Daniel Schönpflug – författare

Den 11 november 1918 klockan ingicks förhandlingar om vapenstillestånd mellan Frankrike och Tyskland på västfronten. Första världskriget var därmed i praktiken över för alla inblandade. Men allt dödligt våld och alla krigsoperationer upphörde inte för den skull. Revolutioner, kupper, inbördeskrig, självständighetskamper avlöste den reguljära militära krigföringen runt om i världen. 16 miljoner hade dött under mer än fyra års strider i Europa. Med freden kom också spanska sjukan, som skördade fler offer än så. När striderna upphört, infann sig hos många människor en uppbrottsstämning. Gamla misstag fick inte göras om, en ny och bättre värld var möjlig. Men övergången till fred blev svårare än väntat. Det fanns en otålighet i luften ungefär som kometernas svepande färd över himlavalvet men också revanschlystnad. Nya oförrätter följde på gamla. Under åren 1917, ryska revolutionens år, och 1923, då Adolf Hitler genomförde sin misslyckade ölkällarkupp i Munchen, stod mycket och vägde. Dessa årtal utgör, enligt vissa forskare, en avgränsad historisk epok. Därefter inleds förberedelserna för ett nytt storkrig. Den tyske historikern Daniel Schönpflug har granskat händelserna under denna korta epok av förväntningar och besvikelser, drömmar och bitter verklighet utifrån ett antal aktörers perspektiv. Brev, memoarer, tidningsreportage, rättegångsprotokoll ger läsaren inblickar i hur den tidens människor tänkte och tolkade sin tillvaro och sin egen roll i den. Det är ett uttalat subjektivt sätt att närma sig historien, också ett filmiskt, där scener ur ett antal människors liv under och efter stort krig har mixats med varandra. Här möter vi den amerikanske artilleriofficeren Harry S. Truman, den blivande Auschwitz-kommendanten Rudolf Höß, den vietnamesiske frihetskämpen i parisisk exil Ho Chi Minh, den österrikiske tonsättaren Arnold Schönberg, den tidigare tyske kronprinsen Vilhelm, en armenisk attentatsman i Berlin, den irländske självständighetspolitiken Terence MacSwiney som hungerstrejkar sig till döds, T. E. Lawrence som verkar förgäves för arabernas sak, Mahatma Gandhi som drar igång sina icke-våldskampanjer, Virginia Woolf som får sitt genombrott som romanförfattare och registrerar sin samtids scenväxlingar, konstnärinnan Käthe Kollwitz som förlorar en son i kriget och blir pacifist, Moina Michael som skapar vallmoblomman av tyg på rockuppslagen, den internationella symbolen över dem som har kämpat, stupat och överlevt i skyttegravarna på västmaktssidan plus ett stort antal andra gestalter Ett rikt collage av ansikten och röster.

Journey into the heart of Europe, 1918 – a world left ravaged by World War 1, and on the cusp of radical change. Daniel Schönpflug's A World on Edge paints a vivid picture of a time when unorthodox ideas ignited the collective imagination – new politics, new societies, new art and culture, new thinking – hinting at new paths to tread.Schönpflug tracks the lives of diverse personalities, encapsulating the struggle for the future, the clash of the old and the new, and the intimate human stories within these greater narratives. For rulers and revolutionaries, a world of power and privilege was dying – while for others, a dream of overthrowing democracy was being born.The sculptor Käthe Kollwitz, translating sorrow and loss into art. Ho Chi Minh, working as a dishwasher in Paris and dreaming of liberating Vietnam. Captain Harry S. Truman, running a men’s haberdashery in Kansas City, hardly expecting that he was about to go bankrupt – and later become president of the United States. Virginia Woolf had just published her first book, while the artist George Grosz was so revolted by the violence on the streets of Berlin that he decides everything is meaningless.Historian Daniel Schönpflug describes this watershed year as it was experienced on the ground – open ended, unfathomable, its outcome unclear. A World on Edge is the story of a decisive year – one that continues to echo in our times.

Moving and inspired book ... An evocative and deeply affecting requiem for what might have been.' - Douglas Smith, author of Rasputin and Former PeopleA World on Edge reveals Europe in 1918, left in ruins by World War I. But with the end of hostilities, a radical new start seems not only possible, but essential, even unavoidable. Unorthodox ideas light up the age like the comets that have recently passed overhead: new politics, new societies, new art and culture, new thinking. The struggle to determine the future has begun.The sculptor Käthe Kollwitz, whose son died in the war, was translating sorrow and loss into art. Ho Chi Minh was working as a dishwasher in Paris and dreaming of liberating Vietnam, his homeland. Captain Harry S. Truman was running a men’s haberdashery in Kansas City, hardly expecting that he was about to go bankrupt – and later become president of the United States. Professor Moina Michael was about to invent the 'remembrance poppy', a symbol of sacrifice that will stand for generations to come. Meanwhile Virginia Woolf had just published her first book and was questioning whether that sacrifice was worth it, while the artist George Grosz was so revolted by the violence on the streets of Berlin that he decides everything is meaningless. For rulers and revolutionaries, a world of power and privilege was dying – while for others, a dream of overthrowing democracy was being born.With novelistic virtuosity, historian Daniel Schönpflug describes this watershed year as it was experienced on the ground – open ended, unfathomable, its outcome unclear. Told from the vantage points of people, famous and ordinary, good and evil, who lived through the turmoil and combining a multitude of acutely observed details, Schönpflug composes a brilliantly conceived panorama of a world suspended between enthusiasm and disappointment, and of a moment in which the window of opportunity was suddenly open, only to quickly close shut once again.

Recent debates have used the concept of “transnational history” to broaden research on historical subjects that transcend national boundaries and encourage a shift away from official inter-state interactions to institutions, groups, and actors that have been obscured. This approach proves particularly fruitful for the dynamic field of global gender and women’s history. By looking at the restless lives and work of women’s activists in informal border-crossings, ephemeral NGOs, the lower management of established international organizations, and other global networks, this volume reflects the potential of a new perspective that allows for a more adequate analysis of transnational activities. By pointing out cultural hierarchies, the vicissitudes of translation and re-interpretation, and the ambiguity of intercultural exchange, this volume demonstrates the critical potential of transnational history. It allows us to see the limits of universalist and cosmopolitan claims so dear to many historical actors and historians.