World War II

On 8 May 1995, the British prime minister, John Major, referred to the end of World War II as the end of a thirty years’ war; in this, he was correct: both sides saw this war as an attempt to complete a task left undone at the close of the First World War – the show-down which ended European global domination. The Second World War was, however, the ultimate catastrophe of modern history, laying waste the heart and soul of Europe. Here you will find contributions about this conflict, its prelude, conduct, and personalities – excluding non-military Nazi personalities, which are covered under the entry “Third Reich Era.” Also covered are contributions dealing with war crimes (and lies about alleged war crimes) committed in the course of the conflict. This does not include the “Holocaust,” which has a separate entry (and is not a war crime in the strict sense).

Aspects of the Third Reich

Aspects of the Third Reich, by H. W. Koch, (editor and author of the five introductory sections and two other sections). New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. Paperbound, 619 pp., bibliography, index. $15.95. ISBN: 0-312-00381-1. For the sake of understanding the general nature of this book, which is a sort of anthology by various specialists…

On Propaganda in America

Far more important to Europe than the propaganda about domestic affairs in America is that about foreign affairs. The numen “democracy” is used also in this realm as the essence of reality. A foreign development sought to be brought about is called “spreading democracy”; a development sought to be hindered is “against democracy,” or “fascistic.”…

A “Good War” It Wasn’t

War Time: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War by Paul Fussell. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Hardbound, xiv+331 pp., photographs, notes, index, $19.95, ISBN 0-19-503797-9. Of the approximately half-million titles issued by mainline American publishers in the 1980s, War Time by Professor Paul Fussell is one of a small selection which a…

Hitler’s Generals

Hitler's Generals edited by Correlli Barnett New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1989, hardbound, 497 pages, index, photographs, $24.95. ISBN: 1-55584-161-9. In Hitler's Generals, an international team of widely-published historians explores the characters and careers of twenty-six leading German military leaders who translated Hitler's directives into the stunning victories of 1939-41 and who held out against overwhelming…

Why I Survived the A-Bomb

Why I Survived the A-Bomb by Akira Kohchi. Costa Mesa, CA: Institute for Historical Review, 1989, hardbound, 230 pages, photographs, $19.95, ISBN 0-939484-31-5. Why I Survived the A-Bomb is a moving memoir of Akira Kohchi's boyhood in war-time Hiroshima, and of the city's devastation on August 6, 1945. The heart of the book is Mr….

In a U.S. Death Camp – 1945

I was born August 31, 1924 in Berlin. When the National Socialists came to power, I was eight years old. From 1930 until 1940 I attended school in Berlin. I did not join the Hitler Youth, but suffered no disadvantages because of that. At age twelve I became an altar boy at a Catholic church…

Sacrifice at Pearl Harbor

Sacrifice at Pearl Harbor. One in the series “Our Century,” produced by British Broadcasting Corp., and cablecast December, 1989, on the Arts & Entertainment Network. Written and produced by Roy Davies. Pearl Harbor will be Franklin Roosevelt's Watergate. That portentous idea was expressed fourteen years ago in an article by Percy Greaves, a leading historian…

The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau

The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau, 1939-1945 by Alfred M. de Zayas. Nebraska University Press, 1989, Paperbound, 364 pages, bibliography, index, photographs, $15.95. ISBN: 0-8032-9908-7 When the topic of atrocities committed during the Second world War is discussed, such places as Babi Yar, Lidice, Malmedy and Oradour-sur-Glane almost immediately come to mind. But few will mention…

Thoughts on the Military History of the Occupation of Japan

I. Introduction We are now on the crest of a wave of interest in America's post-war occupation of Japan; many studies of the occupation have recently appeared, both in Japan and the United States.[1] Most of these works, however, are diplomatically, economically, or sociologically oriented. Studies undertaken primarily from a military viewpoint are comparatively few….

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