Soviet Uses of Jewish Nationalism During World War II: The Membership and Dynamics of the Jewish Antifascist Committee in the USSR

1977 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shimon Redlich
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Specific Aspect ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Jewry ◽  
Leadership Group ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

A number of general summaries have been written on the history of the Jewish Antifascist Committee in the Soviet Union, the single major Jewish structure in the Ussr during the following the Second World War. The Jewish Antifascist Committee (JAC) constituted a special phenomenon when compared with similar Soviet organizations. It started as an ordinary instrument of Soviet wartime propaganda, but prevailing circumstances transformed it into a meaningful Jewish structure. Following a few introductory remarks, I would like to discuss one specific aspect of this Committee, namely the nature of its membership. Most of the existing studies treat the JAC in a chronological manner. The purpose of this article is to examine the inner dynamics of the Committee and evaluate it as an elite leadership group of Soviet Jewry.

Jews in Poland and Russia: A Short History

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antony Polonsky
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Mass Culture ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Yiddish Literature ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Modern Hebrew ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

For many centuries Poland and Russia formed the heartland of the Jewish world: right up to the Second World War, the area was home to over 40 per cent of the world's Jews. Yet the history of their Jewish communities is not well known. This book recreates this lost world, beginning with Jewish economic, cultural and religious life, including the emergence of hasidism. By the late eighteenth century, other factors had come into play: with the onset of modernization there were government attempts to integrate and transform the Jews, and the stirrings of Enlightenment led to the growth of the Haskalah movement. The book looks at developments in each area in turn: the problems of emancipation, acculturation, and assimilation in Prussian and Austrian Poland; the politics of integration in the Kingdom of Poland; and the failure of forced integration in the tsarist empire. It shows how the deterioration in the position of the Jews between 1881 and 1914 encouraged a range of new movements as well as the emergence of modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature. It also examines Jewish urbanization and the rise of Jewish mass culture. The final part, starting from the First World War and the establishment of the Soviet Union, looks in turn at Poland, Lithuania, and the Soviet Union up to the Second World War. It reviews Polish–Jewish relations during the war and examines the Soviet record in relation to the Holocaust. The final chapters deal with the Jews in the Soviet Union and in Poland since 1945, concluding with an epilogue on the Jews in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia since the collapse of communism.

War and Genocide 1939–1945

2013 ◽  
pp. 308-379
Author(s):  
Antony Polonsky
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
History Of ◽  
Total Separation ◽  
Second World

This chapter explores how the outbreak of the Second World War initiated a new and tragic period in the history of the Jews of north-eastern Europe. The Polish defeat by Nazi Germany in the unequal campaign that began in September of 1939 led to a new partition of the country by Germany and the Soviet Union. Though Hitler had been relatively slow to put the more extreme aspects of Nazi antisemitism into practice, by the time the war broke out, the Nazi regime was set in its deep-seated hatred of the Jews. Following the brutal violence of Kristallnacht on November 9–10, 1938, when up to a hundred Jews were murdered in Germany and Austria and over 400 synagogues burnt down, Hitler, disconcerted by the domestic and foreign unease which this provoked, decided to entrust policy on the Jews to the ideologues of the SS. They were determined at this stage to enforce a ‘total separation’ between Jews and Germans, but wanted to do so in an ‘orderly and disciplined’ manner, perhaps by compelling most Jews to emigrate. The Nazis did not act immediately on the genocidal threat of ‘the annihilation of the Jews as a race in Europe’, but during the first months of the war, a dual process took place: the barbarization of Nazi policy generally and a hardening of policy towards Jews.

scholarly journals Friends – of a Kind: America and its Allies in the Second World War Mary E. Glantz, FDR and the Soviet Union: The President's Battles Over Foreign Policy (Lawrence: Kansas University Press, 2005, $34.95). Pp. 253. ISBN 0 7006 1365 X. Steven Merritt Miner, Stalin's Holy War: Religion, Nationalism and Alliance Politics, 1941–1945 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003, $55.00). Pp. 407. ISBN 0 8078 2736 3. Mark A. Stoler, Allies in War: Britain and American Against the Axis Powers 1940–1945 (London and New York: Hodder Arnold, 2005, £25.00). Pp. 291. ISBN 0 340 72026 3. David Stone, War Summits: The Meetings that Shaped World War II and the Postwar World (Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2005, $29.95). Pp. 304. ISBN 1 57488 901 X.

2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 635-644
Author(s):  
MARTIN H. FOLLY
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Second World

The Second World War continues to be an attractive subject for scholars and even more so for those writing for a general readership. One of the more traditional areas of focus has been the ‘Big Three’ – the alliance of the United States with Britain and the Soviet Union. Public interest in the three leaders – Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin – remains high, and their decisions continue to resonate in the post-Cold War era, as demonstrated by continued (and often ahistorical) references to the decisions made at the Yalta Conference. Consequently, while other aspects of Second World War historiography have pushed into new avenues of exploration, that which has looked at the Grand Alliance has followed fairly conventional lines – the new Soviet bloc materials have been trawled to answer old questions and using the frames of reference that developed during the Cold War. This has left much to be said about the nature of the relationship of the United States with its great allies and the dynamics and processes of that alliance, and overlooked full and rounded analysis of the role of that alliance as the instrument of Axis defeat.

scholarly journals The Ambivalent State: Determining Guilt in the Post-World War II Soviet Union

Slavic Review ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 606-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Exeler
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Second World War ◽  
The State ◽  
World War ◽  
Occupied Territory ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Foreign Occupation ◽  
Second World ◽  
Soviet Population

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the search for alleged traitors took place in each country that had been under foreign occupation. The most active country in this regard was the Soviet Union. This article analyzes how the Soviet authorities dealt with people who had lived in German-occupied territory during the war. It discusses divergent understandings of guilt, and examines means of punishment, retribution and justice. I argue that inconsistencies in Moscow’s politics of retribution, apart from reflecting tensions between ideology and pragmatism, resulted from contradictions within ideology, namely the belief that the war had uncovered mass enemies in hiding, and the belief that it had been won with the mass support of the Soviet population. The state that emerged from the war, then, was both powerful and insecure, able to quickly reassert its authority in formerly German-occupied areas, but also deeply ambivalent about its politics of retribution.

scholarly journals Economic relations between Sweden and Romania during the Second World War

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-112
Author(s):  
Andreea Dahlquist
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Oil Products ◽  
Economic Pressure ◽  
Agricultural Machinery ◽  
World War ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

The growth of Swedish-Romanian trade increased after Sweden opened its first diplomatic representation on Romanian soil in Galați (1851), Brăila (1852), Bucharest (1852), and Constanța (1880). In 1922, Sweden and Romania signed the first convention that regulated commerce. Later, in 1929, Romania took a loan of 30 million dollars from a Swedish concern in what proved to be a significant moment in the history of Swedish-Romanian economic relations.During the Second World War, both countries faced difficulties maintaining stable trade as a result of economic pressure from Germany and, eventually, the Soviet Union. Despite the challenges, Sweden succeeded in importing Romanian oil products, fodder, and grains – essential products for their economy – while Romania purchased Swedish agricultural machinery and other technologies.By the end of the war, several Swedish companies had established operations in Romania; among them, internationally recognized companies such as Swedish Matches, Kullager, Elektrolux, L.M. Ericsson, and Elektro-Invest.

About the beginning of World War II: historical and legal research. Part two

2021 ◽  
pp. 138
Author(s):  
Konstantin S. Rodionov
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Legal Research ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The One ◽  
Second World

This article is a continuation of the one that was published in the journal “State and Law” in 2020 (No. 8). It examines the circumstances of Hitler's decision to attack Poland on September 1, 1939, which began the Second World War. The author decides what influenced his acceptance more - the policy of appeasement, which Britain and France adhered to in relation to Hitler, or the signing by the Soviet Union of an additional secret protocol to the Non-Aggression Pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) signed by its parties on August 23, 1939?

JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF UZBEKISTANIN THE YEARS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
Dilshod P. Komolov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Judicial System ◽  
Staff Turnover ◽  
World War ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

This article describes the history of the judicial system of the Uzbek SSR in 1939-1945 on the basis of a comparative analysis of a large number of historical sources and legal documents. According to the Stalinist Constitution and the law on the judicial system adopted in 1938, changes in the judicial system of the Uzbek SSR, the national composition of judges, staff turnover and the factors that led to this were discussed. The article also describes the mobilization of judges from Uzbekistan to the front after the invasion of the Soviet Union by fascist Germany, increasing the competence of military tribunals, types of criminal and civil cases considered by courts of general jurisdiction, activities carried out in the field of training lawyers

Pan-Slavism and World War II

1952 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 699-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Kohn
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
World War I ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
German Occupation ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The World ◽  
Second World

In spite of later claims that it had been the leader of the anti-fascist camp and of the Slav world from the beginning of the second World War, the Soviet Union followed a strictly Russian policy, neither anti-fascist nor Pan-Slav, from August, 1939, to June, 1941. This policy clearly foreshadowed a nationalist revival of the language and aspirations that had been most characteristic of Old Russia but were assumed to have been definitely buried in the ten November days of 1917 which shook the world. During these two years not the slightest sympathy for the Czechs and Poles suffering under German occupation was expressed. Indeed, although Leninist communism during World War I had conducted a violent defeatist propaganda compaign in both warring camps, the subversive communist propaganda that was resumed in 1939 was directed only against the democratic nations. “Moreover, officially, even ostentatiously, help was granted to the camp of fascism so that, from 1939 to 1941, the Soviet Union could be considered a non-belligerent partner of the Axis. From the policy of benevolent neutrality towards the Axis the Soviet Union was removed against its will. Circumstances made it an ally of the democracies. This change was performed reluctantly, only because no other choice was left.”

scholarly journals SIS, Grigori Tokaev, and the London Controlling Section: New Perspectives on a Cold War Defector and Cold War Deception

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huw Dylan
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Early Years ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Second World

This article examines British deception during the early years of the Cold War, and how a Soviet defector named Grigori Tokaev contributed to British plans and operations. Tokaev provided valuable insights into the Soviet Union, allowing British intelligence to craft more intricate deception operations, political and military. The manner in which he was used, and the extent to which his idiosyncrasies were tolerated, underline the difficulties the British authorities faced as they attempted to apply the lessons of the Second World War deception to the Cold War environment. The case offers new perspectives on both the relatively under-examined subject of British deception operations against the USSR, and the history of one of the most prominent Cold War defectors.

scholarly journals What to Do with Alvar Aalto?

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 51-54
Author(s):  
Ilkka Paajanen
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Time Use ◽  
Second World War ◽  
High Tech ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

In Finland the influence of the Alvar Aalto has been very strong. It is not easy to say, what to do with Alvar Aalto and his buildings? Let’s take three cases: Library in Vyborg was built just before the Second World War. The former Finnish town was after the war one part of the Soviet Union. During the soviet era the building was in very bad condition. During the last 20 years it has been renovated. Now it looks like it was in the 30es. Some details remind the soviet renovations. Should we have a building like this in his earlier presentation or should we see also the history of the building? Sunila area in Kotka was built by one wood company in the middle of the 20th century. In the 60es the company sold the buildings. The flats are small, in the flats there are toilets but not showers. The situation especially in the 70es was miserable. In the last decades the Pro Sunila society has developed the area and the flats (for example two small flats together as a big one with bigger showers etc.). How we can develop an area? Nano laboratory building in Otaniemi was built in 60es as wood laboratory of the Helsinki University of Technology. There are many very fine architectural details in the building. For about eight years ago the building was renovated as nano laboratory. How to renovate a laboratory building, when you should in the same time use renovation, conservation and build high tech laboratory?

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document