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.

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.

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.

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

APPENDIX 2: Russian Legal Instruments Relating to Cultural Valuables Displaced as a Result of the Second World War, 1990–2009

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-491
Author(s):  
Patricia Kennedy Grimsted
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Postwar Period ◽  
World War ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
European Context ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Second World

The following list is limited narrowly to post-1991 Russian legal instruments relating to cultural valuables of foreign provenance seized and transported to the Soviet Union from Germany and Eastern Europe at the end of the Second World War, or in the immediate postwar period. Widely known in Russia as the “trophy” valuables, officially those cultural objects (art, books, and archives) are usually referred to in Russia more euphemistically as “cultural valuables displaced [or relocated] to the USSR,” although most frequently translated in a European context as “displaced cultural valuables.” The term “displaced” is used here, and may include some cultural property and archives that came to the USSR during the war itself, as well as those removed from Germany and Eastern Europe by Soviet authorities at the end of or immediately after the war. Many items involved were actually twice captured, or “twice saved,” as the saying goes in Russia, having been first captured by the Nazis, mostly from “enemies of the regime,” and then captured a second time and “safeguarded” by the Soviets.

The Cominform: Tito's International?

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 641-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Swain
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Popular Front ◽  
World War ◽  
Cautious Approach ◽  
Coalition Governments ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Second World ◽  
Ideological Context

AbstractAlthough it is now recognized that the Stalin-Tito dispute was sparked off by Tito's desire to intervene decisively in the Greek civil war, the ideological context of that decision has never been fully explored. This article suggests that, since the early days of the Second World War, Tito had been committed to establishing a popular front ‘from below’, i.e. under clear communist control. He did this not only in Yugoslavia, but used his position in the war-time Comintern to persuade other communist parties to do the same. As a result he was dissatisfied with the all-party coalition governments established with Stalin's consent throughout Europe in 1945. Tito favoured a communist offensive, while Stalin, aware of the international position of the Soviet Union, favoured a more cautious approach. When Stalin summoned the first meeting of the Cominform in September 1947 and made Tito its de Facto leader, Tito mistakenly assumed he was to head a new international committed to a revolutionary offensive not only in Eastern Europe but in Greece and even Italy and France.

International Memory Wars

2021 ◽  
pp. 62-83
Author(s):  
Marlene Laruelle
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Ukrainian Crisis ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Second World

This chapter argues that the perception of Russia as an antifascist power has been reinforced by memory wars that have reshaped the relationship between Russia and its Central and Eastern European neighbors. It examines how the emergence and gradual visibility gained by the narrative of the Soviet Union as an occupier with a totalitarian ideology shocked the Russian elite and public opinion. Given the context of memory wars, the chapter focuses on the issue of defining who was fascist and who colluded with Nazism — the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1941 or the collaborationist forces in Central and Eastern Europe. This chapter then presents Russia's response to the new memories articulated by Central and Eastern European countries on two fronts: legal and historiographical. Ultimately, the chapter highlights how the Ukrainian crisis demonstrated that memories have been instrumental in “real” wars, as all parties claim that their martyrdom and heroism during the Second World War entitle them to some recognition today.

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.

From the End of the Second World War to the Collapse of the Communist System

2013 ◽  
pp. 380-423
Author(s):  
Antony Polonsky
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Second World War ◽  
New Order ◽  
World War ◽  
East European ◽  
Guerrilla War ◽  
Communist System ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Second World

This chapter studies the situation of the Jews from the end of the Second World War to the collapse of the communist system. The Second World War left the world of east European Jewry devastated. Although the Nazis had been defeated, they had succeeded in murdering a large proportion of the Jews of eastern Europe. The end of the wartime Grand Alliance and the increasingly repressive character of the regimes in the Soviet Union and in Poland form the background against which attempts were made to rebuild the war-torn societies of eastern Europe and to recreate Jewish life. The Nazi occupation left a landscape laid waste by the effort to impose a racially structured New Order and the violent and often fratricidal resistance that it elicited. The departure of the Germans did not lead to the end of hostilities, and guerrilla war against the communist authorities continued in Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania.

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?

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.

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