The First World War and German National Identity is an original and carefully researched study of the coalition between Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary during the First World War. Focusing on the attitudes taken by governmental circles, politically active groups, intellectuals, and the broader public towards the German-speaking population in the Habsburg Monarchy, Jan Vermeiren explores how the war challenged established notions of German national identity and history. In this context, he also sheds new light on key issues in the military and the diplomatic relationship between Berlin and Vienna, re-examining the German war aims debate and presenting many new insights into German-Hungarian and German-Slav relations in the period. The book is a major contribution to German and Central European history and will be of great interest to scholars of the First World War and the complex relationship between war and society. -Comprehensive study of the alliance between Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary during the First World War, focusing not just on military and diplomatic history, but also on the social and cultural dimension -Provides a reassessment of German war ideology and nationalism, enhancing understanding of the war's significance, and defeat, for German history and identity -Offers an in-depth survey of the special relationship between Berlin and Vienna, relating this to questions of national identity

The First World War and German National Identity: The Dual Alliance at War

In this thesis I set out the rarely-documented life history of the Sumatra Railway, which was constructed by prisoners of war (POWs) of the Japanese during the Second World War I bring to light the personal narratives of former POWs, based on diaries, memoirs and sound recordings held predominantly within Imperial War Museum (IWM) archives By doing so, I use some of the most powerful and comprehensive narratives from the men who survived the experience to address the gaps in current historical literature about the Sumatra Railway Following this, and most substantially, I read these archival materials for what they tell us about the ways in which the captive experience has been represented by former POWs (and how their audiences have responded to their stories) Informed by interviews that I have carried out with the relatives of former Far Eastern POWs, I examine POW life-writing in the context of current cultural debates about forgotten histories and familial remembrance
By focusing on the different genres of POW life-writing, I explore how specific narrative components shape the representation of captivity Further, I establish that literature, and literacy, were key to maintaining a POW’s imaginative freedom even when he was physically confined My examination of the linguistic choices made by former POWs finds that the world of the camp was embedded into their words, and that a camp discourse developed as a means of forging bonds between men, and resisting oppression This leads me to consider the physicality of incarceration – what I term the 'body biography' of the POW – and its impact on post-war responses to Far Eastern captivity I conclude by reflecting on the transgenerational transmission of POW history (its postmemory), and question whether a new role is emerging for the third generation in exploring the affective impact of postmemory itself

Interpreting memories of a forgotten army: prisoner of war narratives from the Sumatra Railway, May 1944 – August 1945

The Dual Alliance and the outbreak of war

List of Contributors Chapter 1. 'Old Europe' and the Legacy of Two World Wars Lothar Kettenacker and Torsten Riotte Chapter 2. Prevention or Regulation of War? The Hague Peace Conferences as a limited Tool for Reforming the international System before 1914 Jost Dulffer Chapter 3. 'The Spirit of 1914': A Critical Examination of War Enthusiasm in German Society Gerhard Hirschfeld Chapter 4. Construction and Deconstruction of the Idea of French 'War Enthusiasm' in 1914 Nicolas Beaupre Chapter 5. The Mood in Britain 1914 Hartmut von Pogge Strandmann Chapter 6. The First World War in the History of the Weimar Republic Gerd Krumreich Chapter 7. Fascism and Legacy of the Great War Angelo Ventrone Chapter 8. The French Desire for Peace and Security in the 1920's Jean-Claude Allain Chapter 9. Britain in the Wake in the Great War Jay Winter Chapter 10. Germany: War without Public Backing Hans Mommsen Chapter 11. The French Entry into the War in September 1939: Between Reluctans and Resignation Barbara Lambauer Chapter 12. Great Britain: Declaring War as a Matter of Honour Lothar Kettenacker Chapter 13. Disillusionment, Pragmatism, Indifference: German Society after the 'Catastrophe' Clemens Vollnhals Chapter 14. The French after 1945. Difficulties and Disappointments of an Immediate Post-War Period Fabrice Grenard Chapter 15. Great Britain: Remembering a Just War (1945-1950) Toby Haggith Chapter 16. Italy after 1945: War and Peace. Defeat and Liberation Gustavo Corni Bibliography Index

Torsten Riotte

Papers

The legacies of two world wars : European societies in the twentieth century