Arts and Humanities Commons^™

From Schmelt Camp To “Little Auschwitz”: Blechhammer’S Role In The Holocaust, Susanne Barth

Purdue University Press Books

From Schmelt Camp to “Little Auschwitz”: Blechhammer’s Role in the Holocaust is the first in-depth study of the second largest Auschwitz subcamp, Blechhammer (Blachownia Śląska), and its lesser known yet significant prehistory as a so-called Schmelt camp, a forced labor camp for Jews operating outside the concentration camp system. Drawing on previously untapped archival documents and a wide array of survivor testimonies, the book provides novel findings on Blechhammer’s role in the Holocaust in Eastern Upper Silesia, a formerly Polish territory annexed to Nazi Germany in the fall of 1939, where 120,000 Jews lived.

Established in the spring of 1942 …

A Sense Of Loss: The Effect Of Prisoner Camp Conditions On German Pows’ Masculinity During The First World War, Analucia Lugo

The Purdue Historian

During the First World War, almost a million German soldiers became prisoners of war (POW) and held captive in enemy camps. The moment of capture and arrest caused these men to experience debilitating emotions, including guilt and fear. Varied conditions at POW camps bolstered these responses and often determined prisoner health and morale throughout the war. This article examines how camps in Britain, France, and Russia treated German POWs, and how German nationalism affected these soldiers' senses of masculinity and patriotism during and after the war.

"In The Footsteps Of Hercules": The Influence Of Classical Antiquity On Eighteenth-Century Militaries, Scott Madere

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project examines the pervasive influence of ancient Roman and Greek figures, historical events, literature, and military methods on the leaders and practitioners of eighteenth-century warfare. Rulers, generals, military theorists, and officers frequently consulted classical histories and literature for solutions to the common military problems of the period – tactical, operational, and strategic – showing remarkable faith in ancient military methods despite their growing dependence on gunpowder weaponry and related technologies. This dissertation examines why this was the case and concludes that classical antiquity not only maintained the credibility of its wisdom in the context of modern warfare, but also …

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, And Culture Across Millennia, Kerstin Droß-Krüpe, Louise Quillien, Kalliope Sarri

Zea E-Books Collection

Research from COST Action “CA 19131 – EuroWeb”

These essays on various aspects of textile research encompass a wide chronological perspective and vast geographical area, enriching traditional disciplines with innovative methodologies such as isotopic tracing of provenance, textile analysis, protein analysis, digital motion capture, and exploration of textile expressions in texts and folklore. All essays in this volume have been written by international teams of scholars from the participating countries. The anthology serves as a comprehensive and innovative resource, consolidating the research outcomes and insights gained from the interdisciplinary exploration of textiles in European history within the framework of EuroWeb. …

Frontmatter For Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, And Culture Across Millennia, Kerstin Droß-Krüpe, Louise Quillien, Kalliope Sarri

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

Title and copyright pages, Acknowledgments, Contents, Prefaces.

We believe this volume has the potential to contribute to the advancement of European scientific excellence and competitiveness, fostering a deeper understanding of the cultural, technological, and societal significance of textiles and clothing in shaping European identity and heritage through the millenia. We hope that the anthology will find a wide and interested readership, and that it will inspire many new research projects in the field of textile history.

The United States And The Need For An Improved Global Citizenship In The Twenty-First Century: How History Shaped Our Identity As A Nation, Karin Mika

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article describes how accidents of geography and history enabled the United States to become the global power that it has become. It examines how the extended warring in Europe during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth century allowed the United States to develop as a country without the repeated necessity of continually rebuilding, as was happening in Europe. The Article explores how the isolation of the United States enabled it to develop continuity in its initially experimental political system—a continuity that was never available to Europe. These factors enabled the United States to be in the position of being able to …

Knocking On Europe's Door: A Comprehensive Analysis Of The European Response To The 2015 Refugee Crisis And The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis, Jacob J. Mckim

Global Studies Senior Capstone

Europe is, and has long been at the center of refugee reception for many areas of the world due to its geographical position and general security. However, the European response to refugees has varied drastically in different situations. This paper examines the European response to both the 2015 Refugee Crisis and the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis. The focus being on what factors, whether political, racial, or religious, has led for some individuals to be received more favorably in Europe than others. Through examining this, the conditions for successful and long-lasting refugee reception hopefully be more clearly seen.

A Path To Achieve European Energy Security, Nicholas Wolf

Student Theses 2015-Present

The apparatus of Europe’s energy security has collapsed. The Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, hydrocarbon market turmoil, and the ever-growing threat of climate change has thrust the continent into crisis. As the risks of severe recession, acute energy shortages, and climatic disasters have begun to materialize, the member states of the European Union (EU) have been left scrambling to secure novel energy supplies. In the short-term, these developments pose severe risks to the EU and its member states. Yet, opportunity often presents itself in the midst of hardship, and the European Energy Crisis of 2022 is no different. This essay …

Money Moves: An Analysis Of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment In Europe, Susan Soh

Honors Theses

In recent years, China has begun engaging in outward foreign direct investment (FDI). There is a significant amount of literature dedicated to understanding China’s FDI in developing nations. However, very little research has been conducted over Chinese FDI in advanced economies. As a result of this gap in existing literature, the question arises, what explains Chinese FDI in Europe?

As FDI is a transaction to which both the donor and recipient countries must agree, this thesis has a dual focus. One chapter of the thesis analyzes the effects of and motivations for Chinese FDI on European nations. In this chapter, …

The Mongol “Other” And The Limits Of Europe’S Christian Self-Perception, Kevin Petersen

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

In a 1250 C.E. letter to Pope Innocent IV regarding a possible Mongol invasion, King Bela IV of Hungary vividly illustrates the self-perception of Europe as a Christian civilization through a conflation of Europe and Christendom. However, the limits of this civilizational self-perception are revealed through an analysis of an earlier series of letters between the chief of the Mongols Guyuk Khan and Pope Innocent IV.

Psychoactive Revolution And Transnational Networks, Menglu Gao

English and Literary Arts: Faculty Scholarship

The connection and clash between Asia and the Anglophone world were, in part, facilitated by what David T. Courtwright calls the “psychoactive revolution,” a process in which hunger, the need for food, was replaced by desire and addiction in the modern world. Networks between these regions deepened and proliferated as stimulants and sedatives such as tea, opium, and coffee became increasingly accessible and popular around the globe.

Transimperial Networks: East Asia And The ‘Victorian’ World: Introduction, Sophia Hsu, Menglu Gao, Waiyee Loh, Hyungji Park, Jessica R. Valdez, Rae X. Yan

English and Literary Arts: Faculty Scholarship

Traditionally, East Asia has been on the margins of Victorian Studies, eclipsed by sites of formal imperialism such as South Asia. However, the region was deeply intertwined with the “Victorian” world through transimperial networks of trade, migration, and geopolitical competition. Rather than locating East Asia at the margins, this cluster of lesson plans explores the figurative and historical centrality of East Asia to Victorian Studies.

Murder And Massacre In Seventeenth Century England, Andrew Quesenberry

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Religion was almost always involved in murder and massacre during seventeenth century England, if not in its content, then at least in its interpretation. This work will support this assertion by examining multiple case studies of murder in seventeenth century England, which will simultaneously give the reader a more complete picture of the nature of homicide during the period. Specifically, the case studies consist of both homicides and infanticides, and explore the relation of the Devil to violent crime in seventeenth century England.

Modern Europe, Barbara Syrrakos

Open Educational Resources

Modern Europe Syllabus in History

A Comparative Analysis Of Political Climates In Lithuania, Poland, And Ireland In The Early 1900s Related To Us Immigration And Media Culture, Annelise Silkaitis

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the process and experience of Lithuanian, Irish, and Polish immigrants during the late 1800s and early 1900s, as well as the role of media, specifically newspapers and books, in creating the representation and portrayal of these immigrant groups. These different ethnic groups left Europe for a variety of reasons, mainly economic and political, and sought a better life in the United States. Upon arrival, each group struggled with the Americanization process, learning English, building connections, and forming a new society. Although some immigrant groups formed stronger networks and communities upon arrival, each group faced poverty and discrimination. …

The Importance Of Morocco In The Spanish Civil War, Jarod E. Ramirez

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This paper addresses the pivotal yet forgotten role that Morocco played in the Spanish Civil War. Other histories and analyses of the Civil War limit discussion to the Spanish side of the conflict without recognizing the colonialist holdings that Spain had and the ways that those lands and people impacted the war. This leads to an incomplete history that denies the Civil War its full historical context and the foundational context for the Nationalist side of the conflict. This paper analyzes the war as well as the ideological creations behind Spanish Fascism and the ways in which Morocco was tied …

A Civil Society: The Public Space Of Freemason Women In France, 1744–1944, James Smith Allen

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

A Civil Society explores the struggle to initiate women as full participants in the masonic brotherhood that shared in the rise of France’s civil society and its “civic morality” on behalf of women’s rights. As a vital component of the third sector during France’s modernization, freemasonry empowered women in complex social networks, contributing to a more liberal republic, a more open society, and a more engaged public culture.

James Smith Allen shows that although women initially met with stiff resistance, their induction into the brotherhood was a significant step in the development of French civil society, including the promotion of …

Public Sentiment Toward Migration In A Globalizing World: The Case Of Spain And Its Distinctive Demeanor Toward Its Immigrants, Caroline Thompson

Honors Theses

This thesis discusses Spain's overall public opinion around immigration, exploring factors that contribute to the development of a country's attitude toward its immigrants. Spain exemplifies a particularly distinctive attitude in relation to its European Mediterranean counterparts, displaying an increased receptiveness toward its immigrant population. I examine economic factors, studying whether or not perceived economic competition can lead to significantly increased negativity toward immigrants. However, I find that, specifically regarding the Spanish case, economic competition does not determine the country's attitude toward immigration. Therefore, I focus on this element of authoritarian legacy and its contribution to public opinion around immigration. Following …

The Common Man And The Rise Of The Anabaptist Kingdom Of Munster, 1534-1535, Andrew Roebuck

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This essay studies the causes of the rise of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster, with special emphasis on the actions and agency of the common people. The analysis begins with the two main primary sources, Hermann von Kerssenbrock and Henry Gresbeck, whose accounts provide firsthand knowledge of how events in Munster led to the Anabaptist takeover. Care is taken to read beyond some of the biases and assumptions made by those authors to gain the clearest insight for what really happened.

The essay looks at Anabaptism itself, including what it meant to be Anabaptist from the perspectives of participants and …

Early Modern Manuscript Collection, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

This collection consists of Italian and French language administrative documents and letters spanning from 1633 to 1811 on a variety of subjects.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

The Long Arm Of Medicine: Creation Of The Turkish Medical Infrastructure, Legitimacy, Governmentality, And The Rockefeller Foundation, Eric Bossert

Honors Theses

During the early Turkish Republic, a goal of the new government was to set up systems that would help develop the country. One of these systems was their medical infrastructure which included medical education, public health, and hospitals. Ever suspicious of foreign investment since the events leading to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish government decided to employ the help of the American aid organization, the Rockefeller Foundation because of their seeming lack of imperialistic goals. Turkish government and the Rockefeller Foundation sought to further their aims through cooperation. The Turkish government sought to gain legitimacy for its …

Coming And Going: Identity, Institutions, And The United Kingdom's Resistance To The European Union, Lauren Bruning

Honors Theses

In 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, a decision widely known as ‘Brexit’. This analysis compares two competing theories – institution and identity – to explain why. Four historical events, chronologically ordered from 1945 to 2016, are examined with both identity and institution analysis to explain British integration and its subsequent withdrawal from the European Union. Through this analysis, one can conclude the United Kingdom’s decision to withdraw in 2016 stemmed from a variety of reasons, but each of these can be explained by identity (a sense of nationalism), or institution (EU relationships).

Nationalism around …

A History Of Yugoslavia, Marie-Janine Calic

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Why did Yugoslavia fall apart? Was its violent demise inevitable? Did its population simply fall victim to the lure of nationalism? How did this multinational state survive for so long, and where do we situate the short life of Yugoslavia in the long history of Europe in the twentieth century? A History of Yugoslavia provides a concise, accessible, comprehensive synthesis of the political, cultural, social, and economic life of Yugoslavia—from its nineteenth-century South Slavic origins to the bloody demise of the multinational state of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Calic takes a fresh and innovative look at the colorful, multifaceted, and …

European Jazz: A Comparative Investigation Into The Reception And Impact Of Jazz In Interwar Paris And The Weimar Republic, Douglas A. Kowalewski

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Both Paris and the Weimar Republic were fascinated with American jazz in the interwar period. Because of jazz's connection to African American culture, this fascination is linked with the themes of identity and race relations. This work will demonstrate that interwar Parisians were not always receptive of African Americans that played jazz, and that the citizens of the Weimar Republic were more aware of and interested in the African American culture that permeated jazz in the 1920s and 30s.

Ms-220: Homer W. Schweppe Papers, Abigail E. Metheny

All Finding Aids

This collection is made up of a vast variety of materials pertaining to Homer William Schweppe’s experiences during World War II. Schweppe compiled various items during his initial military service in the United States, such as his Seattle Port Officer I.D. badge and his uniform patches. There are also items from his time at Camp Ritchie, including his glossary of “Nazi Deutsch” terms and a book on the Order of Battle of the German Army, to which he contributed. Schweppe also included items he collected while overseas, such as a German Map of the D-Day Invasion area, a welcome pamphlet …

The Mark Of The Devil : Medical Proof In Witchcraft Trials., Sarah Dunn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the use of physical evidence to prove the identity of witches in witchcraft trials from approximately 1300 to 1650 in Western Europe. Throughout this period, trial records for accused witches and witchcraft texts include references to Devil marks. According to contemporary texts, these were physical marks on witches, which were visible to the human eye. Doctors and midwives verified these marks upon examination of the accused witch’s body. In this instance, medical proof in the courtroom verified supernatural powers. This thesis will analyze the intersection between medical and religious beliefs in the fourteenth through seventeenth centuries to …

Introduction To Richard Nixon And Europe : The Reshaping Of The Postwar Atlantic World, Luke A. Nichter

Presidential Studies Faculty Books and Book Chapters

The U.S.-European relationship remains the closest and most important alliance in the world. Since 1945, successive American presidents each put their own touches on transatlantic relations, but the literature has reached only into the presidency of Lyndon Johnson (1963-9). This first study of transatlantic relations during the era of Richard Nixon shows a complex, turbulent period during which the postwar period came to an end, and the modern era came to be on both sides of the Atlantic in terms of political, economic, and military relations.

Leibniz On China And Christianity: The Reformation Of Religion And European Ethics Through Converting China To Christianity, Ela Megan Kaplan

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Decline Of Christianity In Modern Europe, David C. Taylor Jr

David C Taylor Jr

Europe was once considered the epicenter of the Christian religion. For centuries Christianity was not only the main religion of Europe it was also a main political power. The Roman Catholic church, and in turn the Christian faith, enjoyed great power at various times throughout history in the European countries and influenced the culture in many ways. However, today there has been a moral and spiritual decline in Europe of staggering numbers. This short essay will explore possible reasons for Christianity’s decline in Europe in the last century and whether or not there is a possibility that the church could …

A Concise History Of Modern Europe: Liberty, Equality, Solidarity, David Mason

David S. Mason