Description
Book SynopsisA benchmark in our understanding of the social aspects of World War I, this is one of the few truly comparative studies of that conflict. Expert contributors from several fields, stretching from history to economics, bring an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Europe's great wartime cities.
Trade Review'In this volume, the first of two, eleven historians from Britain, France, Germany and the US have undertaken a major exercise in 'the social and cultural history of modern warfare'. Teamwork permits a range of research in the archives of three nations almost impossible for an individual, and the vast amount of information contained here will be a constant recourse for future enquirers.' London Review of Books
'… the most powerful, distinguished and innovative work of recent social history to be published in the last twenty years … to undertake a comparative, historical analysis of three of the world's most challenging capital cities and to complete it to this standard is unprecedented to the knowledge of this reviewer … the European historiography of the future is already with us - in the form of multilingual pioneers like Winter and Robert, and their associates.' Anthony Sutcliffe, Reviews in History
Table of ContentsPart I. Premises: 1. Paris, London, Berlin, 1914–1919: capital cities at war Jay Winter; 2. Paris, London, Berlin on the eve of the war Jean-Louis Robert; Part II. The Social Relations of Sacrifice: 3. Lost generations: the impact of military casualties on Paris, London and Berlin Adrian Gregory; 4. The image of the profiteer Jean-Louis Robert; Part III. The Social Relations of Labour: 5. The transition to war in 1914 Jon Lawrence; 6. Labour market and industrial mobilization, 1915–1917 Thierry Bonzon; 7. The transition to peace, 1918–1919 Joshua Cole; Part IV. The Social Relations of Incomes: 8. Material pressures on the middle classes 1914–1918 Jon Lawrence; 9. Wages and purchasing power Jonathan Manning; 10. Transfer payments and social policy Thierry Bonzon; Part V. The Social Relations of Consumption: 11. Feeding the cities Thierry Bonzon; 12. Surviving the war: life expectation, illness, and mortality rates in Paris, London, and Berlin, 1914–1919: coal and the metropolis Armin Triebel; 13. Housing Susanna Magri; Part VI. Urban Demography in Wartime: 14. The 'other war' I: protecting public health Catherine Rollet; 15. The 'other war' II: setbacks in public health Catherine Rollet; 16. Surviving the war Jay Winter; 17. Conclusion: towards a social history of capital cities at war Jay Winter and Jean-Louis Robert; Statistical appendices; Tables; Bibliography.
