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The Italian Army’s participation in Hitler’s war against the Soviet Union has remained unrecognized and understudied. Bastian Matteo Scianna offers a wide-ranging, in-depth corrective. Mining Italian, German and Russian sources, he examines the history of the Italian campaign in the East between 1941 and 1943, as well as how the campaign was remembered and memorialized in the domestic and international arena during the Cold War. Linking operational military history with memory studies, this book revises our understanding of the Italian Army in the Second World War.
Offers a vivid examination of Axis prisoners of war during World War II, detailing their experiences, circumstances, and the complexities of their captivity in various theatres from 1940 to 1945. Prisoners of war (POWs) are an important part in the history of the Second World War. Nikolaos Theotokis, in this vividly written book, examines the subject, taking a closer look at the hundreds of thousands of Axis military personnel, including women (mostly German), who were held in POW camps, POW cages, prisons or forced labor camps, after being captured by or surrendering to Allied forces, between 1940 and 1945, in the North African, European and Pacific theaters of operations. Hundreds of cases...
The story of Alamein - one of the pivotal battles of the Second World War, but also one of the most hotly debated in the years since: how it was fought, how it has been remembered, and what it means for us today.
In this absorbing new history of the ‘Galicia’ Division, David McCormack debunks many of the myths that have resulted in enduring controversies amongst the public, the mainstream media, academics, and politicians. ‘The Galicia Division 1943-45 : Just Ordinary Soldiers?’ provides an objective appraisal of the Ukrainian volunteers and conscripts that have been described as both heroes and villains in equal measure. What were the circumstances that led thousands of Ukrainians to volunteer to fight in Hitler’s crusade against Bolshevism in 1943? Why did coercion replace incentivisation as a means of recruitment in 1944? Why was a decision made by the British authorities to ignore Stalin’s demands for the repatriation of the division in 1945? Did the long established German military doctrine of ‘absolute destruction’ provide the foundations for accusations of war crimes against the division? How can the recent fetishisation of the division by Ukrainian nationalists be explained?
The history of noncombatant immunity is well established. What is less understood is how militaries have rationalized violating this immunity. This book traces the development of how militaries have rationalized the killing of the innocent from the thirteenth century onward. In the process, this historiography shows how we have arrived at the ascendant convention that assumes militaries should not intentionally kill the innocent. Furthermore, it shows how moral arguments about the permissibility of killing the innocent are largely adaptations to material changes in how wars are fought, whether through technological innovations or changes in institutional structures.
As a first of its kind, this edited collection brings together a variety of chapters dealing with different topics that address, where possible, most of the participants involved in or affected by the conflict as well as different, often neglected aspects of the East Africa campaign of the Second World War. In doing so, this volume not only makes a definite contribution to the broader historiography and to our understanding of a diverse, complex Second World War, but will also serve as an impetus for further topical research on an important, yet neglected, campaign of the war.
Tangled Transformations presents a historical analysis of the interplay between German unification and European integration from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Building on freshly released documents, the book’s sixteen chapters explore constellations in which the two processes accelerated and informed one another. The book highlights the role of Germany’s neighbours to the east, with chapters discussing the cotransformation between East and West as well as chapters dedicated to Poland, Romania, and Hungary. It sheds new light on the two interrelated processes by examining the role of Germany’s most important Western neighbours and partners: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. The book pays particular attention to the role of the European Commission as well as to monetary and industrial policy. It also moves beyond the economic sphere by discussing foreign and security policy issues, justice and home affairs, German debates about European integration at the time, and the significance of the German federal states. Ultimately, Tangled Transformations demonstrates the strong interlinkages between German unification and European integration.
A fascinating comparative history of the treatment of fallen airmen in Second World War Europe.
Being located between the Black and Caspian seas, Azerbaijan has always been the juncture of Eurasia—with a traditional reputation as a crossroads between the north-south and east-west transport corridors—and the traditional ground for competition between numerous regional and global players, using both soft and hard power. With its vast hydrocarbon energy reserves, Azerbaijan is a country of particular importance in the South Caucasus. The region’s complex geopolitics have immensely influenced Azerbaijan’s foreign policy strategy. With the dissolution of the USSR, Azerbaijan, as a new state with fragile security, found itself in a complicated situation surrounded by regional powers like Iran, Russia, and Turkey. The book is built around several major foreign policy issues faced by the Republic of Azerbaijan since it regained its independence in 1991. These major issues include the conflict with Armenia and related matters, the relationship with the West, as well as the complexities arising from its relationship with Russia and its ties to Muslim countries, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.