Expertly contextualized by two leading historians in the field, this unique collection offers 13 accounts of individual experiences of World War II from across Europe. It sees contributors describe their recent ancestors' experiences ranging from a Royal Air Force pilot captured in Yugoslavia and a Spanish communist in the French resistance to two young Jewish girls caught in the siege of Leningrad. Contributors draw upon a variety of sources, such as contemporary diaries and letters, unpublished postwar memoirs, video footage as well as conversations in the family setting. These chapters attest to the enormous impact that war stories of family members had on subsequent generations. The story of a father who survived Nazi captivity became a lesson in resilience for a daughter with personal difficulties, whereas the story of a grandfather who served the Nazis became a burden that divided the family. At its heart, Family Histories of World War II concerns human experiences in supremely difficult times and their meaning for subsequent generations.

'Gripping' Wall Street Journal ________________________ At first, gunner Clarence Smoyer and his fellow crewmen in the legendary 3rd Armored Division - 'Spearhead' - thought their tanks were invincible. Then they met the German Panther, with a gun so murderous it could shoot through one Sherman and into the next. Soon a pattern emerged: the lead tank always gets hit. After seeing his friends cut down breaching the West Wall and holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, Clarence and his crew are given a weapon with the power to avenge their fallen brothers: the Pershing, a state-of-the-art 'super tank', one of twenty in the European theatre. But with it comes a harrowing new responsibility: now they will spearhead every attack and, in doing so, will lead the US Army into its largest urban battle of the war, the fight for Cologne, the 'Fortress City' of Germany... 'Spearhead shimmers in eclipsing moments of valor, luck and compassion.' Washington Times

The Navy of World War II, 1922-1946 comprehensively covers the vessels that defined this momentous 24-year period in U.S. naval history. Beginning with the lean, pared-down navy created by the treaty at the Washington Naval Conference, and ending with the massive, awe-inspiring fleets that led the Allies to victory in the Second World War, the fourth volume in the celebrated U.S. Navy Warship series presents a detailed guide to all the warships that exhibited the might of the U.S. Navy to the fullest. Showcasing all the ships-both the famous and the often overlooked-that propelled the U.S Navy to prominence in the first half of the twentieth century, The Navy of World War II catalogues all the warships from this era, including those that did battle in the European, Mediterranean, and Pacific Theaters from 1941-1946. From the fleet attacked at Pearl Harbor, to those that fought valiantly in the Battle of the Guadalcanal, to the official surrender of the Japanese on the deck of the USS Missouri, this latest volume is the definitive guide to the warships that defined this pivotal period in U.S. naval history. Each volume in the U.S. Navy Warship series represents the most meticulous scholarship for its particular era, providing an authoritative account of every ship in the history of the U. S. Navy from its first incarnation as the Continental Navy to its present position as one of the world's most formidable naval superpowers. Featuring convenient, easy-to-read tabular lists, every book in the series includes an abundance of illustrations, some never before published, along with figures for actions fought, damages sustained, casualties suffered, prizes taken, and ships sunk, ultimately making the series an indispensable reference tool for maritime buffs and military historians alike. A further article about Paul Silverstone and the Navy Warships series can be found at: http://www.thejc.com/home.aspx?ParentId=m11s18s180&SecId=180&AId=58892&ATypeId=1

Field Marshal William Slim stands alongside Montgomery as the outstanding British field commander of World War II. "Defeat Into Victory" is his classic account of the Burma campaign: a story of retreat, attrition and final hard-fought victory over the Japanese. Told by a commander always at the centre of events, this is a narrative which captures both the high drama and the harsh reality of war.

The two concepts at the centre of this book: Europe, and the Second World War, are constantly changing in public perception. Now that 'Europe' is an even more contested idea than ever, this volume informs the current discourse on European identity by analysing Europe's reaction to the tragedy, heroism and disgrace of the Second World War.

"The Thought War" is the first book in English to examine the full extent of Japan's wartime propaganda. Based on a wide range of archival material and sources in Japanese, Chinese, and English, it explores the propaganda programs of the Japanese government from 1931 to 1945, demonstrating the true scope of imperial propaganda and its pervasive influence, an influence that is still felt today. Contrary to popular postwar rhetoric, it was not emperor worship or military authoritarianism that led an entire nation to war. Rather, it was the creation of a powerful image of Japan as the leader of modern Asia and the belief that the Japanese could and would guide Asia to a new, glorious period of reform that appealed to imperial subjects. Kushner analyzes the role of the police and military in defining socially acceptable belief and behavior by using their influence to root out malcontents. His research is the first of its kind to treat propaganda as a profession in wartime Japan. He shows that the leadership was not confined to the crude tools of sloganeering and government-sponsored demonstrations but was able instead to appropriate the expertise of the nation's advertising firms to "sell" the image of Japan as Asia's leader and modernizer. In his exploration of the propaganda war in popular culture and the entertainment industry, Kushner discloses how entertainers sought to bolster their careers by adopting as their own pro-war messages that then filtered down into society and took hold. Japanese propaganda frequently conflicted with Chinese and American visions of empire, and Kushner reveals the reactions of these two nations to Japan's efforts and the meaning of their responses.

Why has the 'people's war' been such a durable and attractive myth? Creating the people's war examines how civil defence personnel engaged with this narrative during the war and in the following decades to answer this question. Civil defence was the most significant voluntary organisation of the Second World War, involving millions of men and women of every class, generation and locality in Britain. This book shows how local communities of civil defence personnel co-developed narratives about the value of their work which challenged hierarchies of war service. In their social groups volunteers wrote themselves into the 'people's war' and invested it with meaning, creating national identity from the bottom up. Community was both central to these representations and vital for their production. -- .

This collection by leading British and American scholars on twentieth century international history covers the strategy, diplomacy and intelligence of the Anglo-American-Soviet alliance during the Second World War. It includes the evolution of allied war aims in both the European and Pacific theatres, the policies surrounding the development and use of the atomic bomb and the evolution of the international intelligence community. It also considers the origins and consequences of inter-allied economic relations as they emerged during the war and the personal relationship between Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

When the Soviet Union invaded Finland in late 1939, what transpired was a true “David and Goliath� conflict. When Finland refused a number of Soviet demands, including the ceding of substantial border territories ostensibly to enable the Soviets to protect Leningrad, the Soviets responded by launching an invasion. The invasion involved a large Soviet army, with several thousand tanks, and a large air force. But to the world's surprise the Finnish Army - many of them reservists without proper uniforms and limited ammunition - and Air Force battled overwhelming odds, and managed to resist Russian attacks for over two months, inflicting serious losses. Geography played its part as much of the Finnish-Soviet border was impassable, meaning that Soviet numerical superiority was of less import. Operating in the winter, with temperatures ranging as low as -43F, the Finns’ determined resistance won them international reputation. Although hostilities finally ended in a peace treaty that saw Finland cede 9% of its territory, Soviet losses had been heavy, and Finland retained its sovereignty. This fully illustrated text will cover the forces involved and all stages of the Winter War.

In the longer perspective, even the most momentous events can appear to lose coherence and significance. However, such was the impact of World War Two that even more than sixty years after its end, interest in the origins, course and consequences of the war continues to increase and generate debate. In this essential introductory guide, John Plowright casts a critical eye over the mass of literature that surrounds the conflict, focusing on key topics such as: - Nazi foreign policy and appeasement - the Fall of France - Operation Barbarossa and the Allied strategic bombing offensive - the impact of the war on Britain's international position and on American society - the movement towards European integration. This timely book provides an approachable synthesis of the scholarship relating to the causes, course and outcomes of the Second World War. It is ideal for all those in danger of drowning in the ocean of print on the subject and who wish to gain an understanding of the central issues and debates.

Death in war matters. It matters to the individual, threatened with their own death, or the death of loved ones. It matters to groups and communities who have to find ways to manage death, to support the bereaved and to dispose of bodies amidst the confusion of conflict. It matters to the state, which has to find ways of coping with mass death that convey a sense of gratitude and respect for the sacrifice of both the victims of war, and those that mourn in their wake. This social and cultural history of Britain in the Second World War places death at the heart of our understanding of the British experience of conflict. Drawing on a range of material, Dying for the nation demonstrates just how much death matters in wartime and examines the experience, management and memory of death. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in the social and cultural history of Britain in the Second World War. -- .

This book argues that American strategists in the Joint Chiefs of Staff were keenly aware of the inseparability of political and military aspects of strategy in the fight against Japan in World War II. They understood that war not only has political sources, it also has political purposes that establish the war's objectives and help to define the nature of the peace to follow. They understood that policy was the 'guiding intelligence' for war, in Clausewitzian terms, and that to attempt to approach strategic problems was nonsensical.

The suffering of the Jewish people during WWII has been well documented, but be have heard little about the lives of others during the war. Anna was an ordinary citizen growing up in prewar Poland. She graduated from a teaching seminary and was married shortly thereafter. The bliss of married life ended August 1939 when Polish troops requested that her husband report to the local armory immediately. She would not see him again for nine years. By early September bombs began dropping and food was scarce for her and her two-year-old son. Russian troops soon invaded and travel was restricted. Farmers were not allowed to bring their goods to market. Anna barely escaped getting sent to Siberia. Then the Germans became the occupiers and Anna for the first time became involved with the Polish Underground. She gets work at a German prison, but often cannot find bread to buy and she must live with the atrocities that are committed around her. The tide turns and the Russians pushed the Germans West and she must escape before they find out that she worked for the Germans. Finally the War ends but Poland is still not free.

First published in 1941 to considerable acclaim, this is a classic account of the last days of peace in Europe before the outbreak of the Second World War. William Russell was a young American diplomat working at the US Embassy, in Hermann Goering Strasse, during the grim days of 1939 just prior to and after Germany's invasion of Poland. He had studied in Germany before joining his country's diplomatic corps, so both his knowledge of history and considerable linguistic skills would enable him to gain a unique experience of one of the most momentous periods in world history. And he does not miss any opportunity to write a totally absorbing account of both the horror and the farce which so often accompanies such epic times. This quite remarkable account deserves to find a whole new readership, revealing as it does, in intimate detail, a time when American diplomacy was forced to handle a Europe fast falling into an abyss of nightmares.

The essays which appear in this book for the most part originated as papers delivered at a conference on Britain and the cinema in the Second World War held in London in May 1985.

This extraordinary book tells the story of a remarkable family caught in Japan at the outbreak of the Second World War in the Pacific. With letters, journal extracts and notes from Hamish Brown's parents, as well as his own recollections, it brings the era to life: not only life in the dying days of the British Empire, but also the terrible reality of the invasion of Singapore into which they escaped.

"Choice" Outstanding Academic Title

Even in the midst of World War II, Americans could not help thinking of the lands across the Pacific as a continuation of the American Western frontier. But this perception only heightened American soldiers' frustration as the hostile region ferociously resisted their attempts at control.

The GI War Against Japan recounts the harrowing experiences of American soldiers in Asia and the Pacific. Based on countless diaries and letters, it sweeps across the battlefields, from the early desperate stand at Guadalcanal to the tragic sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis at war's very end. From the daunting spaces of the China-India theater to the fortress islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, Schrijvers brings to life the GIs' struggle with suffocating wilderness, devastating diseases, and Japanese soldiers who preferred death over life. Amidst the frustration and despair of this war, American soldiers abandoned themselves to an escalating rage that presaged Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The GI's story is, first and foremost, the story of America's resounding victory over Japan. At the same time, however, the reader will recognize in the extraordinarily high price paid for this victory chilling forebodings of the West's ultimate defeat in Asia'and America's in Vietnam.

First published in 2006. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book examines the plight of British and Allied civilians as their troops fought with the Japanese Army for the control of Singapore. This is the story of the desperate efforts made to escape, by ocean-going ships, small craft or on foot through the Malayan jungle.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy started a crash program, gathering information and educating personnel to deal with enemy bombs, land mines, and other explosive ordnance. Figuring lawyers make the best cannon fodder, recent law school graduate J. Frank Durham was among early volunteers for this dangerous and highly-classified work. Graduating with a perfect grade from the navy's new Bomb Disposal School, he was retained on staff to help the operation expand, then dispatched to Guadalcanal, where Americans were fighting the pivotal battle of World War Two. While learning how to handle explosive devices, Durham endured bombing, shelling, and an unexpected encounter with the enemy, but tales of suspense and danger are balanced by a humorous perspective on everyday life as an enlisted man. He describes unofficial enterprises, manufacturing souvenirs from brass shells in the captured Japanese ammo dump, and making moonshine from anything available, to sell to the troops. Eleanor Roosevelt's visit to the field hospital inspired a pithy comment about a painful loss from a wounded marine, and a classic riposte from the First Lady. side of the conflict.