European History Commons^™

Front Matter

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

A Likely Story: The Differing Narratives Between The Anglican And Catholic Presentation Of The Reformation, Cecilia Broxon

Scholars Week

The story of the Anglican reformation is often simplified to the result of King Henry VIII's desire for a divorce; however, this paper argues that it was a complex and prolonged process marked by differing Anglican and Catholic narratives. By exploring primary sources, including letters and interviews, as well as secondary analyses, this paper discusses misconceptions surrounding the Reformation, such as its speed and primary motivations. It further examines the formation of early Anglican doctrine and the contrasting presentations of the Reformation, revealing instances of resistance, the destruction of Catholic art, and the mistreatment of churches, which are frequently downplayed …

The Grand Narratives: The Rise And Fall Of Universal Philosophical Systems, Gavin S. Litchford

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis reviews the development of narrative and systematic methods of argumentative legitimation in the Western tradition of philosophy from its conception until the present day. Utilizing both primary sources from central figures in key movements within this development process and supplementary secondary sources, this analysis notes which systems were used as appeals to higher authority and the trends in the adoption and transformation of new models. It is demonstrated that the Enlightenment era punctuated a progression begun in the premodern era from simple, cultural narratives to individualized, subjective, and self-perpetuating Grand Narrative systems, and that it generated the preconditions …

Deconstructing The Afd: An Analysis Of The German Right-Wing Populist Political Party, The Alternative For Germany (Vchc Poster), Elizabeth A. Breckenridge

Research and Creativity Symposium

The Alternativ für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) (AfD) is a far-right populist party that has quickly grown in power within the past decade, particularly in Eastern German states, due to its emphasis on nationalization, populist rhetoric, and attraction to voters’ fears about immigration and cultural change. The AfD has managed to mobilize strong voting support within five years, gaining parliamentary seats in the Bundestag (Federal Parliament) in 2017, and is now considered the main opposition party to the established parties. The AfD is the first right-wing party to gain significant voting attention since 1945, capitalizing on the rise of right-wing …

Review Of: "Bloody Orkney? A Comparison Of The Perceptions Held By Sailors And The Reality Of Leisure And Recreational Opportunities At Scapa Flow During The First World War”, Mary-Beth Otten

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

This review examines Ian Watson’s article, "Bloody Orkney? A comparison of the perceptions held by sailors and the reality of leisure and recreational opportunities at Scapa Flow during the First World War," published in The Mariner’s Mirror. Watson investigates the contrasting views of sailors stationed at Scapa Flow, a newly established naval base in the Orkney Islands, which, despite its strategic importance, was often seen as dull due to a lack of typical amenities. Through a rich array of primary sources, including letters and audio recordings, alongside secondary research, Watson describes how the Navy developed recreational activities to boost …

Faith And Freedom: The Role Of Religion In The Bishops' Wars, Christopher S. Jordan

LSU Master's Theses

Despite their overall importance to British history, the Bishops’ Wars (1639-1640) remain relatively obscure conflicts. They are more often studied and recognized in larger narratives, such as the English Civil War or the Covenanting movement in Scotland. Regardless, these wars perhaps deserve more attention in themselves to recognize their significance in their own time. While most historians and commentators on this war have noted the many political aspects and undertones of this conflict, which there are many, this thesis will examine the religious aspects and undertones and attempt to argue that religion that had the largest role in the start, …

A Hidden Life On The Way Of The Cross: Terrence Malick And The Cultivation Of Character, William S. Skiles

Journal of Religion & Film

Terrence Malick’s film A Hidden Life depicts the resistance of the Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter against the Nazi regime and its demands that he serve Nazi war aims and swear an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Unlike other resistance films set in Nazi Germany or the Greater German Reich, which depict resistors conspiring to overthrow the regime or actively working toward its downfall, A Hidden Life presents a man’s simple and emphatic “No” to the Nazi regime and its ideology. The film does not simply show how Jägerstätter said “No,” but reveals how he was able to say “No” …

Thibaudeau’S Paradox: A Revolutionary's Complicity In Napoleon’S Empire, Krystal C. Tan

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

This essay explores Antoine-Claire Thibaudeau, a revolutionary who opposed Napoleon's autocratic ambitions yet actively contributed to his empire. Through Thibaudeau's memoirs and other sources, it argues that his ideological resistance gave way to reluctant collaboration, driven by the futility of opposition. His story reveals the complexities of dissent and compliance within Napoleon’s rule, challenging the notion of uniform elite support for the empire.

Uncovering Artemisia: Turning Rage Into Fame, Sophie Longo

Undergraduate Theses in Art History

During the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries in Italy - more commonly known as the Italian Renaissance and early Baroque periods - masters like Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio made a name for themselves and secured legacies through the widespread popularity and study of their masterpieces. As time progressed, however, more artworks have been found, and more histories, especially by women Baroque artists, have been explored. With the rise of women’s rights movements and social justice campaigns from the mid-20th century on, stories of female artists and figures have further emerged from the woodwork and hold greater precedence in …

Res Historica, Volume 4, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2025 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Samuel Sanders, and Julia Ackerman. The cover art for this volume is an open access image.

Otmar On Trial: Walahfrid Strabo’S Defensio Otmari, Albrecht Diem

History - All Scholarship

Diem, Albrecht.Otmar on Trial. Walahfrid Strabo’s Defensio Otmari." In Otmars Welten. St. Gallen und das europäische Mönchtum vom 7. bis zum 9. Jahrhundert, edited by Sebastian Scholz, Sabrina Vogt, and Gordon Blennemann, 145-173. Cologne: Böhlau, 2025. https://doi.org/10.7788/9783412532284.145. This chapter reevaluates Walahfrid Strabo’s Vita of Otmar (d. 759), the founder of the Monastery of St. Gallen, focusing on its description of the trial that led to Otmar’s deposition and imprisonment. It argues that Walahfrid’s aim was not primarily to produce a text that established the cult of a foundation saint but rather a “Defensio Otmari” that engaged with the accusations of …

Attitudes Towards Political Censorship In Eastern And Western Germany, Brandon Pionk

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Recently there has been a lot of coverage on political censorship in Germany. Censorship has an important role in Germany due to WWII. In Germany support for freedom of the press has been declining in recent years. Right leaning political parties are emerging which has caused opposition parties to try and ban them. I analyze data in this study from the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (GESIS). I analyze different political culture variables in western and eastern Germany for their impact on views on censorship. I incorporate multiple variables including education, gender, age, political affiliation, and living location. Early …

“Gli Scheletri Della Dittatura”: Fascist Art, Architecture, And Monuments In Modern Italy, John "Jack" Moore

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

When Italy reconstituted itself as a republic in 1948, it inherited the art, architecture, and monuments that were constructed under Fascism. Many of these artifacts contained inherent Fascist imagery and were made to exalt the regime, but Italy’s postwar government – known as the First Republic – neglected to systematically confront them. This mirrored the First Republic’s approach to shaping Italy’s memory of Fascism, as the government established an anti-fascist narrative without addressing the country’s support for the regime. During the 1980s, notions of anti-fascism began to fall alongside the political power structure upholding them. This coincided with the rise …

Book Review: Eyewitness To Wehrmacht Atrocities On The Eastern Front: A German Soldier’S Memoir Of War And Captivity, Timothy Heck

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Frenemies? Fascists And Conservatives In Interwar Britain, Dylan R. Cameron

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the attitudes, beliefs, and arguments of British Conservatives (Tories) in discussions about British fascism through the lens of two mainstream Conservative newspapers, The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, focused primarily on the buildup and aftermath of the infamous Olympia rally in June 1934. This thesis identifies two key factions within the conservative movement which arose in reaction to the rise of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (BUF): (1) the staunchly anti-fascist “mainline Tories” who detested the BUF’s “foreign” character, propensity for violence, and antithesis to traditional liberal democratic principles, and (2) the fascist-sympathizing “reactionary Tories” …

Hieronymus Bosch’S Dismantled Triptych As A Moralizing Guide For Reforming The Catholic Church, Heather Thurston

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This thesis expands on the current interpretation of a dismantled triptych by the Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, which includes four extant panels: Ship of Fools, Allegory of Intemperance, Death and the Miser, and The Wayfarer. Current scholarship claims that the paintings warn viewers against various sins. This thesis argues that the triptych was specifically directed toward the Catholic Church and functions as a commentary on the potential consequences of their sins. This new reading will become clear by examining and connecting its unorthodox iconography to the tumultuous religious climate at the turn of the sixteenth century …

Lutsk-Zhytomyr Roman Catholic Diocese During The First World War: Charitable And Socio-Political Activities, Olga Bilobrovets, Oleh Sokolovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The activities of the Roman Catholic Church were an important factor in preserving and reviving the national identity of the Polish minority in Volyn under the conditions of the Russification and discriminatory policies of the Russian autocracy during the First World War. The Catholic clergy actively worked to aid the Polish population and refugees affected by the war. During the First World War, the Roman Catholic clergy of the Lutsk-Zhytomyr diocese, together with the majority of the Polish population in Ukraine, provided significant aid to war victims and refugees from the Kingdom of Poland and Galicia. Catholic churches collected funds …

From The Monarchy To The Holocaust: The Zahler Family Of Košice/Kassa, Veronika Szeghy-Gayer

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The study aims to map the life and carrier trajectory of a Jewish attorney from the city of Košice between the 19^th century and the immediate post-WWII years. Based on archival documents and materials from the Zahler family archives documents, the different historical contexts in which the Zahlers lived are investigated including the Dual Monarchy, the first Czechoslovak Republic, the wartime Hungarian Kingdom and post-WWII Czechoslovakia. It aims to answer the following questions: How did the Jewish elite from this region of East Central Europe experience the shifting regimes? How did they relate to the minority policy of interwar …

Sagallo : Russia’S Forgotten African Colony And Its Modern Implications, Kadee Swanson

Honors Council of the Illinois Region Spring Symposium

Imperial Russia is infamous for its rapid and unrelenting colonization efforts in central Asia and Western Europe. However, an oft-overlooked aspect of the Russian Empire’s colonial aspirations was its interest in establishing overseas colonial holdings in North America and Africa. One such holding was that of the colony of Sagallo, or New Moscow, in modern-day Djibouti, established in 1889 during an ill-fated mission led by notorious Cossack Nikolai Ivanovich Ashinov and a group of accompanying Russian Orthodox pilgrims. The mission was religious in nature and held the primary goal of establishing both an ecclesiastical and economic connection with the Orthodox …

Under The Veil: Women's Head Coverings In Tudor England, Savannah Toth

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis seeks to discover and analyze the agency and meaning of the role of women’s head coverings and veils within the context of Tudor Christianity, society, and the fashion world of English culture. By observing the usage of the veil through various lenses, this thesis examines the nuance of the veil as an object and actor in Tudor society that enables yet prohibits personal choice for women. This research uses various sources such as Tudor paintings and portraits, surviving pieces of garments, and written accounts to paint a picture of the impact and significance the veil had in every …

Exchange Of Uoc-Mp Priests For Prisoners Of War In The Context Of National Security And Religious Relations, Liudmyla Shtanko, Igor Makarenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The exchange of UOC-MP priests for prisoners of war is a complex and multifaceted issue encompassing political, humanitarian, and religious dimensions, which have become particularly relevant in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. On the one hand, the exchange of priests can be viewed as a humanitarian act aimed at liberating captured soldiers; on the other hand, it serves as a political maneuver that provokes conflicting sentiments among citizens and religious communities. Considering the situation with prisoners of war, Ukraine sought effective methods to secure the return of its citizens, including through the mechanism of exchanging UOC-MP priests. Although …

Jewish Emigration And Satire In The Soviet Union (Ca. 1970), Jack I. Reppen

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

The Dymshits-Kuznetsov affair provides an important case study of the use of satire in Soviet media, primarily through easily understood cartoons like the ones seen in Krokodil. These satirical cartoons exploit Jews for alleged scapegoatism, anti-Sovietism, and other characteristics relating to internal problems. In this paper, the author explores the idea that when disinformation disguises itself as satire, it subverts the revolutionary and critical components that are traditionally attributed to the genre of satire.

The Authority Of Clothes: Queen Elizabeth I And Her Succession Crisis Of 1562/63, Kalen R. Melton

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis looks at the silent messaging associated with Queen Elizabeth I's clothing during her early reign. The goal of this thesis is to look at outfits Elizabeth could have worn and see what sort of messages her contemporaries in Parliament might haven taken from them. I specifically looked at Elizabeth's Parliamentary meeting from 1562/63. I did so because this meeting was early in her reign, her legitimacy was being questioned on two fronts, and she had just gotten over smallpox. Elizabeth was not known yet for her extravagant outfits, but she would have needed to have had a powerful …

“These Are Not Ordinary Criminals!” The First War Crimes Trial At The People's Tribunal And Its Implications In Post-Holocaust Romania, Stefan Cristian Ionescu

History Faculty Articles and Research

This article examines the neglected war crimes trials of Holocaust perpetrators that took place at the People's Tribunal in early postwar Romania, focusing especially on the first trial (the “Macici group”). The article shows that in spite of the political interferences by the new pro-communist regime and the USSR, the Macici group trial in particular, and the first war crimes trials in general, were not Stalinist show trials or fake trials and they sentenced real war criminals and accurately captured Romania's participation in the Holocaust. Unlike the Antonescu group trial – that indicted the former pro-Nazi dictator and his closest …

Introducing The New Sahs President & Vice President, Thomas Quinn Marabello

Swiss American Historical Society Review

It is an honor to serve as the new President of the Swiss American Historical Society, an organization that I have come come to truly enjoy being associated with.

Swiss Good Offices In Afghanistan, 1979-1992, Dr. Liliane Stadler

Swiss American Historical Society Review

In February 2024, I published my first monograph on Switzerland’s good offices in Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion of 1979. In October 2024, I presented my book at Johns Hopkins University in Washington D.C., where I currently hold a two-year postdoctoral position at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs. I would like to thank the Swiss American Historical Society (SAHS) for reprinting my remarks in the SAHS Review, as well as Ambassador Dr. Ralf Heckner and Vincent Barras from the Swiss Embassy for joining us at Johns Hopkins for the event.

Leo Schelbert Award

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The Leo Schelbert Award is given to the best submitted research paper and is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. The topic can be anything that relates to the mission of the Swiss American Historical Society (SAHS), which focuses on increasing an understanding of Swiss and/or Swiss-American history.

Centennial Committee

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The Centennial Committee of the Swiss American Historical Society is organizing to plan and consider ideas for celebrating our milestone 100th anniversary which will occur in the year 2027. In addition to a trip to Switzerland and holding our annual meeting in Chicago where the Society was founded, we also are interested in potentially doing an exhibit at the Embassy of Switzerland and/or the Swiss Center of North America, doing an oral history project, finding donors to contribute to the Leo Schelbert Award, creating merchandise, potentially creating a video, and publishing a commemorative book on the history of the Society. …

2024 Reports, Thomas Quinn Marabello, Barbara Müller, Ernie Thurston, Richard Hacken

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Business Meeting Report—September 28, 2024

President’s Report for 2024

President’s Report for 2024 for The Friends of the Swiss American Historical Society

Annual Financial Report of the SAHS

SAHS Membership Report

Publications Report

SAHS Website Report 2024

Front Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.