Eastern European Studies Commons^™

Experiences Of Soviet Women Combatants During World War Ii, Michelle De Jesus Reyes

History Theses

World War II was arguably the most heroic event in the history of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), so much that it was known as the “Great Patriotic War.” Tens of millions of Russians were killed during the large scale conflict against their “fascist foes.” Still, the large population of the USSR were moved to action primarily by mass propaganda distributed by the Communist Party leaders. Women played a large role during the war, not just in the factories on the home front or as partisans, but as combat nurses and snipers as well. Since the losses …

Review Of Dirksen's "Religionsfreiheit In Ungarn. Verfassungspolitik Und -Wirklichkeit Am Beispiel Kleiner Religionsgemeinschaften In Ungarn 1845–1945 Unter Besonderer Berücksichtigung Der Horthy-Zeit" [Freedom Of Religion In Hungary: Constitutional Politics And Reality For Small Churches In Hungary Between 1845-1945, With Special Focus On The Horthy Era], András Máté-Tóth, Péter Tóth

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Review of Dirksen, Annegret. Religionsfreiheit in Ungarn. Verfassungspolitik und -wirklichkeit am Beispiel Kleiner Religionsgemeinschaften in Ungarn 1845–1945 Unter Besonderer Berücksichtigung der Horthy-Zeit. [Freedom of Religion in Hungary: Constitutional Politics and Reality for Small Churches in Hungary between 1845-1945, with Special Focus on the Horthy Era]. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2016. 690pp.

Thirteen Washington University Students And Their Deep Dive Into The Study Of The Holocaust: Reflections From A Trip To Germany, Poland, And Lithuania And A Year Of Intensive Study, Brian Vetruba, Cecily Hibbs, Talia Wazana, Abigail Wippel

WashU Libraries Presentations

This poster exhibit offers reflections and images from Washington University (WU) students, faculty, and staff who traveled across Germany, Poland, and Lithuania in May 2016. The trip took place after a year of intensive study in 2015-2016 as part of the FOCUS program “The History, Memory, and Representation of the Holocaust.” The exhibit encompasses critical perspectives on the history, memory, and representation of the Holocaust alongside students’ first-person reflections. The exhibit is being held at the St. Louis Holocaust Museum and Learning Center from Feb. 2 to Marcy 15, 2017. A video recording of interviews with students and faculty accompanies …

The History, Memory, And Representation Of The Holocaust: Reflections On A Yearlong Freshman Seminar And Study Trip, Brian Vetruba, Cecily Hibbs, Talia Wazana, Abigail Wippel, Erin Mcglothlin, Anika Walke

WashU Libraries Presentations

Presented at the Lessons and Legacies conference on Holocaust Studies in November 2016, these posters document a year-long freshman FOCUS seminar held at Washington University in St. Louis in 2015-2016 that aimed to give incoming college students a sophisticated understanding of the causes, dynamics, representation, and memory of the Nazi genocide. Created and co-taught by Anika Walke and Erin McGlothlin, this intensive academic engagement featured two semesters of coursework focusing on the history and the literary and filmic representation of the Holocaust and a twelve-day trip to Germany, Poland and Lithuania. The group visited important Holocaust-related sites to deepen their …

Bethlehem Chapel: How A Place Can Be Reinterpreted By Government, Maya Lemaster

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

An important source of legitimacy for all types of government is the creation of or building up of a sense of nationhood for the citizens of the state. This can be achieved in many ways, including through the use of physical nationalist symbols. In my paper, I address this topic by exploring how the Communist government of Czechoslovakia reinterpreted and changed the traditional meaning of the historical Bethlehem Chapel in Prague in order to fit their own ideology. I found that the Communist government emphasized the communal aspects of the Hussite movement and ignored religious associations. My research is primarily …

Bosnia: Doomed To Failure Or A Rising Hope?, Caitlin V. Moore

Politics Honors Papers

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country that suffers from a lack of a national identity as it has three main ethnic groups, Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, who are all fighting for power. After the Bosnian war, which lasted from 1992-1995 and involved genocide that was committed against the Bosniaks, the ethnic divisions were further entrenched. These divisions were not helped by the provisions of the Dayton Peace Accords, which was the peace settlement that brought an end to the war. Dayton created an ethnocracy within Bosnia that places more importance on ethnic groups than national identity. In order to see …

A Coercive Courtship: German Awareness Of And Responses To The Sudeten Germans, 1929-1934, Jesse E. Siegel

Student Publications

Following the end of World War I and the creation of the first Czechoslovak Republic, the Sudeten Germans sought to raise the awareness of Germans in Germany and Austria of their situation under Czechoslovak rule. In the period between 1929 and 1934, the public discourse in Germany altered, as Nazi control began to direct further concentration on the Sudeten Germans, away from broader discussion of their minority status to a German nationalistic perspective. The Nazis, however, were both manipulative and ambivalent in their awareness of the Sudeten Germans, treating them as an extension of the Nazi Party while also beyond …

Europe’S Refugee Crisis: Assessing The Factors Preventing A Coordinated Eu Response, Ali Albassam

Master's Theses

In order to escape increasing political violence in the Middle East and Africa, many refugees are fleeing by sea to seek asylum in Europe. As a result, Europe has witnessed the highest influx of refugees since World War Two. European Union member states have scrambled for a solution, seemingly unable to form a collective response. The reemergence of nationalism amid the arrival of thousands of refugees not only clouds Europe’s moral compass, but also weakens the EU and its founding principles. In an effort to contribute to the protection of refugees and the EU and its values, this thesis aims …

Volkswagen And Volkswagen: The Concept, The Car And The Company In Four Germanies And The United States, Stuart Treavor Bailey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the changing cultural meanings that the Volkswagen took in Germany in an attempt to understand the cultural exchange between the United States and Germany. In sum, it establishes that the car takes a distinct cultural form in the two countries governed by unique and particular historical developments. Over the last decade researchers working with car cultures have realized the long standing error of taking American values associated with the car as a normative marker of global car cultures, yet no one has suggested a working methodology to ensure that non-normative meanings are captured in analysis. I suggest …

The Cold War: Over, Renewed, Or Never Ended?, Matt Phipps

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The Cold War has been studied repeatedly since the war supposedly ended in 1991. However recent events are starting to cause some concern and make many question whether or not the Cold War actually ended, if it took a different shape or perhaps has just been on pause. I argue that the Cold War has been a conflict that has been going on since 1947 and although the conflict has looked differently in recent decades the conflict was never properly put to an end. The research analyzes US decision making with respect to Russian and Asian relations over the last …

Heroes Of Berlin Wall Struggle, William D. Bowman

History Faculty Publications

When the Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago, on Nov. 9, 1989, symbolically signaling the end of the Cold War, it was no surprise that many credited President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for bringing it down.

But the true heroes behind the fall of the Berlin Wall are those Eastern Europeans whose protests and political pressure started chipping away at the wall years before. East German citizens from a variety of political backgrounds and occupations risked their freedom in protests against communist policies and one-party rule in what they called the "peaceful revolution." [excerpt]

Improving The Effectiveness Of Sanctions: A Checklist For The Eu, Anthonius W. De Vries, Clara Portela, Borja Guijarro-Usobiaga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The increasingly frequent imposition of sanctions by the EU over the past decade has notbeen accompanied by a thorough pre-assessment and contingency planning stage, which hasled to the formulation of suboptimal sanctions regimes. This paper argues for establishing apre-assessment and contingency planning of sanctions, departing from the ‘ad hoc-ism’ ofcurrent decision-making on sanctions. To this end, it proposes the development of a‘checklist’ composed of key questions that need to be tackled to optimise the design ofsanctions. These questions include the identification of resources linked to the objectionablepolicies; the leverage of the EU; the costs to the EU; the legality of …

Vukovar, Siege Of, 1991, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an over view of fhe siege of the Croatian city Vukovar bu the Serbian Military during the Serbo-Croatian war between May-November 1991.

Nato In The Balkans, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This encyclopedia entry examines the contemporary and recent historic role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Balkan countries. It also discusses and emerging security concerns affecting these countries.

Yugoslav-Soviet Split, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Describes the political and military split between the Communist countries of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union in the years after World War II until Yugoslavia's disintegration in the early 1990s.

Working Towards A Globalized Minority: Regional German-Kurdish Cultural Organizations And Transnational Networks, Drew A. Hoffman

Student Publications

German-Kurdish cultural organizations and the Kurdish Diaspora they represent offer an example of a new type of actor in defining globalization. This paper examines how such organizations act as the lynchpin in transnational networks and how such organizations give a voice to Berliner-Kurds. These relationships are explored at the national, regional, and organizational level, in order to paint a comprehensive perspective. It argues that despite experiencing discrimination, the convergence of a global diaspora and local actors has contributed to the reinvention of the German-Kurdish community as a globalized minority. Such a concept is important for understanding how migrant communities can …

So We Ran..., Sara R. Bias

Student Publications

This paper tells the true story of a Hungarian refugee who's family fled the communist regime there in 1971. Gabriella Bercze's story reflects on what it was like to live in Hungary under communist rule, and her family's experience in escaping the country, and fleeing to Italy, where they lived in a refugee camp for months before immigrating to the United States in the early 70s.

No Blood In The Water: The Legal And Gender Conspiracies Against Countess Elizabeth Bathory In Historical Context, Rachael Leigh Bledsaw

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explains and discusses the conspiracies reported against the Hungarian noblewoman, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, regarding her confinement and the arrest of her accomplices in December 1610. The conspiracies state that the Countess was unjustly targeted and charged not because she was guilty of the deaths of several dozen girls from torture, but because she represented a threat to the Hapsburg Empire due to her wealth, her political influence, and her widowhood. This thesis explores the rationality of these two conspiracies using historical context regarding the position of noblewomen in Central and Eastern Europe and the function and use of …

Stalin’S Boots And The March Of History (Post-Communist Memories), Roland K. Végső

Department of English: Faculty Publications

I would like to propose here is precisely the invention of a relation to history and the public sphere of sociality that deconstructs the trauma/nostalgia opposition. The theoretical goal is to separate concrete narrative forms from actual political contents. It follows from the previous point that it might be possible to conceive of historical moments or concrete rhetorical situations in which we need to rely on nostalgic rather than traumatic narratives in order to imagine progressive political change. In these situations, the political task could be the development of a certain “critical nostalgia” that does not try to replace trauma …

Europe’S Little Tiger?: Reassessing Economic Transition In Slovakia Under The Mečiar Government 1993-1998, David A. Wemer

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Vladimir Mečiar, the first Prime Minister of independent Slovakia, is often criticized for his suppression of free media, political repression, and the widespread corruption of his government from 1993-1998. Mečiar has also been attacked for his economic policies, which critics suggest slowed down privatization and left Slovakia in a huge debt crisis. A closer look at macroeconomic data, however, demonstrates an impressive economic record for Mečiar, who oversaw several years of strong GDP growth, and relatively low levels of unemployment and inflation. By slowing down the privatization process, retaining control of key industries, and maintaining the social safety net, Mečiar …

Business Partnerships And Practices From The 19th-Century Ottoman Balkans, Evguenia Davidova

International & Global Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article compares samples in commercial and epistolary guides, which provide a discursive framework to 'real' business partnership contracts and correspondence, dispersed in merchant archives that contextualize (and humanize) the dry contractual language. The guides offered pragmatism and standardization of economic behavior, envisioning commerce not only as a tool for achieving wealth but also a broader activity in the service of social progress and national prosperity. Contracts provide insights into everyday business practices, such as local economic reconfigurations, multiethnic regional cooperation, long-distance trade, and intergenerational communication. The article suggests that while the contract form followed old formulaic structure and language, …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Transitional Effect Of Democratic Regime Change On Human Rights Development, Alana Mcelhinney

Political Science Theses and Capstones

It has been a long-standing topic of discussion within the field of political science on the extent to which the establishment of democratic regime characteristics influences the development of human rights. While there is considerable research in the areas of democracy and human rights, what the literature lacks is research towards the growth of democratic regime characteristics being causal to the development of human rights practices. This analysis shows that a transition in democratic regime characteristics is directly linked to the development of human rights. After completing case-study analysis and developing causal theory I take data from the years 1981 …

The Roma: During And After Communism, Florinda Lucero, Jill Collum

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Roma are an interconnected ethnic and cultural group that migrated out of India more than ten centuries ago. In the Czech Republic, they may have been present since the 15th century. Although relations within Czech lands began honorably, they quickly disintegrated into enmity and within a century Czechs could kill the Roma with impunity. Legislation restricting Roma movement came about in 1927 with Law 117: the “Law on Wandering Gypsies,” which stated that the Roma were now required to seek permission to stay overnight in any given location. In the run-up to World War II, parallel restrictions to those …

The Minorities Of Czechoslovakia And Poland : Of Treaties And Human Nature, Bryant L. Larson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores briefly two experimental cases, Czechoslovakia and Poland, where between 1919 and 1938, efforts were made to solve the “minority problem." This thesis consists of five basic parts: Chapter I, an introduction that defines or describes such concepts as nationalism, nation, state, and minority; Chapter II that succinctly presents backgrounds and problems of minorities in Czechoslovakia (Germans, Magyars, Ruthenians, and Jews), and Poland (Germans, Jews and Ukrainians); Chapter III that analyzes the provisions of the Minority Treaties prepared by the principal Allied Powers at the end of World War I to protect minority rights within Czechoslovakia and Poland; …

Communism In Unity And Conflict: Poland, Yugoslavia, Ussr, Steven E. Weber

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

American Governmental Response To The 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Martin Ivan Elzy

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Da Pamphlet 30-50-2, Handbook On The Satellite Armies, 1 April 1960, Robert Bolin , Depositor

United States Department of Defense Military Intelligence

This manual contains detailed descriptions of the armed forces of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Hungary. It covers the military system, organization field forces, militarized security forces, weapons, equipment, uniforms, and military terms in each country. Outline maps of the countries, photographs of weapons, and colored illustrations of insignia, uniforms, and medals are included.

5. The Democracies Between The Wars (1919-1939), Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XVIII: The Western World in the Twentieth Century: The Historical Setting

At first glance, the events of World War I seemed to be a triumphant vindication of the spirit of 1848. It was the leading democratic great powers - Britain, France, and the United States - who had emerged the victors. In the political reconstruction of Europe, republics had replaces many monarchies. West of Russia, new and apparently democratic constitutions were established in Germany, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, and Yugoslavia. Yet the sad truth was that by the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the majority of the once democratic states of central and eastern Europe …

9. The Second World War (1939-1945), Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XVIII: The Western World in the Twentieth Century: The Historical Setting

In the first year of war, while Poland succumbed to German armored columns, on the western front the contestants were stalemated. Then, in the spring of 1940, Germany struck through the neutral Netherlands and Belgium and overran France. Norway and Denmark were also captured. Scenting carrion, Mussolini acted the jackal and brought Italy into the war on Germany's side at what he confidently expected was the moment of victory. For a year only Britain held out against the Axis, protected by her island position and the air umbrella provided by the Royal Air Force. Late in 1940, Mussolini invaded Greece, …

The Value Of The Colonies To The Mother Country, Lenora Estelle Stillman

Student and Lippitt Prize Essays

A study of the relationship of a colony to its original country, focusing on the importance fair policies in Spain, England and France and questioning whether or not Europeans emigrating to U.S. colonies remain European citizens or can be considered representatives of their countries.