American diplomat George Platt Waller's memoir of his experiences in Luxembourg from 1939-1941 reveals the plight of a small neutral country invaded by Nazi Germany. His vivid account of the response of Luxembourgers to war and occupation and his own efforts to help refugees offers a compelling story of witness and resistance to evil in the Second World War.
This dictionary covers the complex and costly conflict that began when Germany, ruled by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, invaded neighboring Poland on 1 September 1939; and concluded when Germany surrendered on 7–9 May 1945, leaving much of the European continent in ruins and its population devastated. The war against Germany, Italy, and the other European Axis members was fought primarily in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, East and North Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. The Axis powers were defeated by the Allies, led by the “Grand Alliance” of Great Britain, the United States, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Historical Dictionary of World War II: The War against Germany and Italy relates the history of this war through a chronology, an introductory essay, maps and photos, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 300 cross-referenced entries on the countries and geographical areas involved in the war, as well as the nations remaining neutral; wartime alliances and conferences; significant civilian and military leaders; and major ground, naval, and air operations. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about World War II.
Between 1935 and 1940, the Nazis incorporated large portions of Europe into the German Reich. The contributors to this volume analyze the evolving anti-Jewish policies in the annexed territories and their impact on the Jewish population, as well as the attitudes and actions of non-Jews, Germans, and indigenous populations. They demonstrate that diverse anti-Jewish policies developed in the different territories, which in turn affected practices in other regions and even influenced Berlin’s decisions. Having these systematic studies together in one volume enables a comparison - based on the most recent research - between anti-Jewish policies in the areas annexed by the Nazi state. The results of this prizewinning book call into question the common assumption that one central plan for persecution extended across Nazi-occupied Europe, shifting the focus onto differing regional German initiatives and illuminating the cooperation of indigenous institutions.
When the Nazis invaded, they did not intend to govern fairly. Instead they stripped defeated nations of their treasures, industry and natural resources, with the aim of asserting German supremacy and imposing Hitler's New Order in Europe. Paul Roland tells the story of daily life under Nazi rule - in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Guernsey and the Channel Islands- to be brought to heel by bribery and brutality, rape and torture, inducement and intimidation as the Germans carried out their vile policies. We hear of quislings and collaborators who conspired with their captors, the 'enemies of the Reich' including Jewish citizens who were rounded up and exterminated, as well as stories of incredible courage by individuals who struck back against the Führer. Featuring haunting photographs of the people and places under occupation, this shocking book confronts us with the reality of the Nazi rule - a regime which would have swept the entirety of Europe, had Germany won the war.
The Routledge History of the Second World War sums up the latest trends in the scholarship of that conflict, covering a range of major themes and issues. The book delivers a thematic analysis of the many ways in which study of the Second World War can take place, considering international, transnational, and global approaches, and serves as a major jumping off point for further research into the specific fields covered by each of the expert authors. It demonstrates the global and total nature of the Second World War, giving due coverage to the conflict in all major theatres and through the lens of the key combatants and neutrals, examines issues of race, gender, ideology, and society during the war, and functions as a textbook to educate students as to the trends that have taken place in how the conflict has been (and can be) interpreted in the modern world. Divided into twelve parts that cover central themes of the conflict, including theatres of war, leadership, societies, occupation, secrecy and legacies, it enables those with no memory of war to approach it with a view to comprehending what it was all about and places the history of this conflict into a context that is international, transnational, and institutional. This is a comprehensive and accessible reference volume for anyone interested in the most up to date scholarship on this major conflict. Chapter 18 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com
Executive editors: Katja Happe, Michael Mayer, and Maja Peers, with Jean-Marc Dreyfus; English-language edition prepared by: Caroline Pearce, Johannes Gamm, Georg Felix Harsch, and Dorothy Mas In April-May 1940 the German Wehrmacht invaded Northern and Western Europe. The subsequent occupation of Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France brought the Jewish population of these countries – both established residents and refugees – under German control. From autumn 1941 in Luxembourg and from spring/summer 1942 in Belgium, the Netherlands and occupied France, Jews were required to wear the ‘Jewish star’ and many were subjected to forced labour. By mid-1942, deportations from Luxembourg and France to the ghettos and extermination camps in occupied Eastern Europe had already begun, while in the other occupied countries they were imminent. In April 1942 Alfred Oppenheimer, the Jewish elder in Luxembourg, wrote: ‘A dreadful fate hangs over our community again. The worst that can happen has now happened and the Poland transport is a certainty.’ This volume covers Norway and Western Europe during the period from the German invasion to mid 1942 (developments in Denmark for this period are documented in vol. 12) and records how Jews in these parts of Europe were excluded from society and stripped of their rights, livelihoods, and property. Letters and diary entries by the persecuted Jews detail life under German occupation and the attempts by many Jews to emigrate. The sources show how Jewish organizations sought to alleviate the impact of persecution, and how the German occupiers and local collaborators targeted Jews with increasingly stringent measures and clamped down on any form of resistance. Learn more about the PMJ on https://pmj-documents.org/
It was an incredible destiny for a man who repeatedly announced that he was “without ambition.” Although he had left school aged fourteen, had no experience of foreign affairs and spoke no languages other than English, in 1929 Sean Lester became the Irish representative to the League of Nations in Geneva. He was soon recognized by his peers as an outspoken and able politician of integrity ready to defend the rules governing civilized society. As the League’s High Commissioner in the Free City of Danzig from 1934 to 1936, he tried to resist the Nazi juggernaut. In the early part of the Second World War, Lester took over as Secretary-General of the League of Nations from his disgraced predecessor and for four years fought to keep the institution alive. In his dairies he witnessed many dark chapters of European history in the 1930s and 1940s.
Veteran White House reporter April Ryan thought she had seen everything in her two decades as a White House correspondent. And then came the Trump administration. In Under Fire, Ryan takes us inside the confusion and chaos of the Trump White House to understand how she and other reporters adjusted to the new normal. She takes us inside the policy debates, the revolving door of personnel appointments, and what it is like when she, as a reporter asking difficult questions, finds herself in the spotlight, becoming part of the story. With the world on edge and a country grappling with a new controversy almost daily, Ryan gives readers a glimpse into current events from her perspective, not only from inside the briefing room but also as a target of those who want to avoid answering probing questions. After reading her new book, readers will have an unprecedented inside view of the Trump White House and what it is like to be a reporter Under Fire.
