European History Commons^™

An Insight Into The “Berglihütte” In 1908: Grindelwald Mountain Guides – Frozen For The Star Photographer, Karl Horat

Swiss American Historical Society Review

We are in 1908, inside the “Berglihütte”, which had been built by the Grindelwald section of the Swiss Alpine Club almost forty years earlier. Since then, it has been perched like an eagle’s nest on a rocky ridge in the middle of the sea of ice at an altitude of around 3,300 meters.

From The Ambassador’S Desk, C. Naseer Ahmad

Swiss American Historical Society Review

An ambassador is an official representative appointed by a country’s government to manage diplomatic relations and promote its interests in a foreign nation or international organization. This role is as vital as it is diverse, involving a wide array of responsibilities that go beyond traditional diplomacy. Ambassadors must deftly juggle numerous tasks, all essential to the development and maintenance of peaceful international relationships. They serve not only as representatives of their nation’s government but also as stewards of its interests, charged with boosting economic, cultural, and political ties with their host country.

Front Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Treasures Of God: The Fur Trade As A Motivating Factor Of The Swedish Crusades, Aidan R. Mcdonald

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Fur trade was one of Medieval Europe’s most profitable industries. The Republic of Novgorod in the north of Russia was one of this industry's chief suppliers. Swedish expansion into Finland increasingly brought it into competition with Novgorod who had interests in the Karelians tribe of the region. The Swedes would justify their actions as a series of crusades. However, their actions and words often betrayed their true intentions, repeatedly seeking to seize control of Novgorodian trade as well as the Novgorodian fur tribute. Significant studies have been made of both the Russian fur trade and the Swedish expansion eastwards, …

A Symbol For The Masses: Sergei Chakhotin And The Modern Crisis Of Propaganda, Benjamin J. Diehl

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is an intellectual biography of Sergei Chakhotin, a Russian biologist whose most famous work, The Rape of the Masses (1939), represented an insightful, pioneering analysis of modern propaganda as it arose during Europe’s “Age of Catastrophe” (1914-1945). In this work and others, Chakhotin used the psychological theories of Ivan Pavlov to develop a system of thought that emphasized the scientific possibilities and political inevitability of mass conditioning through propaganda. In addition to Pavlov’s theory, Chakhotin also used other intellectual frameworks, such as Taylorism and microbiology, to buttress his own firsthand experience during World War I, the Russian Revolution, …

Full Issue

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Meet The New Additions To The Sahs Editorial Board

Swiss American Historical Society Review

With an increase in article submissions and book proposals, the Editorial Board is happy to add two new members to our ranks. Jocelyn Moore and Jonah Schaller have already been very helpful proofreading and making suggestions to articles that we receive. They join Tom Marabello, Marianne Derron, Richard Hacken, Jurg Siegenthaler and Rob Sherwood as additions to the dedicated volunteer SAHS Editorial Board.

The Friends Of The Swiss American Historical Society Annual Outing And General Meeting In The Historic Château D’Hauteville, Canton Vaud, St. Légier, Barbara Miller

Swiss American Historical Society Review

In cooperation and with the generous help of Yvon Bordet and Pepperdine University Swiss Campus, this year’s annual outing will take place on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, starting in Ouchy Lausanne at 11:55 and then traveling to Vevey by boat. We will meet at the boat harbor in Ouchy Lausanne at 11:40 AM. To get there you take either a bus or the metro across the street from Lausanne station to go to Ouchy Olympique.

Memorial Day – May 23, 2024: Wreath Laying Ceremony In Münsingen, Canton Bern, Switzerland, Barbara Müller

Swiss American Historical Society Review

It was a rather cold rainy day in May when the U.S. Embassy celebrated Memorial Day services in a village in Bern-Mittelland. Why here in this village of Münsingen?

I received the invitation to attend the service, and with the cold rainy day my thoughts turned from World War II and the many victims to another war much too close for comfort that of Ukraine. I seemed not to be the only one with these thoughts, as after the Bugle call when the Deputy Chief of Mission Bradford J. Bell just before his speech mentioned the ongoing war in Ukraine …

Proposed Changes To Discuss & Vote On At The 2025 Sahs Annual Meeting

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Members will have an opportunity to discuss and vote on the two following items at the annual general meeting in New York City on October 4, 2025. If you are unable to attend in person or virtually, and have any questions or comments, please send an email to: [email protected].

B17 Aircraft, Known As “Denny Boy”, Yvon Bordet

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The B17 “Denny Boy” took off from the British base at Thurleigh (England) on the night of Saturday, July 15 to Sunday, July 16, 1944. Objective: To bomb the BMW factories in Munich (Germany).

The aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire near its target, then again on the return to Mulhouse. Smoke filled the cockpit, an engine failed and the plane lost altitude. The captain decided to attempt a landing in neutral Switzerland. But it was in a small field, near a chapel, that he miraculously managed to land the bomber, in the commune of Féternes... in France, just a …

Swiss American Historical Society Annual General Meeting: October 3–4, 2025, New York City

Swiss American Historical Society Review

We are pleased to offer members a tour of the United Nations Headquarters building on the afternoon of Friday, October 3rd. The building is closed to visitors that day, but thanks to the staff at the Swiss Consulate, they have arranged a guided tour for us at 4:00 PM! If you want to do the tour, there is a question on the required registration Google Form that is linked on the next page (and it has also been sent by email to all members). The cost is $20.00 per person and we can take a maximum of 20 people on …

The Finest Orientalism: "The Orient" And Empire In 19th Century Romantic Poetry, Nathan D. Banfield

Graduate Masters Theses

This project seeks to interrogate the way that nineteenth-century Romantic authors incorporated tropes and depictions of the Near East in their poetry, and the relationship that their use of these tropes has to furthering the British Empire’s imperial aims. Drawing from the theory of “Orientalism” articulated by Edward Said, and his theoretical underpinnings in Michel Foucault’s theory of discourse analysis, I consider four major Romantic poets whose works articulate different versions of “The Orient” as a discursive entity. Said postulates that the “The Orient,” rather than being an inaccurate depiction of an existing geopolitical region, is a fabrication which is …

The Unicorn And Christ – Metamorphosis And Symbology, Luis Mendonça De Carvalho, Francisca Maria Fernandes, Maria Fátima Nunes, Ana Maria Costa, Paula Nozes, Ana Paula Figueira

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The unicorn is a legendary chimaera that, for centuries, has been present in the mindset of Euro-Mediterranean cultures. Although its morphological description changed, tradition identifies it as an animal like a horse, albeit smaller and with a spiralling horn on its head pointing forward. The unicorn has been known since Antiquity, with references by authors such as Ctesias and Pliny. However, its relevance for medieval Europeans began with the Biblical references to this animal in several Old Testament verses. These verses gave legitimacy to the unicorn, and it was accepted as a tangible animal. During the Middle Ages and early …

The Cultural Politics Of Women's Equality In Victorian England: The Cases Of Caroline Norton, Annie Besant, And Clementina Black, Jaycie Weeks

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis explores the lives of three Victorian women – Caroline Norton, Annie Besant, and Clementina Black – and their campaigns to improve the status of women in the Victorian Era. Each engaged in the condition of women debate writing in distinctive genres- letter writing, social and political commentary and fiction, respectively. In an era of rising literacy, these middle and upper-class women used the power of the pen to shape how Victorians understood the Woman Question. The first chapter shares Norton’s fight to challenge principles of coverture. Using her writing to reach her high connections, she set the stage …

Ritual And Revolution: Rethinking Roman Women’S Influence On Religion, Katlin Smith

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis challenges the long-standing portrayal of Roman women as passive figures. Focusing on the mid-to-late Roman Republic and early Empire (264 B.C.E.–180 C.E.), it argues that women were active participants in Roman society, particularly through their engagement in religious life. Drawing on the theory of “lived religion,” this study highlights how religion offered Roman women opportunity to interact with both domestic and public spheres in socially acceptable means. Religion allowed women to exercise influence, power, and autonomy otherwise denied to them in political or legal contexts. Through a combination of textual analysis and material evidence, such as inscriptions and …

The Forgotten Hero: Greece During World War Ii, Liana S. Giannopoulos

Student Scholarship

“The combatants had not felt they were participating in wider events,” once wrote the well-known military historian Sir John Keegan. Perhaps, this is why most studies of World War II, popular history and academic history alike, leave out the people of Greece. They were simply fighting for their country, not the world. They simply did not know—or did not care—about the wider war all around them. From October 28, 1940 to May 31, 1941, Greece was the only free country in continental Europe still fighting the Axis Powers. It was in Greece that the “first British soldiers [were] openly back …

“Crusades Against Bolshevism”?: International Dimensions Of The Russian Civil War In Four Countries, Maxwell R. Markwald

Student Scholarship

The Russian Civil War (1917-1922), fought between Bolshevik and anti-Bolshevik factions, was one of the most pivotal conflicts of the 20th century. It led directly to the rise of the world’s first socialist state, the Soviet Union, which for decades was at the forefront of the international communist movement and a major global power until its collapse in 1991, around 70 years after its founding. The victory of the Bolsheviks was not always a guaranteed outcome, however. In fact, to an outside observer in February of 1917, it would have appeared one of the less likely. The six months that …

The Impact Of Historical Memory: Polish-Russian Relations Since 1991, Conner J. Lipinski

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The history of global foreign relations is marked by both strengthening alliances and deteriorating ties. From a historical perspective a perfect example of this dynamic is seen in the complex and ever-evolving relationship of Poland and Russia. That is why this research thesis will be focused on the history of Polish and Russians relations in connection to the Polish response to Putin’s war in Ukraine. This research project’s look into this history will serve to answer the central question of “How has the shared history of Polish and Russian relations uniquely shaped the Pole’s response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine?” …

Death, Violence, And Condemnation: The News Media Coverage Of The 1981 Prisoners’ Hunger Strike In Northern Ireland In The United Kingdom And Ireland, Tyler Coker

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

During the Troubles, the ethno-political conflict between the majority Catholics and minority ruling Protestants in Northern Ireland that lasted from 1968 to 1998, the 1981 prisoners’ hunger strike in Belfast’s HM Prison Maze was a key turning point. The starvation death of 10 striking prisoners gained the world’s attention, as one by one Irish prisoners died in British custody. This tragedy helped push the Irish nationalist movement toward a diplomatic means of negotiation. As one of the most influential events during the conflict, the news media covered the strike extensively, shaping the narrative of the strike to largely uninformed audiences. …