The Legacies of Two World Wars

European Societies in the Twentieth Century
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-1-78238-115-0
Verlag: Berghahn Books

Buch, Englisch, 334 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 482 g

The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 was done mainly, if one is to believe US policy at the time, to liberate the people of Iraq from an oppressive dictator. However, the many protests in London, New York, and other cities imply that the policy of “making the world safe for democracy” was not shared by millions of people in many Western countries. Thinking about this controversy inspired the present volume, which takes a closer look at how society responded to the outbreaks and conclusions of the First and Second World Wars. In order to examine this relationship between the conduct of wars and public opinion, leading scholars trace the moods and attitudes of the people of four Western countries (Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy) before, during and after the crucial moments of the two major conflicts of the twentieth century. Focusing less on politics and more on how people experienced the wars, this volume shows how the distinction between enthusiasm for war and concern about its consequences is rarely clear-cut.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kettenacker, Lothar

Riotte, Torsten

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Militärgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Contributors

Chapter 1. ‘Old Europe’ and the Legacy of Two World Wars

Lothar Kettenacker and Torsten Riotte

Chapter 2. Prevention or Regulation of War? The Hague Peace Conferences as a limited Tool for Reforming the international System before 1914

Jost Dülffer

Chapter 3. ‘The Spirit of 1914’: A Critical Examination of War Enthusiasm in German Society

Gerhard Hirschfeld

Chapter 4. Construction and Deconstruction of the Idea of French ‘War Enthusiasm’ in 1914

Nicolas Beaupré

Chapter 5. The Mood in Britain 1914

Hartmut von Pogge Strandmann

Chapter 6. The First World War in the History of the Weimar Republic

Gerd Krumreich

Chapter 7. Fascism and Legacy of the Great War

Angelo Ventrone

Chapter 8. The French Desire for Peace and Security in the 1920’s

Jean-Claude Allain

Chapter 9. Britain in the Wake in the Great War

Jay Winter

Chapter 10. Germany: War without Public Backing

Hans Mommsen

Chapter 11. The French Entry into the War in September 1939: Between Reluctans and Resignation

Barbara Lambauer

Chapter 12. Great Britain: Declaring War as a Matter of Honour

Lothar Kettenacker

Chapter 13. Disillusionment, Pragmatism, Indifference: German Society after the ‘Catastrophe’

Clemens Vollnhals

Chapter 14. The French after 1945. Difficulties and Disappointments of an Immediate Post-War Period

Fabrice Grenard

Chapter 15. Great Britain: Remembering a Just War (1945-1950)

Toby Haggith

Chapter 16. Italy after 1945: War and Peace. Defeat and Liberation

Gustavo Corni

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Riotte, Torsten
Torsten Riotte is a lecturer in History at the Goethe University Frankfurt. Educated at Cologne and Cambridge Universities, he worked at the German Historical Institute London (2003–2007) where he edited the multi-volume edition British Envoys to Germany, 1815–1866. He is the author of a number of articles on British and European history and co-editor of The Hanoverian Dimension in British History, 1714–1837 (2007) and The Diplomats’ World. A Cultural History of Diplomacy (2008).

Kettenacker, Lothar
Lothar Kettenacker was deputy director of the German Historical Institute London (1975– 2004) and held an adjunct professorship at the Goethe University Frankfurt. He did his PhD on Nazi occupation policy in Alsace. He has published on the history of the Third Reich, Anglo-German relations and the history of the Federal Republic. His most recent book is Germany 1989: In the Aftermath of the Cold War (2009).

Lothar Kettenacker was deputy director of the German Historical Institute London (1975– 2004) and held an adjunct professorship at the Goethe University Frankfurt. He did his PhD on Nazi occupation policy in Alsace. He has published on the history of the Third Reich, Anglo-German relations and the history of the Federal Republic. His most recent book is Germany 1989: In the Aftermath of the Cold War (2009).