The Russian Revolution of 1917 has been one of the most important events of modern history. It changed the course of the events not only in Russia but, on a wider scale, across the world while it influenced the flow of history throughout the twentieth century until the fall of the Soviet Union and, to some extent, well beyond this time. Radical change in Russia triggered social revolutions and reformations across Europe, while authoritarian systems shaped their societies according to the Russian model. This book analyses these forces, particularly at the European periphery which has been underexplored until this volume.

Borders exist in almost every sphere of life. Initially, borders were established in connection with kingdoms, regions, towns, villages and cities. With nation-building, they became important as a line separating two national states with different "national characteristics," narratives and myths. The term "border" has a negative connotation for being a separating line, a warning signal not to cross a line between the allowed and the forbidden. The awareness of both mental and factual borders in manifold spheres of our life has made them a topic of consideration in almost all scholarly disciplines - history, geography, political science and many others. This book primarily incorporates an interdisciplinary and comparative approach. Historians, sociologists, anthropologists and political science scholars from a diverse range of European universities analyze historical as well as contemporary perceptions and perspectives concerning border regions - inside the EU, between EU and non-EU European countries, and between European and non-European countries.

Recent events in Ukraine and Russia and the subsequent incorporation of Crimea into the Russian state, with the support of some circles of inhabitants of the peninsula, have shown that the desire of people to belong to the Western part of Europe should not automatically be assumed. Discussing different perceptions of the Ukrainian-Russian war in neighbouring countries, this book offers an analysis of the conflicts and issues connected with the shifting of the border regions of Russia and Ukraine to show how 'material' and 'psychological' borders are never completely stable ideas. The contributors - historians, sociologists, anthropologists and political scientists from across Europe - use an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to explore the different national and transnational perceptions of a possible future role for Russia.

Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte hat, wie kaum ein anderer Zweig der Zeitgeschichtsforschung, aber auch der Historischen Theologie, vielerlei und folgenreiche Methodenstreitigkeiten hinter sich. Einerseits analysiert die Disziplin kirchliches Handeln und konfessionelle Milieus mit historischen Mitteln, andererseits erfolgt ihr Urteilsbildung nach theologischen Kriterien. Dass sie aufgrund dieses doppelten Referenzrahmens mitten im Diskurs uber Forschungsstrategien und Interpretationsregeln steckt, zeigt vorliegender Tagungsband, der gleichermassen intensiv zwei Generalthemen nachgeht: Erstens den religiosen Ausdrucksformen unter den gesellschaftlich-kulturellen Rahmenbedingungen des NS-Regimes und zweitens den Urteilen und Einstellungen der Christen Europas und Nordamerikas zu den kirchlichen Verhaltnissen in Deutschland 1934-1939. Aus dem Inhalt: Gerhard Besier: Einleitung: "Die Kirchen und das Dritte Reich" als Thema internationaler kirchlicher Zeitgeschichtsforschung Religiose Transformationen und Ausdrucksformen unter den veranderten gesellschaftlich-kulturellen Rahmenbedingungen des NS-Regimes Gerhard Ringshausen: Die Deutung des NS-Staates und des Widerstandes als Thema der Zeitgeschichte Hans Mommsen: Der Nationalsozialismus als sakulare Religion Julius H. Schoeps: Erlosungswahn und Vernichtungswille. Der Nationalsozialismus als Politische Religion Doris L. Bergen: Die Deutschen Christen 1934-1939 Thomas Fandel: Die Stellung von evangelischen und katholischen Pfarrern zum Nationalsozialismus am Beispiel der Pfalz Heide-Marie Lauterer: "Ja, das haben wir miterlebt, aber wir konnten dagegen ja nichts machen." Diakonische Werke und Verbande in der Konsolidierungsphase des NS-Gewaltregimes am Beispiel des Kaiserwerther Verbandes Klaus-Michael Mallmann: Die unubersichtliche Konfrontation. Geheime Staatspolizei, Sicherheitsdienst und christliche Kirchen 1934-1939/40 Michael Wolffsohn: Re-Judaisierung der Deutschen Juden 1933-1939? Eine neue Methode: Vornamen als vordemoskopsicher Indikator? Helmuth Kiesel: Das Verhaltnis von Nationalsozialismus, Kirche und Religion in der Literatur der Jahre 1934-1939 Urteile und Einstellungen der Christen Europas und Nordamerikas zu den kirchlichen Verhaltnissen in Deutschland (1934-1939) Karl Schwarz: ..".Wie verzerrt ist nun alles " Die Evangelische Kirche und der Anschluss Osterreichs an Hitlerdeutschland im Marz 1938 Josef Smolik: Die tschechischen Kirchen in der Krise des Jahres 1938 und wahrend der deutschen Andrew Chandler: Condemnation and Appeasement: The Attitudes of British Christians towards National Socialist Religious and Foreign Policies, 1934-1939 Frederic Hartweg: Der franzosische Protestantismus und die kirchliche Entwicklung in Deutschland. Die Rezeption des Kirchenkampfes und die "Erbfeindschaft" Ingun Montgomery: Transformationen in Schwedens Kirche und Gesellschaft wahrend der konsolidierten NS-Gewaltherrschaft (Herbst 1934 bis Herbst 1939) John S. Conway: The North American Churches Reactionas to the German Church Struggle"

The Russian Revolution of 1917 has been one of the most important events of modern history. It changed the course of the events not only in Russia but, on a wider scale, across the world while it influenced the flow of history throughout the twentieth century until the fall of the Soviet Union and, to some extent, well beyond this time. Radical change in Russia triggered social revolutions and reformations across Europe, while authoritarian systems shaped their societies according to the Russian model. This book analyses these forces, particularly at the European periphery which has been underexplored until this volume.

The established churches and religious communities were deeply involved in the transition processes of the twentieth century. During the National Socialism as well as during the Cold War Christian religious communities were often used as political pawns. In both cases, National Socialism and Communism, the church leadership worked closely with the repressive Systems and tried to win the people over to the dictatorships' ideologies.

The Anglican Bishop George Bell (of Chichester) and the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Willem A. Visser't Hooft (of Geneva) exchanged hundreds of letters between 1938 and 1958. The correspondence, reproduced and commented upon here, mirrors the efforts made across the ecumenical movement to unite the Christian churches and also to come to terms with an age of international crisis and conflict. In these first decades of the World Council, it was widely felt that the Church could make a noteworthy contribution to the mitigation of political tensions all over the world. That's why Bell and Visser't Hooft talked not only to bishops and the clergy, but also to the prime ministers and presidents of many countries. They raised their voices in memoranda and published their public letters in important newspapers. This was the World Council's most successful period.