Second World War Books

Book Synopsis1: Introduction.- 2: Stereotypes as Resistance: Jews and the Fight against Victimisation in Brazil, 1930-1945.- 3: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Cuba as a Temporary Shelter.- 4: A Special Juridical Status for Jews. Chilean Immigration Policy during the Third Reich.-5: Colonization, Refuge, and Nationalism: Bolivia and its Jewish Migration.- 6: Austrian Holocaust Refugees and Immigration Policy in Trinidad and Colombia.- 7: Mexico's Jewish Community in the Post-War Period: Refugees, Survivors and Conflicts.- 8: Resettlement of Holocaust Survivors and Displaced Persons in Argentina.- 9: From Europe to Chile: The Ship Journey of Holocaust Survivors as a Time-Space of Transition and Elaboration of Meaning (1938-1950).- 10: Experiences of Persecution, Family Separations, Forced Migration and Life Reconfigurations of Holocaust Child Survivors in Mexico.- 11: Remigration from Montevideo to Vienna. A Transgenerational and Transnational Perspective on Heimat.- 12: Holocaust Afterlives and Memory Politics in Cold War Brazil.- 13: Itineraries of an Exemplary Memory: Colombia and the Holocaust.- 14: Holocaust Memory and Representation by Chilean Jews: Comparison with State-Sponsored Violence During the Dictatorship.- 15: Holocaust Consciousness and Colonial Legacies in Guatemala.- 16: The Diverse Uses of the Holocaust in Public Debates in Argentina.- 17: Final Remarks and Future Research.

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Book SynopsisSuzanne Bardgett, Christine Schmidt and Dan Stone; Introduction.- Riki Van Boeschoten and Antonis Antoniou; Greek Forced Labourers in the Third Reich: An Untold Story.- René Bienert; Killing Fields Uncovered in Bavaria: An Early Survivors' Initiative in Documenting Nazi Crimes and Tracing Victims.- Naida-Michal Brandl; Navigating Repatriation and Restitution: Jewish Survivors in Croatia in the Immediate Postwar Period.- Katja Seybold; Landsmanshaftn in the Jewish Displaced Persons Camp Bergen-Belsen: Two Samples.- Éva Kovács and Rita Horváth; Memory as a Social Reality behind the Iron Curtain: The History of the Memoir Hairpin Bend Written by Maria Ember.- Amine Laggoune; Soviet Repatriation Camps in France: The Culture and Everyday Life of Former Prisoners of War and Forced Labourers during the Exit from the Second World War (1944-1947).- Karl Krotke-Crandall; Memory Un-interrupted: A Case Study on Collective Memory Transmission within Jewish Survivors and Their Kin Living in the Former Soviet Core.- Emilia Koustova and Alain Blum; Lithuanian Jews in the Sights of the Stalinist Police after the Second World War.- Verena Meier; Denazification: The Criminal Police and its Role in the Prosecution of Nazi Perpetrators of the Genocide Against Sinti and Roma in the Soviet Occupation Zone.- Jens-Christian Hansen; Bringing Justice to the Subcamps: Former Prisoners as Key Witnesses in Post-War Trials.- Silke von der Emde; Dis/abling Affect: Building Community out of Trauma at the International Tracing Service.- Abby Gondek; Ernst Papanek and the Wiltwyck School: A Jewish Austrian Holocaust Refugee and Care for Black Youth.- Jacqueline Vansant; Bringing the Past to Life: Epistolary Conversations of Jewish-Austrian Classmates.

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Book SynopsisChapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: From Brazil to Germany: Aracy de Carvalho.- Chapter 3: From Germany to Brazil (1938): Margarethe Levy.- Chapter 4: Dropping anchor in Brazil: Margarethe Levy.- Chapter 5: Return to the homeland (1942-1982): Aracy de Carvalho.- Chapter 6: Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisIntroduction.- Media Perception, Production and Research.- School and Higher Education.- Museum Context.- Survivor's Perspective Insights & Analyses.

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Book SynopsisAn obvious hiatus amidst the abundance of Pacific War studies is the story of Indonesia during that period. The Encyclopedia of Indonesia in the Pacific War, edited under the aegis of the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, now fills that gap. This state of the art work reflects the different experiences and historiographic traditions of Indonesians, Japanese, and Dutch. The aim is to present the developments in the Indonesian archipelago in as much a rational and dispassionate way as possible, taking into account regional and social variations and interpreting them within the international context of pre- and post-war trends. With due acknowledgement of different perspectives, ambiguities, unresolved issues and conflicting views, it sets out to enhance mutual understanding and academic dialogue.Trade Review"This volume brings together a fascinating collection of scholarly articles and primary sources, complemented by a truly wonderful, eye-opening, and extensive selection of photographs, describing the history of WW II as it was experienced in Indonesia [...] Since the Japanese period has not been much explored in English-language scholarship on Indonesia, this book is a significant contribution for academic audiences and for others interested in learning more about life on the ground in wartime in a colonial world. This work will be very important for library collections and of immediate use to any university that offers courses in Southeast Asian history and/or social or cultural histories of WW II." – S. Maxim, University of California, Berkeley, in Choice Reviews Online (June 2010). "This book marks a return to basic historical studies, juxtaposing an amazing range of critical information about the occupation period in Indonesia. This book will change the image of the Japanese occupation, facilitate the sharing of knowledge among scholarly communities, and stimulate a new generation of research on this problematic period of Indonesian history. While I dream of future work, this book is a welcome addition to any bookshelf and well worth the hefty price." – Mayumi Yamamoto, Waseda University, in Journal of Asian Studies (2010). "The present volume covers this traumatic period in great detail and maintains a long tradition of scholarly research from the present publisher. Whilst it is clearly not aimed at the general public it offers the English-speaking reader an in-depth survey of the subject. It deserves a place in the library of any serious academic institution offering courses relating to Indonesia, the PacificWar or South East Asia more widely." – Peter Wellburn, in Reference Reviews 25/5 (2011).

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Book SynopsisIn May 1940, the Netherlands were overrun by German armed forces. The five-day campaign might seem to be a prime example of Blitzkrieg, which led shortly afterwards to the rapid and unexpected overthrow of France. This book, based on the newest scholarly research, argues that this is too simple a view. Even though the German assault on the Netherlands made use of tanks, aircraft and airborne troops, it was still a classic campaign against a weak opponent in a theater on the margins of Fall Gelb. In many instances, artillery and infantry were the decisive factors and it is debatable whether the bombing of Rotterdam can be seen as a precursor to the aerial terror campaigns against civilian populations that marked the later stages the Second World War. Contributors are H. Amersfoort, H.W. van den Doel, P.H. Kamphuis, P.M.J. de Koster, C.M. Schulten and J.W.M. Schulten.Trade Review"This edited volume is a fascinating read from beginning to end. ... Fully footnoted and benefiting greatly from an annotated bibliography, the source material is in itself a valuable resource enhancing greatly the detailed narrative and analysis found within the main body of the text. The translation is of the highest quality and amply demonstrates the considerable time and effort that this must have taken. The range of photographs is extremely impressive and really helps to illuminate the story not just of the invasion and defense, but also the events leading up to the start of the European war. Especially noteworthy are the thirteen color maps at the book's beginning, which are later reprinted within the main text in monochrome. This is indeed a most commendable military study, one of the best that this reviewer has ever received, and would grace any bookshelf." - Andrew Stewart, Defence Studies Department, King's College London, in: Global War Studies 8 (2) 2011, 98-100 [DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5893/19498489.08.02.10]Table of ContentsPreface Colour maps I. Introduction, H. Amersfoort The Netherlands and the war The shock The questions II. The Emergence of the German Threat, H.W. van den Doel The consequences of the First World War Versailles The 1920s: seeking stability Fascism and National Socialism National Socialists in power The German Lebensraum ambitions Conclusion III. Between Hope and Fear: The Netherlands armed forces in the interwar period, C.M. Schulten and P.M.J. de Koster Introduction The legacy of neutrality After the First World War The cupboard is bare - from 1922 to 1933 Turning point Rising tensions The military geography of the Netherlands Strategic policy Winkelman’s operation plan IV. The Gathering Storm: The German armed forces in the interwar period, J.W.M. Schulten Introduction The German rearmament Baptism of fire The German operation plan for the Westfeldzug Plan of attack of the 18th Army The alert V. The Generals’ Duel: Five days of war at the military strategic level, H. Amersfoort and J.W.M. Schulten Düsseldorf, Friday 10 May 1940 The Hague, Friday 10 May 1940 Düsseldorf, Saturday 11 May 1940 The Hague, Saturday 11 May 1940 Düsseldorf, Sunday 12 May 1940 The Hague, Sunday 12 May 1940 Düsseldorf, Monday 13 May 1940 The Hague, Monday 13 May 1940 Düsseldorf, Tuesday 14 May 1940 The Hague, Tuesday 14 May 1940 Rijsoord, Wednesday 15 May 1940 VI. ‘Fall Festung’: A surprise attack on The Hague, C.M. Schulten Introduction Ypenburg, Valkenburg and Ockenburg captured by the Germans The continuing battle for the airfields on 10 May The recapture of Ypenburg The battle for Valkenburg Ockenburg back in Dutch hands Further actions against the airborne troops and the battle at Overschie Concluding remarks VII. Disputed Territory: The battle in the Dutch provinces of Limburg, Noord-Brabant and Zeeland, H.W. van den Doel Introduction Operations against the bridges over the river Maas The battle at Mill Passage through Noord-Brabant Zeeland struggles on The final pocket of resistance eradicated Conclusion VIII. The Field Army Defeated: The battle for the Grebbe Line, H.W. van den Doel Introduction The fall of the IJssel Line The attack on the outposts of the IVth Division General Harberts’ countermeasures The German attack on the main resistance sector Chaos among the military leadership The fall of the Grebbe Line The battle at Scherpenzeel The end Conclusion IX. “Vorwärts denken, vorwärts sehen, vorwärts reiten!”: The battle in the northern provinces, P.H. Kamphuis The territorial defence of the northern Netherlands A morning of battle and a pursuit in vain The collapse of the Wons Position The offensive reconnaissance mission fails Conclusion X. Not a bridge too far: The battle for the Moerdijk bridges, Dordrecht and Rotterdam, H.W. van den Doel The German plans Dutch combat readiness The German airborne landings Consolidation of the German positions Actions by the border battalions and the Kil Group The Light Division takes action Die Panzer arrive on time The battle in Rotterdam The bombing of Rotterdam Conclusion XI. Myth and reality, H. Amersfoort Still coming to terms with the past? Analysing the military operations Pre-war defence policy: does it require re-evaluation? Annex: Table of land forces rank equivalents Annotated bibliography Index Biographical notes Photo acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisDuring the Second World War, the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) suffered one of its greatest defeats in Burma. Both in Malaya and Burma, the bulk of the British Commonwealth forces comprised Indian units. Few people know that by 1944, about 70 percent of the Allied ground personnel in Burma was composed of soldiers of the Indian Army. The Indian Army comprised British-led Indian units, British officered units of the Indian princely states and the British units attached to the Government of India. Based on the archival materials collected from India and the United Kingdom, Sepoys against the Rising Sun assesses the combat/military/battlefield effectiveness of the Indian Army against the IJA during World War II. The volume is focussed on the tactical innovations and organizational adaptations which enabled the sepoys to overcome the Japanese in the trying terrain of Burma.Table of ContentsContents Preface xi Acknowledgements xiii List of Maps and Tables xiv List of Abbreviations xvi Glossary xx Introduction 1 Maps 10 1 The Indian Army before the Far Eastern War 18 Introduction 18 Recruitment and Expansion of the Indian Army 18 Combat Experience and Modernization of the Indian Army 35 Conclusion 48 2 Fall of Hong Kong: 8 December–26 December 1941 50 Pre-war British Hong Kong 50 The Commonwealth Forces and its Opponent 51 The Battle 59 Conclusion 65 3 Disaster in Malaya: 8 December 1941–31 January 1942 66 Commonwealth and Japanese Forces in Malaya 68 Japanese Advance and Commonwealth Retreat 87 Reasons behind Commonwealth Military Failure 104 Conclusion 120 4 The Siege of Singapore: 4 February–15 February 1942 122 Introduction 122 Organization of the Defence 125 Retreat from the Beaches 133 Assessment 144 Conclusion 150 5 Collapse in Sarawak and Borneo: 16 December 1941–3 April 1942 153 Introduction 153 Defensive Preparations 154 The Invasion 155 Conclusion 159 6 Retreat from Burma: 11 December 1941–20 May 1942 160 Commonwealth Units in Burma and their Japanese Opponent before the Invasion 162 The Long Retreat 170 Assessment 198 Conclusion 207 7 Reorganizing and Retraining the Indian Army: May 1942–February 1944 209 Lessons of Defeat 209 Training Infrastructure in India 215 External Influence 233 Hardware and Transportation 239 Organization for Victory 248 Conclusion 255 8 Jungle War in the Arakan: 1942–1945 256 Introduction 256 Defeat in the Arakan: February 1942–16 October 1942 258 The First Arakan Offfensive 263 Stalemate 276 HA GO Operation 283 Japanese Retreat in Arakan 293 Conclusion 300 9 Imphal and Kohima: March–July 1944 302 Introduction 302 Training, Equipment and Force Structure 302 Japanese Defeat in Imphal and Kohima: March–July 1944 315 Assessment 334 Conclusion 346 10 Endgame in Burma: August 1944–15 August 1945 349 Introduction 349 Combat Efffectiveness of the British and Indian Armies 349 Planning and Deployments of the Commonwealth and Japanese Armies 364 Mandalay-Meiktila and the Race for Rangoon 370 Assessment 381 Conclusion 386 Conclusion 389 Bibliography 401 Subject Index 419 Military Units Index 433

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Book SynopsisSwastika over the Acropolis is a new, multi-national account which provides a new and compelling interpretation of the Greek campaign of 1941, and its place in the history of World War II. It overturns many previously accepted English-language assumptions about the fighting in Greece in April 1941 – including, for example, the impact usually ascribed to the Luftwaffe, German armour and the conduct of the Greek Army Further, Swastika over the Acropolis demonstrates that this last complete strategic victory by Nazi Germany in World War II is set against a British-Dominion campaign mounted as a withdrawal, not an attempt to ‘save’ Greece from invasion and occupation. At the same time, on the German side, the campaign revealed serious and systemic weaknesses in the planning and the conduct of large-scale operations that would play a significant role in the regime’s later defeats.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ... ix List of Maps and Figures ... xi Conventions ... xv Introduction ... 1 PART ONE: SETTING THE SCENE 1. Axis Ambitions in Europe and Greece 1933-1940 : ‘Greece is assigned to the mercy of Italy’ ... 17 2. The Italo-Greek War, the Powers and the Balkans : ‘My friend Mussolini is a very sensitive gentleman’ ... 35 3. Albania, the Bulgarian Frontier & Greek Defensive Schemes ... 71 4. The Die is Cast : German and British Planning in Early March 1941 ... 91 5. The Gathering Storm : Mid-March and Early April 1941 ... 115 PART TWO: THE DRAMA UNFOLDS 6. Opening Moves (6-7 April) ... 149 7. The Fall of Northeastern Greece (8-9 April) ... 179 8. New Battle Lines (10-12 April) ... 207 9. The Battle of Vevi (12-13 April) ... 237 10. Pressure on the Passes (14-15 April) ... 271 11. Allied Withdrawal Planning & Operations (15-16 April) ... 301 12. The Battle of Pinios Gorge (17-18 April) ... 329 13. Across the Plains of Thessaly (17-18 April) ... 359 14. The End in Epirus (19-21 April) ... 391 15. Brallos and the Thermopylae Pass (22-24 April) ... 425 16. Corinth and the Peloponnese (25-26 April) ... 457 17. The Final Evacuations (27-28 April) ... 485 PART THREE: EVALUATION 18. The Outcome Explained ... 513 19. Justifications, Vindications and Unnecessary Debates ... 543 20. Marita and Barbarossa ... 569 Epilogue ... 589 Bibliography ... 599

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Book SynopsisIn Belgium’s Dilemma: The Formation of Belgian Defense Policy, 1932-1940, Jonathan Andrew Epstein presents, for the first time in English, a detailed examination of the formation of Belgian defense policy in the eight years leading up to the crucial World War II Blitzkrieg campaign in Western Europe. Belgium’s decision to renounce military ties with France in 1936 has been widely criticized as a fatal mistake but it was in fact a reasonable response to Belgium’s situation and was not a significant factor in the Allied defeat. Drawing on Belgian documents, Jonathan Andrew Epstein looks at the leaders and issues that shaped the Belgian army of 1940 and demonstrates that while mistakes were made, most of the decisions were sound.Trade ReviewBelgium’s defense policy between the world wars was to protect the country from any conflict involving its powerful neighbors. Epstein describes this goal as reasonable. His well-documented analysis segues smoothly among the domestic, diplomatic, linguistic, and military considerations shaping the strategy. He describes an army that in 1940 fought well against long odds that quickly became hopeless. And he demonstrates failure and incompetence are not always synonymous. Dennis Showalter, Professor of History, Colorado CollegeTable of ContentsAcknowledgements…ix List of Figures…xi Introduction...1 1 Belgium and World War I...12 The Size of the Army Before World War I...13 The Language Issue to World War I...13 Deployment Controversies before World War I...19 The Belgian Army in World War I...22 The German Occupation of Belgium...25 Belgium and the Peace Settlement...31 2 Belgium Looks for Allies...39 3 Belgian Defense Policy to the Great Depression... 51 The Main Actors in Defense Policy ...51 The Reduction of the Belgian Army ...55 Plans for Defense Against a Threatening Germany ...58 General Galet ...61 The Language Issue between 1918 and 1932 ...64 The Depression and the Belgian Military ...67 4 The Devèze Years ...70 The Chasseurs ardennais ...77 The Budget Controversy ...79 Raoul van Overstraeten ...82 Devèze v. Nuyten ...84 Franco-Belgian Stafff Talks ...89 The Motorization of the Cavalry Corps ...93 The Debates over Coverage and Service Time...103 The Reoccupation of the Rhineland...110 5 The 1936 Mixed Commission...122 The Language Issue from the Mixed Commission to the War...152 Other Commissions...162 6 ‘Independence’ and its Origins...165 7 The Belgian Army to May 10, 1940...190 The Development and Assessment of the Belgian Military...191 Fortifijications from 1938 to 1940...194 Defense Against Aircraft...199 The Sudeten Crisis and the Pied de Paix Renforce...200 New Mobilization Plans...208 8 Belgium to May 10, 1940...210 Diplomacy...210 Belgium and the Netherlands...217 Mobilization...220 Belgian Military Intelligence and Alerts...226 9 The ‘Eighteen-Days’ Campaign’...236 Conclusion...264 Bibliography...274 Index...282

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Book SynopsisIn A World At War, 1911-1949, leading and emerging scholars of the cultural history of the two world wars begin to break down the traditional barriers between the historiographies of the two conflicts, identifying commonalities as well as casting new light on each as part of a broader mission, in honour of Professor John Horne, to expand the boundaries of academic exploration of warfare in the 20th century. Utilizing techniques and approaches developed by cultural historians of the First World War, this volume showcases and explores four crucial themes relating to the socio-cultural attributes and representation of war that cut across both the First and Second World Wars: cultural mobilization, the nature and depiction of combat, the experience of civilians under fire, and the different meanings of victory and defeat. Contributors are: Annette Becker, Robert Dale, Alex Dowdall, Robert Gerwarth, John Horne, Tomás Irish, Heather Jones, Alan Kramer, Edward Madigan, Anthony McElligott, Michael S. Neiberg, John Paul Newman, Catriona Pennell, Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses, Daniel Todman, and Jay Winter. See inside the book.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Introduction  Catriona Pennell and Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses Part 1: Mobilizing Minds 1 Cultural Mobilization: Henry Moore and the Two World Wars  J.M. Winter 2 Petitioning the World: Intellectuals and Cultural Mobilization in the Great War  Tomás Irish 3 ‘German Servicemen See Europe’: Cultural Mobilization of Troops on the Aegean ‘Quiet Front’  Anthony McElligott Part 2: Soldiering: Experience and Representation 4 The Sharp End: Witnessing, Perpetrating, and Suffering Violence in 20th Century Wars  Alan Kramer 5 The Isle of Saints and Soldiers: The Evolving Image of the Irish Combatant, 1914–1918  Heather Jones and Edward Madigan 6 “For What and For Whom Were We Fighting?” Red Army Soldiers, Combat Motivation and Survival Strategies on the Eastern Front in the Second World War  Robert Dale Part 3: Civilians under Fire 7 Against Civilians: Atrocities, Extermination, and Genocide from One World War to the Other, 1942/44–1914  Annette Becker 8 Mobility and Immobility in Civilian Experiences of the First World War: Refugees and Occupied Populations in Europe, 1914–1918  Alex Dowdall 9 Occupation, Memory, and Cultural Demobilization: Paris as Case Study  Michael S. Neiberg Part 4: Victory and Defeat 10 Post-wars and Violence: Europe between 1918 and the Later 1940s  Robert Gerwarth 11 A Croat Iliad? Miroslav Krleža and the Refractions of Victory and Defeat in Central Europe  John Paul Newman 12 “The Worst Disaster”: British Reactions to the Fall of Singapore  Daniel Todman A World at War: 1911–1949: Conclusion  John Horne Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisRemembering the Holocaust in Germany, Austria, Italy and Israel: “Vergangenheitsbewältigung” as a Historical Quest offers an account on post-war coming-to-terms with the Holocaust tragedy in some European countries, such as Germany, Austria, and Italy. The subject has attracted more attention in recent years, since the long transition to liberal democracy seems to have put an end to the main theme of the memory of the Second World War. The main point of the volume is the making of a new generational memory after the “end of history”. What is to be done after the making of a globalised world? What about the memorialisation of the last century?Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Meaning of History: Coming to Terms with the Past  Vincenzo Pinto part 1: Articles 1 “Coming to Terms with the Past” or “Policy for the Past”? The 1950s West German Compensations for Holocaust Survivors and German Expellees  Iris Nachum 2 Austria’s Repressed Guilt in Theory and Practice  Claudia Leeb 3 Coming to Terms with the Holocaust with Reference to Memorial Monuments in Europe: A Comparative Analysis  Antonella Tiburzi 4 Theodor W. Adorno, Günther Anders, and the Representation of the End Time: Beckett at Auschwitz  Micaela Latini 5 “Against a Present that Places the Incomprehensible in the Cold Storage of History”: The Representation and Experience of Limit in Jean Améry and Primo Levi  Matteo Cavalleri 6 Between a Quest for a Heimat and Alienation: Jean Améry’s Journey after Auschwitz  Francesco Ferrari 7 “Denn fühlen die Mächtigen sich bedroht, so schlagen sie die Gerechten”: Looking at History in König David Bericht by Stefan Heym  Massimo De Villa 8 “Those Who Have Suffered Too Much Do Not Always Reason Well”: Primo Levi, Furio Jesi, and the 1968 Debate on Spiritual and Political Zionism  Carlo Trombino part 2: Testimonies Testimony 1: Does a Past Pass?  Gianerico Rusconi Testimony 2: The Meaning of Italian “Resistenza”  Alberto Cavaglion part 3: Appendices Appendix 1: The Meaning of Working through the Past  Theodor W. Adorno Appendix 2: Commemorative Event in the Plenary Hall of the German Bundestag on the 40th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War in Europe (Bonn, May 8, 1985)  Richard von Weiszäcker Appendix 3: A Letter to Monica (25th April 1983)  Primo Levi Coming to Terms with the Past in Postwar Germany: A Bibliography  Stefano Aliberti Index of Names and Places

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Book SynopsisIn Émigré Voices Lewkowicz and Grenville present twelve oral history interviews with men and women who came to Britain as Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria in the late 1930s. Many of the interviewees rose to great prominence in their chosen career, such as the author and illustrator Judith Kerr, the actor Andrew Sachs, the photographer and cameraman Wolf Suschitzky, the violinist Norbert Brainin, and the publisher Elly Miller. The narratives of the interviewees tell of their common struggles as child or young adult refugees who had to forge new lives in a foreign country and they illuminate how each interviewee dealt with the challenges of forced emigration and the Holocaust. The voices of the twelve interviewees provide the reader with a unique and original source, which gives direct access to the lived multifaceted experience of the interviewees and their contributions to British culture.Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Introduction: The Exhibition  Anthony Grenville The Interviews  Bea Lewkowicz 1 Doris Balacs 2 Norbert Brainin 3 Anton Walter Freud 4 Richard Grunberger 5 Daisy Hoffner 6 Lucie Kaye (née Schachne) 7 Judith Kerr 8 Elly Miller 9 Lord Claus Moser, Baron Moser KCB CBE 10 Andrew Sachs 11 Hans Seelig 12 Wolfgang Suschitzky Index

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Book SynopsisThis book aims to show the many resources at our disposal for grappling with the Holocaust as the darkest occurrence of the twentieth century. These wide-ranging studies on philosophy, history, and literature address the way the Holocaust had led to the reconceptualization of the humanities. The scholarly approaches of Pierre Klossowski, Georges Bataille, and Maurice Blanchot are examined critically, and the volume explores such poignant topics as violence, evil, and monuments.Trade Review"[an] excellent edited collection … Stone’s volume is hugely welcome as an admirable comprehensive guide for an Anglophone readership to an alternative tradition of thinking about the Holocaust." - in: The Jewish Quarterly (Autumn 2002)Table of ContentsEDITORIAL FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION ONE ANDREW BENJAMIN: Interrupting Confession, Resisting Absolution: Monuments after the Holocaust TWO RAVIT REICHMAN: The Myth of Old Forms: On the Unknowable and Representation THREE IAN JAMES: Pierre Klossowski: The Suspended Self FOUR DAN STONE: Georges Bataille and the Interpretation of the Holocaust FIVE SARA GUYER: Being-Destroyed: Anthropomorphizing L’espèce humaine SIX RICHARD STAMP: “Do Not Forget the Very Thing that Will Make You Lose Your Memory”: Blanchot’s “Désastre” and the Holocaust SEVEN HEIDRUN FRIESE: Silence — Voice — Representation EIGHT MICHAL BEN-NAFTALI: Lyotard’s and Derrida’s “Catastrophist Phenomenology” NINE SIMON SPARKS: The Experience of Evil: Kant and Nancy ABOUT THE AUTHORS INDEX

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Book SynopsisIn this book, Camila Loew analyzes four women’s testimonial literary writings on the Holocaust to examine and question some of the tenets of the fields of Holocaust studies, gender studies, and testimony. Through a close reading of the works of Charlotte Delbo, Margarete Buber-Neumann, Ruth Klüger, and Marguerite Duras, Loew foregrounds these authors’ search for a written form to engage with their experiences of the extreme. Although each chapter contains its individual focus and features, the book possesses a unity in intention, concerns, and consequences. In the theoretical introduction that unites the four chapters, Loew eschews essentialism and revises the emergence of the field of Women and Holocaust studies from the early 1980s on, and signals some of its shortcomings. In response, and in accordance with a recent turn in various disciplines of the Humanities, Loew highlights the ethical dimension of testimony and its responsible commitment to the other. In dealing with the texts as literary testimonies—a complex genre, between literature and history—, testimony is freed from the obligation to respond to the requirements of factual truth, and becomes a privileged form to voice the traumatic event, and to symbolically explore the role of excess.Trade Review”Recommended” in: CHOICE - Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, Vol. 49, No. 9, May 2012Table of ContentsList of Figures James R. Watson: Editorial Foreword Angel G. Loureiro: Guest Foreword Michael Pfeiffer: Guest Foreword: Mapping Out the Mountain Acknowledgments Introduction Charlotte Delbo: The Spectacle of Hurt Memory Margarete Buber-Neumann: Witness to the Century Ruth Klüger: Embracing Exclusion Marguerite Duras: Witness to the Witness Conclusion Works Cited About the Author Index

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Book SynopsisOriginally written in French, The Kindly Ones (2006) is the first major work of the Jewish-American author Jonathan Littell. Its extraordinary critical and commercial success, spawning a series of heated debates, has made this publication one of the most significant literary phenomena of recent years. Taking the Holocaust as its central topic, The Kindly Ones is a disturbing novel: disturbing in its use of explicit sexual descriptions, in its construction of a perverted psychic world, in its combination of accurate historical descriptions and myths, and in its repeated suggestion that Nazism does not, in fact, lie outside the spectrum of humanness. Due to its striking monumental proportions and the author’s provocative choice to recount historical events from the perpetrator’s perspective, this opus marks a significant shift within Holocaust literature. In this volume, fourteen leading literary scholars and historians from eight different countries closely study this unsettling work. They examine the disconcerting aspects of the novel including the use of the Nazi viewpoint, analyze the aesthetics of the novel and its contradictions, and explore its relations with several literary traditions. They outline Littell’s use of historical details and materials and study the novel’s reception. This compilation of essays is essential to anyone intrigued by The Kindly Ones or by the Holocaust and who wishes to gain a better understanding of them.Table of ContentsIntroduction The Book’s Provocation Georges Nivat: Adelphic Incest in Musil, Nabokov, and Littell Peter Kuon: From ‘Kitsch’ to ‘Splatter’: The Aesthetics of Violence in The Kindly Ones Liran Razinsky: The Similarity of Perpetrators Cyril Aslanov: Visibility and Iconicity of the German Language in The Kindly Ones The Perpetrator’s Point of View Catherine Coquio: ‘Oh my human brothers, let me tell you how it happened.’ (Who is the Perpetrator Talking To?) Luc Rasson: How Nazis Undermine their Own Point of View Aurélie Barjonet: Manufacturing Memories: Textual and Mnemonic Weaving in The Kindly Ones Memory & Intertexts Martin von Koppenfels: The infamous ‘I’: Notes on Littell and Céline Leona Toker: The Kindly Ones and the ‘Scorched-Earth’ Principle Sandra Janßen: The Perpetrator as a Totalitarian Subject: Allegiance and Guilt in The Kindly Ones Historical Perspectives Jeremy Popkin: A Historian’s View of The Kindly Ones Hans-Joachim Hahn: ‘Morality’ and ‘Humanness’: Reading Littell with Speer, Fest, Syberberg and Others The Reception of the Novel Wolfgang Asholt: A German Reading of the German Reception of The Kindly Ones Helena Duffy: La bienveillance de la critique polonaise. An Analysis of the Polish Reception of Les Bienveillantes Index

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