Between National Socialism And Soviet Communism

In May of 1945, there were more than eight million “displaced persons” (or DPs) in Germany—recently liberated foreign workers, concentration camp prisoners, and prisoners of war from all of Nazi-occupied Europe, as well as eastern Europeans who had fled west before the advancing Red Army. Although most of them quickly returned home, it soon became clear that large numbers of eastern European DPs could or would not do so. Focusing on Bavaria, in the heart of the American occupation zone, Between National Socialism and Soviet Communism examines the cultural and political worlds that four groups of displaced persons—Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and Jewish—created in Germany during the late 1940s and early 1950s. The volume investigates the development of refugee communities and how divergent interpretations of National Socialism and Soviet Communism defined these displaced groups. Combining German and eastern European history, Anna Holian draws on a rich array of sources in cultural and political history and engages the broader literature on displacement in the fields of anthropology, sociology, political theory, and cultural studies. Her book will interest students and scholars of German, eastern European, and Jewish history; migration and refugees; and human rights.

"Though its primary focus is on the immediate postwar, Between National Socialism and Soviet Communism will surely illuminate the contemporary crisis around citizenship and definitions of Germanness in the context of European Union and globalization." ---Geoff Eley, University of Michigan In May of 1945, there were more than eight million "displaced persons" (or DPs) in Germany---recently liberated foreign workers, concentration camp prisoners, and prisoners of war from all of Nazi-occupied Europe, as well as eastern Europeans who had fled west before the advancing Red Army. Although most of them quickly returned home, it soon became clear that large numbers of eastern European DPs could or would not do so. In the aftermath of National Socialism, Germany thus ironically became a temporary home for a large population of "foreigners." Focusing on Bavaria, in the heart of the American occupation zone, Between National Socialism and Soviet Communism examines the cultural and political worlds that four groups of displaced persons---Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and Jewish---created in Germany during the late 1940s and early 1950s. The volume investigates the development of refugee communities and how divergent interpretations of National Socialism and Soviet Communism defined these displaced groups. Combining German and eastern European history, Anna Holian draws on a rich array of sources in cultural and political history and engages the broader literature on displacement in the fields of anthropology, sociology, political theory, and cultural studies. Her book will interest students and scholars of German, eastern European, and Jewish history; migration and refugees; and human rights.

The collective work deals with the problems of if, how, and why the histories of German Nazism and Soviet Communism should and could be situated within one coherent narrative. As historical phenomena, can Communism and Nazism fruitfully be compared to each other? Do they belong to the same historical contexts? Have they influenced, reacted to or learned from each other? Are they interpreted, represented and used together by posterity? The background of the book is twofold. One is external. There is an ongoing debate about the historical entanglements of Communism and Nazism, especially about Auschwitz and Gulag, respectively. Our present fascination with the evil history of genocide has situated the Holocaust as the borderline event in Western historical thinking. The crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Soviet Communist regime do not have the same position but are considered more urgent in the East and Central European states that were subdued by both Nazi and Communist regimes. The other, internal background is to develop an analytical perspective in which the “comnaz” nexus can be understood. Using a complex approach, the authors investigate Communist and Nazi histories as entangled phenomena, guided by three basic perspectives. Focusing on roots and developments, a genetic perspective highlights historical, process-oriented connections. A structural perspective indicates an attempt to narrow down “operational” parallels of the two political systems in the way they handled ideology to construct social utopia, used techniques of terror, etc. A third perspective is genealogical, emphasizing the processing and use of Communist and Nazi history by posterity in terms of meaning and memory: What past is worth remembering, celebrating, debating—but also distorting and forgetting? The chapters of the book address phenomena such as ideology, terror, secular religion, museum exhibits, and denial.

A study of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the coming to power of the Nazis in Germany in 1933 in light of the marxist proposition that revolution would come in advanced capitalist societies. The implications of the actual cases for the theory are drawn out, and an original theorization of capitalist crisis combining economic and political factors is put forward.

BLACK SUN sheds new light on the sources of Nazi ideology by examining its occult roots in the world of myths, symbols, and fantasies. It traces this development from the writings of various mystics in the early 20th century who propagated the mythology of a superior global ideology whose heroes would fight the forces of moral decadence and greed. The book uses rare archival photographs and sources to chronicle how the Nazis used these mythological foundations to develop Nazism as a political religion. While BLACK SUN documents the nationalist mystical beliefs that infused National Socialism, the book also reveals the disturbing perpetuation of these beliefs among certain political groups today, in Germany and worldwide, reflecting an ongoing search for salvation, inspiration and messianic leaders. This eye-popping expose' juxtaposes the polarization in German national history between an obsession with capturing light in all its symbolic uses in order to battle the "darkness" of the Others. The final lesson that Black Sun implies -and what makes it a provocative and interesting book for a number of audiences, whether scholars and students of history, or iconography- is the danger of not knowing one's own history. In this sense, the title signals not only the recurrent theme of evil throughout history, but also the need to shed light upon all its manifestations.

Despite changes in the international constellation since Russia and Germany initially appeared in 1965, the relationship between these two nations remains the most important single issue in European politics and East-West affairs. This study of what Russians and Germans have thought of each other and the fateful consequences of their interacting ideas is of lasting significance.The fact that Russia and Germany have embodied extreme manifestations of the totalitarian plague in the twentieth century. After briefly exploring the historical origins of Russophobia in Germany and of anti-Germanism in Russia, Laqueur reviews in detail the confrontation of Nazism and Bolshevism that culminated in World War II. He deals with the Russian origins of National Socialism and the ideology of the Russian far right from the days of the "Black Hundred" to its recent revival.This edition includes a major new introduction by the author, reviewing developments in the relationship between Russia and Germany in the last 25 years, and speculating about its future. Long out of print, Russia and Germany will be again welcomed by political scientists, students of international relations, and all those with an interest in recent history and current events.

The internationally distinguished contributors to this landmark volume represent a variety of approaches to the Nazi and Stalinist regimes. These far-reaching essays provide the raw materials towards a comparative analysis and offer the means to deepen and extend research in the field. The first section highlights similarities and differences in the leadership cults at the heart of the dictatorships. The second section moves to the 'war machines' engaged in the titanic clash of the regimes between 1941 and 1945. A final section surveys the shifting interpretations of successor societies as they have faced up to the legacy of the past. Combined, the essays presented here offer unique perspectives on the most violent and inhumane epoch in modern European history.

In his major work on communism, the international bestseller The Passing of an Illusion, the eminent French historian Franöois Furet devoted a lengthy footnote to German historian Ernst Nolte?s interpretation of fascism. Nolte responded, a correspondence ensued, and the result was the remarkable exchange presented in this volume. Fascism and Communism offers readers the rare opportunity to witness and learn from a confrontation between two of the world?s most distinguished historians over one of the most serious subjects of our time. Each from a different perspective, Furet and Nolte offer compelling arguments for the common genealogy of these two ideologies as well as reasons for the intellectual community?s rejection of this explosive thesis throughout the twentieth century. This discussion leads to a deeper understanding of the nature of totalitarianism as well as the trajectory and interpretation of modern European history.