Description
Book SynopsisConventional depictions of occupation and collaboration in World War II, of wartime resistance and post-war renewal, provided a backdrop against which the chronicle of post-war Europe has been told. This book sheds light on the amnesia that overtook European governments and peoples regarding their responsibility for war crimes against humanity.
Trade Review"This book makes a splendid contribution toward the rewriting of postwar European History... It is quite indispensable for college students and serious adult readers of recent European history... "--Trevor Burridge, History "The first question that leaps to mind is why the story of a massacre so monstrous, and of such historic significance, should surface only now, half a century after the fact. The answer to this question is both startling and complex ... A detailed account is provided by the sociologist and historian Jan T. Gross in his book."--Abraham Brumberg, Times Literary Supplement "Not surprisingly, Mr. Gross's book has sparked wails of outrage from many in Jedwabne and across Poland, where many feel he has greatly damaged the country's reputation. In time, however, it should become apparent that Mr. Gross has really done Poland an inestimable favor. His book has effectively thrown down the gauntlet, challenging Poles to live in truth."--Bruce I. Konviser, Wall Street Journal "A fine example of comparative history ... introduced and concluded by some of the most thought-provoking meditations on the general sculpting of post-war identity, the continental shift from 'war' to 'peace,' and the implications of the nascent cold war that this reviewer has encountered"--Donald Bloxham, History "This collective work is an essential source for anyone interested in the many complex and controversial questions associated with World War II and its aftermath."--Randolph L. Braham, Slavic Review "An] important volume ... [It is] successful because the editors themselves make important contributions to the analysis of retributive justice... The cases that are discussed ... Add a great deal to our understanding of the political determinants of postwar justice."--Norman M. Naimark, American Historical Review
Table of ContentsTony Judt Preface vii PART I: PRELIMINARIES 1 Istvan Deik Introduction 3 Jan T. Gross Themes for a Social History of War Experience and Collaboration 15 PART II: THE EXPERIENCE OF WAR 37 Istvan Deik A Fatal Compromise? The Debate over Collaboration and Resistance in Hungary 39 Jan T. Gross A Tangled Web: Confronting Stereotypes Concerning Relations between Poles, Germans, Jews, and Communists 74 PART III: TRIALS AND POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY 131 Martin Conway Justice in Postwar Belgium: Popular Passions and Political Realities 133 Luc Huyse The Criminal justice System As a Political Actor in Regime Transitions: The Case of Belgium, 1944-50 157 Peter Romijn "Restoration of Confidence": The Purge of Local Government in the Netherlands As a Problem of Postwar Reconstruction 173 Sarah Farmer Postwar Justice in France: Bordeaux 1953 194 Mark Mazower The Cold War and the Appropriation of Memory: Greece after Liberation 212 Laszlo Karsai The People's Courts and Revolutionary justice in Hungary, 1945-46 233 Bradley Abrams The Politics of Retribution: The Trial of Jozef Tiso in the Czechoslovak Environment 252 PART IV: EPILOGUE 291 Tony Judt The Past Is Another Country: Myth and Memory in Postwar Europe 293 List of Contributors 325 Index 327
