing cutting-edge research on spatial identities
under National Socialism. They uncover more differentiated spatial
imaginaries at the heart of Nazi ideology than were previously
acknowledged, and will fuel a growing scepticism about generic
national narratives.
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