War and Faith
War and Faith

Author: Pavlina Bobič

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2012-01-20

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9004224157

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Pavlina Bobič examines the Catholic Church’s interpretation of the nature of the First World War, which furnished the great European conflagration with a moral dimension and bestowed upon it ideological legitimation. This volume scrutinizes contexts in which religious concepts were employed by the Slovenian clergy to advance the Habsburg dynastic authority as well as to deepen the patriotic sense of Slovenians. It shows the interaction of experiences at the front and at home, and explains the crucial reasons for the Church’s political (re)orientation during the war. Drawing extensively on contemporary documents, letters and diaries of soldiers, civilians and prominent figures, this account provides fresh insight into the people’s understanding of the conflict, which triggered tensions that were central to the dissolution of the Habsburg empire.

Ring of Steel
Ring of Steel

Author: Alexander Watson

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2014-10-07

Total Pages: 451

ISBN-13: 0465056873

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A prize-winning, magisterial history of World War I from the perspective of the defeated Central Powers For the Central Powers, the First World War started with high hopes for an easy victory. But those hopes soon deteriorated as Germany's attack on France failed, Austria-Hungary's armies suffered catastrophic losses, and Britain's ruthless blockade brought both nations to the brink of starvation. The Central powers were trapped in the Allies' ever-tightening Ring of Steel. In this compelling history, Alexander Watson retells the war from the perspective of its losers: not just the leaders in Berlin and Vienna, but the people of Central Europe. The war shattered their societies, destroyed their states, and imparted a poisonous legacy of bitterness and violence. A major reevaluation of the First World War, Ring of Steel is essential for anyone seeking to understand the last century of European history.