Description
Book SynopsisHow do states and societies confront the legacies of war and occupation, and what do truth, guilt, and justice mean in that process? In Ghosts of War, Franziska Exeler examines people''s wartime choices and their aftermath in Belarus, a war-ravaged Soviet republic that was under Nazi occupation during the Second World War.
After the Red Army reestablished control over Belarus, one question shaped encounters between the returning Soviet authorities and those who had lived under Nazi rule, between soldiers and family members, reevacuees and colleagues, Holocaust survivors and their neighbors: What did you do during the war?
Ghosts of War analyzes the prosecution and punishment of Soviet citizens accused of wartime collaboration with the Nazis and shows how individuals sought justice, revenge, or assistance from neighbors and courts. The book uncovers the many absences, silences, and conflicts that were never resolved, as well as the truths that could o
Trade Review
Ghosts of War is a major achievement and should lend itself to wide use in classrooms and by researchers. It is poised to become standard reading for anyone interested in the Soviet postwar period.
* The Russian Review *
Overall, Exeler provides a multifaceted and well-narrated overview of Belarusian society during World War II and its aftermath
* Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *
Ghosts of War is a well-researched and impressive work that deserves extensive attention.
* Journal of European Studies *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Truth, Guilt, and Justice in an Illiberal State
1. Contested Space: An East European Borderland before 1941
2. At the Heart of Darkness: Wartime Choices, 1941–1944
3. Post-1944: The Moment of Return
4. Determining Guilt: The Soviet Politics of Retribution
5. Loss, Grief, and Reckonings: Personal Responses to the Ghosts of War
6. Belarus, the Partisan Republic: Narrating the Years of War and Occupation
Afterword
Note on Wartime Losses
