The Social and Political Effects of Air Raids on the German People: A Preliminary Survey

Author(s):  
Franz Neumann

This chapter examines the social and political effects of air raids on German morale during World War II. The strategic aerial bombing of Nazi Germany had increased to such an extent during the last twelve months that approximately 65,000 people were, at tbe time of the report, bombed out of their homes each week. The number of unusable destroyed houses in April 1944 totaled 1,600,000 in the Reich and the protected areas. A large number of the great industrial centers of Germany, such as Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, the Ruhr district, Rostock, Hannover, Leipzig, Mannheim-Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart, Brunswick, Kassel, and Wiener-Neustadt had been severely damaged. The chapter considers the impact of the bombings on Germany's local defense program, the emergency relief measures implemented after the raids, problems of evacuation, the Nazi Party's propaganda reply to the raids, and how the bombings affected the German people, including the middle classes and workers.

Author(s):  
Sarah M. Griffith

This chapter outlines the foundations that shaped the racial liberalism of American liberal Protestants from the late nineteenth century through World War II. Included is an overview of their missionary service with the Japan YMCA, the modernist theology that inspired their social reform, and the role emerging trends in the social sciences played in shaping their views on race and assimilation in the early 1900s. The chapter also introduces the impact racial liberalism had on Asian North Americans who embraced assimilation and acculturation in the 1920s and 1930s as the best solution to prevent racial discrimination.


Author(s):  
Kevin Winkler

Bob Fosse’s work continues to be the most recognizable of the great choreographers of Broadway’s post–World War II golden age. This book offers deep analysis of Fosse’s development as a choreographer, including the various dance influences he absorbed as a young performer. It examines key Fosse dances and contextualizes them across his career. It looks at how he influenced changes in the musical theater, particularly as a director, and how early mentors George Abbott and Jerome Robbins shaped his theatrical outlook. It compares his work to that of peers like Robbins, Gower Champion, Michael Bennett, and others. The book also examines his choreography for film and looks at how his film experiences influenced his stage work. It also considers the impact of his three marriages—all to dancers—on his career. Finally, the book investigates how Fosse’s evolution as both artist and individual mirrored the social and political climate of his era and allowed him to comfortably ride a wave of cultural changes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Александр Лившин ◽  
Игорь Орлов

Alexander Livshin and Igor Orlov The Soviet “Propaganda State” during World War II: Resource Constraints and Communication Capabilities “The new history of propaganda” studies the historical experience of using propaganda by different countries, including democratic ones, in the time of wars and other crises. It is evident that particular attention is paid to Nazi Germany and Stalinist USSR, the two excessively ideology-driven and politicized societies where propaganda played the role far beyond the boundaries of simple ideological indoctrination and manipulation of the public opinions and attitudes with the purpose of pushing the people towards a desired model of behavior. In both states propaganda became a fundamental core institution aimed at building and sustaining the social order. At the same time, if we consider the experience of Stalin’s USSR, then the usage of the term “propaganda state” introduced by Peter Kenez requires a significant caveat.


Author(s):  
Franz Neumann ◽  
Herbert Marcuse ◽  
Felix Gilbert

This chapter considers the prospects facing Nazi Germany amid World War II by reviewing the patterns of German collapse in 1918. The breakdown of resistance in World War I was in the first instance a military phenomenon, though its course and outcome were determined by the social, economic, and political structure of the German nation as a whole. The high command recognized as early as August 13 that the war was definitely lost. Before discussing possible patterns of German collapse in 1944, the chapter examines the differences between 1918 and today. It then describes alternative courses that will remain open if the United Nations remain united—that is, if Germany's political warfare aimed at splitting them and at concluding a negotiated peace with either Russia or the Western Powers is unsuccessful. One scenario when the United Nations are split is for the Nazis to establish a shadow government to deal with Russia.


The main research aspect of the article is the “issue of guilt”, i. e. Germany’s responsibility for the establishment of Nazism and the outbreak of World War II in the philosophical legacy of the German existentialist philosopher Karl Jaspers. The article analyzes the ideas of K. Jaspers on the need to realize and admit guilt for their crimes by the German people and to overcome the totalitarian legacy. K. Jaspers emphasizes that the German people must be held accountable for the crimes of the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s. Jaspers addresses the issue of morality and identifies four types of guilt. The first type is criminal guilt, which lies on those who have committed criminal offenses. The second type is political guilt. The third type is moral guilt. The last, fourth type is metaphysical guilt which is associated with a sense of responsibility for every wrong and unjust act in the world. For the author, the last two types of guilt are of the greatest importance. Thus, the tragedy of World War II and the ethnic genocides committed by the Nazis were the result of moral and ethical problems and the general spiritual crisis of the German people. The key role is given to the metaphysical aspect of this crisis. It is claimed that it was the spiritual problems that gave rise to the irreversible processes in the development of the entire nation. The paramount importance of the phenomenon of collective thinking is denied, giving preference to the personal level. It is noted that the main condition for spiritual revival is the rejection of national illusions, an unbiased view of one’s own past and present life, the recognition of one’s own sin, without which repentance of both the nation and the individual is impossible. Of great importance is the aspect of humility, which functions as “our spiritual essence”, which leads to the fact that man is on the path of perfection, which ultimately leads him to God. It is emphasized that the admission of guilt and remorse is a vital necessity for the German people. The article also highlights the impact of Jaspers’ ideas on the formation of modern humanitarian policy in the Federal Republic of Germany.


1975 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. Cohan

Since the end of World War II social commentators have attempted to explain why Germany was so susceptible to Nazi rule. One sociologist has argued that the social structure that existed in Germany at the end of the First World War made it likely that Germany would take a totalitarian rather than a democratic road to modernity. Others have argued that the breakdown of the stratification system permitted the Nazis to prey upon the fears of the newly atomized individuals who joined in the mass movement. Still other studies have focused either on the whole country or on the different regions to explore in detail how the Nazi movement grew and which elements of the population were most prone to join it. These works have ranged from descriptive case studies to more analytic, but conflicting, voting studies. But the analyses of the mass represent only one half of the equation which may explain why the Nazis came to power and, perhaps more significantly, why they managed to retain the loyalty of the populace even when it was apparent that Germany would lose the war that the Nazis initiated. The other part of the equation is Adolf Hitler whose “ability not only to win over the majority of the German people, but to lead them so completely astray, has no precedent in history”. No other revolutionary mass movement, neither bolshevism in Russia nor communism in China, has been so much the product of its leader as was national socialism in Germany.


Author(s):  
C. Claire Thomson

This chapter traces the early history of state-sponsored informational filmmaking in Denmark, emphasising its organisation as a ‘cooperative’ of organisations and government agencies. After an account of the establishment and early development of the agency Dansk Kulturfilm in the 1930s, the chapter considers two of its earliest productions, both process films documenting the manufacture of bricks and meat products. The broader context of documentary in Denmark is fleshed out with an account of the production and reception of Poul Henningsen’s seminal film Danmark (1935), and the international context is accounted for with an overview of the development of state-supported filmmaking in the UK, Italy and Germany. Developments in the funding and output of Dansk Kulturfilm up to World War II are outlined, followed by an account of the impact of the German Occupation of Denmark on domestic informational film. The establishment of the Danish Government Film Committee or Ministeriernes Filmudvalg kick-started aprofessionalisation of state-sponsored filmmaking, and two wartime public information films are briefly analysed as examples of its early output. The chapter concludes with an account of the relations between the Danish Resistance and an emerging generation of documentarists.


2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard K. Fleischman ◽  
R. Penny Marquette

The impact of World War II on cost accountancy in the U.S. may be viewed as a double-edged sword. Its most positive effect was engendering greater cost awareness, particularly among companies that served as military contractors and, thus, had to make full representation to contracting agencies for reimbursement. On the negative side, the dislocations of war, especially shortages in the factors of production and capacity constraints, meant that such “scientific management” techniques as existed (standard costing, time-study, specific detailing of task routines) fell by the wayside. This paper utilizes the archive of the Sperry Corporation, a leading governmental contractor, to chart the firm's accounting during World War II. It is concluded that any techniques that had developed from Taylorite principles were suspended, while methods similar to contemporary performance management, such as subcontracting, emphasis on the design phase of products, and substantial expenditure on research and development, flourished.


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