How and why did Europe spawn dictatorships and violence in the first half of the twentieth century, and then, after 1945 in the west and after 1989 in the east, create successful civilian societies? In this book, Volker Berghahn explains the rise and fall of the men of violence whose wars and civil wars twice devastated large areas of the European continent and Russia--until, after World War II, Europe adopted a liberal capitalist model of society that had first emerged in the United States, and the beginnings of which the Europeans had experienced in the mid-1920s. Berghahn begins by looking at how the violence perpetrated in Europe's colonial empires boomeranged into Europe, contributing to the millions of casualties on the battlefields of World War I. Next he considers the civil wars of the 1920s and the renewed rise of militarism and violence in the wake of the Great Crash of 1929. The second wave of even more massive violence crested in total war from 1939 to 1945 that killed more civilians than soldiers, and this time included the industrialized murder of millions of innocent men, women, and children in the Holocaust. However, as Berghahn concludes, the alternative vision of organizing a modern industrial society on a civilian basis--in which people peacefully consume mass-produced goods rather than being 'consumed' by mass-produced weapons--had never disappeared. With the United States emerging as the hegemonic power of the West, it was this model that finally prevailed in Western Europe after 1945 and after the end of the Cold War in Eastern Europe as well.

This volume examines conflicts over food and their implications for European societies in the first half of the Twentieth century. Food shortages and famines, fears of deprivation, and food regulations and controls were a shared European experience in this period. Conflicts over food, however, developed differently in different regions, under different regimes, and within different social groups. These developments had stark consequences for social solidarity and physical survival. Ranging across Europe, from Scandinavia and Britain to Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union, this volume explores the political, economic and cultural dynamics that shaped conflicts over food and their legacies.

East Central Europe Between The Two World Wars is a sophisticated political history of East Central Europe in the interwar years. Written by an eminent scholar in the field, it is an original contribution to the literature on the political cultures of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and the Baltic states.

"... a carefully crafted and important book... a first-class contribution to the literature on modern Europe." --American Historical Review "... valuable... the first historical work to attempt a 'synthetic sketch' of the problems indicated in the title." --Journal of Polish Jewish Studies An illuminating study of the demographic, cultural, and socioeconomic condition of East Central European Jewry, the book focuses on the internal life of Jewish communities in the region and on the relationships between Jews and gentiles in a nationalist environment.

This is the only short study in English to survey Germany's foreign policy from a German viewpoint across the entire inter-war period. The approach, which sets Germany in her full European context, is not narrowly diplomatic; and it gives as much attention to the Weimar years of the 1920s as it gives to the more familiar story of Germany's international relations under the Third Reich. John Hiden has now thoroughly revised his text to take account of new scholarship since the book first appeared in 1977.

From the prewar development of the German war machine to the ultimate victory of the Allied coalition, here is an in-depth analysis of the battles that raged on the Western and Eastern Fronts. It examines the major strategies, the innovative tactics, and the new generation of weapons--along with the people who used them.

Since 1945 Europe has experienced many periods of turmoil and conflict and as many moments of peace and integration: from the devastation felt in the aftermath of World War II to the recovery in the 1950s and 1960s; to the new challenges in the 1970s and 1980s when neoliberal policies led to fundamental social and economic changes, marked by the effects of the oil shock and widespread unemployment; and then 1989 and after when the existing world order experienced new convulsions. In this brilliant and comprehensive work, the author, one of the best known social historians of Europe, discusses a wide range of subjects, not shying away from controversial topics: family structure, work, consumption, values, migration, inequality, elites, civil society, social movements, media, welfare state, education, and urban policies. He focuses on the fundamental changes European societies underwent in the second half of the twentieth century but also explores what divides Europeans, what unites them, and what sets them apart from the rest of the world. This major historical work will be an important and highly sought-after addition for library collections as well as an important volume for course adoptions.

World War II defined the 20th century and shaped many events, from the decolonization of Africa to the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall. This encyclopedia offers a focused overview of this complex and volatile era, the circumstances that led up to war, the underlying causes, its unfolding and consequences. Organized for quick and precise access More than 1300 entries by 150 experts are arranged in six sections for easy reference and consultation. All the key ideas, events, actions, weapons, individuals, and organizations that played vital roles in the war are covered, from the Axis Pact to the Arab League, from the OSS to the Africa Korps, from the Chetniks to the Jedburghs, from the battle of Kursk to Operation Mincemeat, from Bill Donovan to Otto Skorzeny, from Gestapo to SMERSH, from Georgi Zhukov to Jean Leclerc, from the 88 gun to the Norden Bombsight. Covers important neglected subjects The Encyclopedia puts special emphasis on the often-neglected operations in Eastern Europe and Russia. A key section inspects and rates all the major weapons, with handy tables for easy comparison. And in recognition of the first large-scale participation of women in the war, the volume thoroughly documents their individual and unit contributions to the Allied effort. Finally, the encyclopedia discusses battlefield realties that explain, for example, why the airborne drops at Normandy succeeded and the ones at Arnheim failed. A bibliography, glossary, maps, photographs, and weapons and data tables enhance the coverage. Also includes 16 maps.

By developing a long-term supranational perspective, this ambitious, multi-faceted work provides a new understanding of ‘totalitarianism’, the troubling common element linking Soviet communism, Italian fascism and German Nazism. The book’s original analysis of antecedent ideas on the subject sheds light on the common origins and practices of the regimes. Through this fresh appreciation of their initial frame of mind, Roberts demonstrates how the three political experiments yielded unprecedented collective mobilization but also a characteristic combination of radicalization, myth-making, and failure. Providing deep historical analysis, the book proves that 'totalitarianism' best characterizes the common features in the originating aspirations, the mode of action and even the outcomes of Soviet communism, Italian fascism and German Nazism. By enhancing our knowledge of what ‘totalitarianism’ was and where it came from, Roberts affords important lessons about the ongoing challenges, possibilities, and dangers of the modern political experiment.