Amateur history for (a) future historian(s)
Simul-blogged at Holocaust Controveries. I. The Controversy Thus Far Among the controversies inspired by the publication in 1977 of David Irving’s Hitler’s War was the reproduction in that volume of a page of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler’s telephone log. In particular, the page cited by Irving, among other content, listed a series of notes taken by Himmler during …
Continue reading “REPOST: Keine Liquidierung: Eine Neubeurteilung”
Why did the Minorities Treaties fail to solve the minorities question? To what extent did they merely intensify hatreds and mistrust? Although well intentioned, the Minorities Treaties ultimately failed to solve the minorities question because they underestimated the sheer complexity of the demographics in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, the enforcement mechanisms of the …
Continue reading “Irredentism and Minorities in the Interwar Period”
In what ways were diplomacy and economics linked in this decade? In my opinion, diplomacy and economics were linked in the 1920s in essentially two regards, i.e., with regard to French-German relations and to American-European relations. On the one hand, the economic situation in Germany had a direct impact on the extent to which it …
Continue reading “Diplomacy and Economics in Interwar Europe”
Can we define a typology of modernism in Interwar Europe? I think it’s possible to define a typology of modernism in Interwar Europe that permeates the visual arts, music, and literature. Part of understanding the term “modernism” is seeing it as something other than a merely date-specific categorization. Rather, it’s informative to situate culture within …
Why was violence such a salient feature of politics in the immediate postwar period? A phenomenon like increased public violence is not likely to be one with a simple explanation. It is more likely that a complex interrelationship of several factors, among them historic, sociological, and economic. Here, it seems the greatest contributors to this …
How important was the relationship between fascism and nationalism? What did fascists in Eastern Europe believe in? To what extent was fascism in Central Europe, in essence, a revolt against modernity? Did fascism represent a challenge to the established order in interwar Europe? How far was fascism the exception rather than the rule in radical …
Continue reading “Undermining the System: Revisionists and Counter-Revolutionaries”
Here’s my first discussion post for the term: Was there a danger that the Bolshevik Revolution would spread from Russia in the period 1917-1920? Stipulating up front that hindsight always provides 20/20 vision, I have to conclude that there was virtually no danger that the Bolshevik Revolution would spread beyond Russia in the aftermath of …
Turns out I’m returning to coursework in a few weeks, thanks to a scholarship that came through at the last minute and that will pay for my next course, entitled “Shadow of Versailles (1919-1939).” I’m currently planning on writing on the topic of the Jewish Bund in Romania after WWI. This topic is a pretty …
I’m on a bit of a hiatus from my coursework, having finished my first class with the University of Edinburgh about a month ago, the term paper for which is here. Now, I’m waiting to hear about admission to a different Master’s program, which would save me a significant amount of money on tuition. I’m …
Conventional wisdom has tended to see the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938 as inevitable, given the strong historical, cultural, and political ties between Germany and Austria. Indeed, the Anschluss was welcomed by many Austrians, who had desired union with Germany since the end of World War I and who shared the …
Inevitable Historicity