Jörg Echternkamp - Böcker

The Second World War affected the lives and shaped the experience of millions of individuals in Germany - soldiers at the front, women, children and the elderly sheltering in cellars, slave labourers toiling in factories, and concentration-camp prisoners and POWs clearing rubble in the Reich's devastated cities. Taking a 'history from below' approach, the volume examines how the minds and behaviour of individuals were moulded by the Party as the Reich took the road to Total War. The ever-increasing numbers of German workers conscripted into the Wehrmacht were replaced with forced foreign workers and slave labourers and concentration camp prisoners. The interaction in everyday life between German civilian society and these coerced groups is explored, as is that society's relationship to the Holocaust. From early 1943, the war on the home front was increasingly dominated by attack from the air. The role of the Party, administration, police, and courts in providing for the vast numbers of those rendered homeless, in bolstering civilian morale with 'miracle revenge weapons' propaganda, and in maintaining order in a society in disintegration is reviewed in detail. For society in uniform, the war in the east was one of ideology and annihilation, with intensified indoctrination of the troops after Stalingrad. The social profile of this army is analysed through study of a typical infantry division. The volume concludes with an account of the various forms of resistance to Hitler's regime, in society and the military, culminating in the failed attempt on his life in July 1944.

The Second World War affected the lives and shaped the experience of millions of individuals in Germany - soldiers at the front, women, children and the elderly sheltering in cellars, slave labourers toiling in factories, and concentration-camp prisoners and POWs clearing rubble in the Reich's devastated cities. Taking a 'history from below' approach, the volume examines how the minds and behaviour of individuals were moulded by the Party as the Reich took the road to Total War. The ever-increasing numbers of German workers conscripted into the Wehrmacht were replaced with forced foreign workers and slave labourers and concentration camp prisoners. The interaction in everyday life between German civilian society and these coerced groups is explored, as is that society's relationship to the Holocaust. From early 1943, the war on the home front was increasingly dominated by attack from the air. The role of the Party, administration, police, and courts in providing for the vast numbers of those rendered homeless, in bolstering civilian morale with 'miracle revenge weapons' propaganda, and in maintaining order in a society in disintegration is reviewed in detail. For society in uniform, the war in the east was one of ideology and annihilation, with intensified indoctrination of the troops after Stalingrad. The social profile of this army is analysed through study of a typical infantry division. The volume concludes with an account of the various forms of resistance to Hitler's regime, in society and the military, culminating in the failed attempt on his life in July 1944.

The Second World War affected the lives and shaped the experience of millions of individuals in Germany - soldiers at the front, women, children, and the elderly sheltering in cellars, slave labourers toiling in factories, and concentration-camp prisoners and POWs clearing rubble in the Reich's devastated cities.Taking a 'history from below' approach, the volume examines how the minds and behaviour of individuals were moulded by the Party as the Reich took the road to Total War. The ever-increasing numbers of German workers conscripted into the Wehrmacht were replaced with forced foreign workers, slave labourers, and concentration camp prisoners. The interaction in everyday life between German civilian society and these coerced groups is explored, as is that society's relationship to the Holocaust.From early 1943, the war on the home front was increasingly dominated by attack from the air. The role of the Party, administration, police, and courts in providing for the vast numbers of those rendered homeless, in bolstering civilian morale with 'miracle revenge weapons' propaganda, and in maintaining order in a society in disintegration is reviewed in detail.For society in uniform, the war in the east was one of ideology and annihilation, with intensified indoctrination of the troops after Stalingrad. The social profile of this army is analysed through study of a typical infantry division. The volume concludes with an account of the various forms of resistance to Hitler's regime, in society and the military, culminating in the failed attempt on his life in July 1944.

Modern military history, inspired by social and cultural historical approaches, increasingly puts the national histories of the Second World War to the test. New questions and methods are focusing on aspects of war and violence that have long been neglected. What shaped people’s experiences and memories? What differences and what similarities existed in Eastern and Western Europe? How did the political framework influence the individual and the collective interpretations of the war? Finally, what are the benefits of Europeanizing the history of the Second World War? Experts from Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, and Russia discuss these and other questions in this comprehensive volume.

The twenty-first-century vision of historical violence has been immeasurably influenced by cultural representations of the Second World War. Within Europe, one of the key sites for such representation has been the vast array of museums and memorials that reflect contemporary ideas of war, the roles of soldiers and civilians, and the self-perception of those who remember. This volume takes a historical perspective on World War II museums and explores how these institutions came to define political contexts and cultures of public memory in Germany, across Europe, and throughout the world.

Contemporary historians have transformed our understanding of the German military in World War II, debunking the “clean Wehrmacht” myth that held most soldiers innocent of wartime atrocities. Considerably less attention has been paid to those soldiers at the end of hostilities. In Postwar Soldiers, Jörg Echternkamp analyzes three themes in the early history of West Germany: interpretations of the war during its conclusion and the occupation period; military veteran communities’ self-perceptions; and the public rehabilitation of the image of the German soldier. As Echternkamp shows, public controversies around these topics helped to drive the social processes that legitimized the democratic postwar order.

Twenty-first-century views of historical violence have been immeasurably influenced by cultural representations of the Second World War. Within Europe, one of the key sites for such representation has been the vast array of museums and memorials that reflect contemporary ideas of war, the roles of soldiers and civilians, and the self-perception of those who remember. This volume takes a historical perspective on museums covering the Second World War and explores how these institutions came to define political contexts and cultures of public memory in Germany, across Europe, and throughout the world.

Modern military history, inspired by social and cultural historical approaches, increasingly puts the national histories of the Second World War to the test. New questions and methods are focusing on aspects of war and violence that have long been neglected. What shaped people's experiences and memories? What differences and what similarities existed in Eastern and Western Europe? How did the political framework influence the individual and the collective interpretations of the war? Finally, what are the benefits of Europeanizing the history of the Second World War? Experts from Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, and Russia discuss these and other questions in this comprehensive volume. Jorg Echternkamp is a Senior Fellow of the Militargeschichtliches Forschungsamt, Potsdam, and co-editor of the journal Militargeschichtliche Zeitschrift. He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Calgary in Canada, Visiting Scholar at the German Historical Institute in Paris, and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Paris I (Sorbonne- Pantheon) and Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg.His major publications include Der Aufstieg des deutschen Nationalismus 1770-1840 (1998), Nach dem Krieg (2003), Kriegsschauplatz Deutschland 1945 (2006) and Germany and the Second World War: German Wartime Society 1939-1945, vols IX/1-2 (2008-2011, ed.). Stefan Martens is Deputy Director of the German Historical Institute, Paris and coeditor of the journal Francia - Forschungen zur westeuropaischen Geschichte. He has been a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Paris I (Sorbonne-Pantheon) and the Institut d'Aetudes Politiques, Paris. His major publications include Gorings Reich. Selbstinszenierung in Carinhall (2009, with Volker Knopf); Frankreich und Belgien unter deutscher Besatzung 1940-1944. Die Bestande des Bundesarchiv-Militararchivs in Freiburg (2002, with Sebastian Remus); Occupation et repression militaire allemandes 1939-1945: La politique de maintien de l'ordre en Europe occupee (2007, with Gael Eismann).

Russia's attack on Ukraine marked the beginning of Europe's most consequential war since 1945. The European Union is taking in war refugees, imposing sanctions, and financing arms deliveries, while the superpower USA is setting the course. The second, updated and expanded edition addresses this current development, which in turn underscores the importance of military history for historical and political education and the added value of an inter- and transnational approach.Military dimensions of the past are viewed from a European perspective that includes Russia and the US.Thirty renowned historians examine cross-border relations since the 19th century. With numerous illustrations, graphics, and maps, this innovative volume sheds light on the upheavals of war and peace, the transformation of civil-military relations, the representation of the military in self-images and images of others, and the relationships between armed forces in military alliances since the Napoleonic Wars from a transnational perspective—a valuable guide for historians and the broader public alike.