In this number: Langemarck and the Operation Solstice, Spanish Volunteers on the Eastern Front, SS-Obersturmführer Kurt Sametreiter, SS-Freiwilligen-Legion ‘Niederlande’, ‘Lakaie’ Battalion in Lubowo, Karl-Heinz Knapp, The ‘Nord’ Division and the battle of Salla.
In this issue: The Flemish Legion, Felix Steiner and the European Volunteers, The Wiking and the battles in the Izyum area, July 1943, SS-Unterscharführer Max Rudolf Pesarra, The Italian SS Legion and the Foreign Volunteer Legion Military Award & Insignia.
This book examines volunteering in detail from a civil society perspective, using empirical data garnered from various sources for countries all over the globe. The contributions deal with a broad spectrum of questions, ranging from the diversity, social and cultural determinants and organizational settings of volunteering, to its possible individual, social, and political effects.
Kenneth Estes studies the 100,000 West Europeans who fought against Russia as volunteers for the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. A retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, Estes shows tremendous knowledge of combat and writes gripping battlefield prose. Two-thirds of the West European volunteers came from Spain and the Netherlands, yet Estes demonstrates wide range and covers also Flemish, Walloon, French, Danish, and Norwegian combat units. Avoiding over-generalization, the author distinguishes carefully among the Danes and Flemings who fought competently with the SS-Wiking Division and later with Nordland, the courageous but poorly-armed Spanish, the ill-trained Dutch and French in Landstorm Nederland and SS-Charlemagne, and the Norwegians who after a first wave of enthusiasm held back altogether. Estes pulverizes the Nazi propaganda notion of a multinational European army defending 'Western civilization' against 'Bolshevism'. He shows that West Europeans, mainly of the urban working classes, volunteered from a mix of motives -adventure-seeking, ideology, hopes of personal advantage or material gain, a desire for better food, or a wish to escape a criminal record at home. He demonstrates that the best-performing foreign legions were trained and led by German officers and formed parts of larger SS units, and also that the Wehrmacht placed little value on foreign formations until its other manpower reserves ran out in 1944-45. This is a landmark work on a subject which has been much written about, but rarely understood or described as perceptively as in the pages of this book.
This is a study of the history of global refugee movements over the 20th century, ranging from east European Jews fleeing Tsarist oppression at the turn of the century to asylum seekers from the former Zaire and Yugoslavia. Recognizing that the problem of refugees is a universal one, the authors emphasize the human element which should be at the forefront of both the study of refugees and responses to them.
In 1998, the Council of Europe and the European Commission decided to take common action in the field of youth. Both institutions initiated a partnership agreement with the aim "to promote active European citizenship and civil society by giving impetus to the training of youth leaders and youth workers working within a European dimension". In 2003, additional agreements were signed in the fields of "youth research" and "Euro-Mediterranean youth co-operation". Since 2005, the partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth activities has focused on the following topics: European citizenship, human rights education and intercultural dialogue, quality and recognition of youth work and training, better understanding and knowledge of youth and youth policy development. The partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth brings together the two institutions' experience in non-formal education, youth policy, youth research and youth work practice. Activities organised within its framework gather representatives of those areas who share their knowledge and experience for the benefit of enhancing evidence-based policy, practice, quality and recognition of youth work and training. Results and other material are made available on the partnership website (http://youth-partnership-eu.coe.int) and in various publications, including the Training Kits (T-Kits). T-Kits are thematic publications written by experienced youth trainers and experts and constitute easy-to-use handbooks for educational activities. All activities and publications enhance the exchange of experience and good practice between the actors involved and contribute to the implementation of the political objectives of both partner institutions.
In this book: Formation and Employment of the SS Langemarck Brigade - Unterscharführer Harald Nugiseks - Italian Volunteers in the Waffen SS - The 8.SS-Kavallerie-Division ‘Florian Geyer’ at Nyiregyhaza - Frikorps Danmark - 5.SS-Freiwillige Sturmbrigade Wallonien The French SS-Freiwilligen-Sturmbrigade
Sport is often seen as an indicator of the civic maturity of a community, an aspect of the rights of citizens to health, education and social integration. This book examines the relationships between participation in sport and physical activity, and welfare policies across Europe. It argues that the success of campaigns for the promotion of sport depend on the existence of dedicated welfare policies promoted by the European states and explores variations in cultural models and structures of governance across Europe. Addressing the function of supranational institutions such as the EU as well as voluntary networks, the book illuminates key issues in European societies such as migration, financial austerity and Brexit as they relate to sport policy. This is important reading for scholars and students in the fields of European sport and physical activity, sociology, political science and organisational analysis, as well as operators and managers of the sport systems involved in advanced training programmes.