Dialogues in Holocaust Studies and the Second World War

Ari Barbalat
  • 0.0 (0)
  • HISTORY

This podcast features interviews with authors of new research, fresh monographs and recent books about the Holocaust and World War II.

  1. Hans Soetaert, *The Scattered Library: The Various Fates of the Remnants of Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute of Sexual Science Collection in France and Czechoslovakia, 1932-1942*. Hannover, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2025.

    17H AGO

    Hans Soetaert, *The Scattered Library: The Various Fates of the Remnants of Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute of Sexual Science Collection in France and Czechoslovakia, 1932-1942*. Hannover, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2025.

    Send us a text The Berlin book burning and the assault on Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Science ("Institut für Sexualwissenschaft") in May 1933 are essential components of German memorial culture. Recently, there has been a resurgence and recognition of Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935) in Germany, resulting in many Germans becoming aware that this significant LGBT rights pioneer died in 1935 in exile in Nice, France, profoundly affected by the Nazis' obliteration of his life's work in Germany. This book is the first to meticulously document the events that transpired between 1932 and 1935 prior to Hirschfeld’s death, especially during the seven years that followed. Alongside detailing Hirschfeld’s last years in France, this work is the first biography of Karl Giese and Karl Fein, the key figures in the aftermath of Magnus Hirschfeld in France and Czechoslovakia.

    1h 31m
  2. Lucia Ceci, *The Vatican and Mussolini's Italy*. Peter Spring, trans. Leiden: Brill, 2017.

    2D AGO

    Lucia Ceci, *The Vatican and Mussolini's Italy*. Peter Spring, trans. Leiden: Brill, 2017.

    Send us a text Lucia Ceci delves into the complex dynamics between the Catholic Church and Fascism. New insights from the Vatican Archives shed light on specific elements of this intricate relationship: Mussolini's ascent to power, the Ethiopian war, the racial legislation, and the distinctions between Pius XI and Pius XII. This book presents a detailed reconstruction of this encounter, clarifying the reasons that led Catholics to support a dictatorial, aggressive, and racist regime. In contrast to conventional historical divisions, the account begins with Mussolini's early years in the late nineteenth century and culminates with the swift collapse of his puppet regime in 1945. This perspective somewhat alters the perception of the exceptional nature of the ventennio. The original Italian work, *L’interesse superiore, Il Vaticano e l’Italia di Mussolini*, has received the “Friuli Storia” Prize for Studies of Contemporary History.

    53 min
  3. Stefanie Fischer, *Jewish Cattle Traders in the German Countryside, 1919-1939: Economic Trust and Antisemitic Violence*. Jeremiah Riemer, trans. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2024.

    4D AGO

    Stefanie Fischer, *Jewish Cattle Traders in the German Countryside, 1919-1939: Economic Trust and Antisemitic Violence*. Jeremiah Riemer, trans. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2024.

    Send us a text This study delves into the intricate social and economic networks that this group navigated, highlighting the resilient yet informal connections between Jewish cattle traders and farmers, bonds so strong that not even relentless Nazi assaults could sever them. Stefanie Fischer employs a blend of social history, economic history, and sociology to confront the entrenched stereotype of the dubious Jewish cattle dealer. By emphasizing trust and social ties over mere economic trends, Fischer reveals the numerous contradictions that plagued the expulsion of Jews from Germany. This monograph scrutinizes the nuanced dynamics between Jews and non-Jews involved in economic and social exchanges. In doing so, Fischer reexamines prior perceptions of daily life under Nazi governance and uncovers innovative ways in which Jewish agency emerged as a pivotal force amid the exclusionary measures enacted in Hitler's Germany.

    56 min
  4. Ernest Gyidel, *Ukrainian Public Nationalism in the General Government: The Case of Krakivski Visti, 1940-44*. Hannover, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2025.

    4D AGO

    Ernest Gyidel, *Ukrainian Public Nationalism in the General Government: The Case of Krakivski Visti, 1940-44*. Hannover, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2025.

    Send us a text Most studies on Ukrainian nationalism during the 20th century concentrate on the OUN and UPA and their military efforts for Ukraine’s independence. Ernest Gyidel’s book is distinct. It addresses a lesser-explored aspect of nationalism's history, specifically its public manifestation in the legal press during the German occupation in World War II. He examines *Krakivski Visti* (Cracow News)—the primary Ukrainian newspaper of the General Government—as a case study because of its unique position of being less affected by German censorship. Gyidel guides us through various nationalistic expressions, ranging from articles criticizing Poles, Jews, and Russians to writings that honor prominent Ukrainian authors, commemorate national sacrifices, and address the dangers of mixed marriages. He emphasizes that the narrative of Ukrainian nationalism was crafted not only by those wielding weapons but also by those using typewriters and printed words.

    1h 35m
  5. Peter Anderson and Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco ,*Franco's Famine: Malnutrition, Disease and Starvation in Post-Civil War Spain*. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.

    JAN 29

    Peter Anderson and Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco ,*Franco's Famine: Malnutrition, Disease and Starvation in Post-Civil War Spain*. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.

    Send us a text In the 1940s, Spain experienced a devastating famine that claimed the lives of at least 200,000 people due to hunger and malnutrition-related illnesses. This book provides a political framework for understanding the famine, bringing together a diverse group of academics from Spain, the UK, the US, and Australia. It discusses various aspects, including the political roots of the famine, its physical and social effects, the survival methods adopted by Spaniards, the regime's unwillingness to accept international aid, the politics of cooking amid scarcity, and the legacy of the famine. This volume challenges the ongoing silence and misrepresentation surrounding the famine. It reveals the harsh truth of how lives were lost in Spain because the Francoist authorities enforced a policy of food self-sufficiency (or autarky), which included price controls and restrictions on food transport and sales. The contributors outline the significant decline in food production that followed, the widespread hoarding that occurred, and the emergence of a vast and deeply unjust black market during a time when wages fell to 50% below their 1936 levels—factors that are explored in detail for the first time in this work.

    1 hr
  6. Daria Mattingly and John Vsetecka, eds., *The Holodomor in Global Perspective: How the Famine in Ukraine Shaped the World*. Hannover, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2025.

    JAN 23

    Daria Mattingly and John Vsetecka, eds., *The Holodomor in Global Perspective: How the Famine in Ukraine Shaped the World*. Hannover, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2025.

    Send us a text Between 1932 and 1933, millions of Ukrainians were subjected to enforced starvation.  This sorrowful famine, now referred to as the Holodomor, is recognized as one of the most atrocious events in the history of the Soviet Union and the broader narrative of the twentieth century.  The Holodomor is an essential chapter in both Ukrainian and Soviet history, yet its importance in the global historical context is not as well understood.  Although much has been documented about the intentions behind the famine, its genocidal aspects, and its impacts within Ukraine, there is a notably smaller volume of research that examines how the Holodomor was influenced by and influenced global economic, political, and international dynamics during the 1930s.  The famine was widely reported in the media across the globe and became a topic of discussion among governments and world leaders. It turned into a crisis that captured the attention of observers from every continent. This assembled volume is the first to explore the history of the Holodomor from a global viewpoint. The chapters present various perspectives on famine through a multidisciplinary approach, enabling us to confront the global effects of mass starvation in Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 and to appreciate them on a scale that goes beyond the borders of Ukraine and the Soviet Union.

    1h 30m
  7. Izabela Kazejak, *Jews in Post-War Wrocław and L’Viv: Official Policies and Local Responses in Comparative Perspective, 1945-1970s*. Stuttgart, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2023.

    JAN 23

    Izabela Kazejak, *Jews in Post-War Wrocław and L’Viv: Official Policies and Local Responses in Comparative Perspective, 1945-1970s*. Stuttgart, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2023.

    Send us a text This book examines the revival of Jewish communities in two post-war European cities – Wrocław (WOs-VOW), Breslau, which changed from Germany to Poland in 1945, and L'viv, which transitioned from Poland to the Soviet Union. These revival efforts were supervised by two distinct Communist regimes. The book contrasts the similarities and differences in the policies of these two nations. Regrettably, the attempts to restore a vibrant Jewish life were not successful in either case. This study clarifies why the efforts to build communities that identified as Jewish and were loyal to the Communist state did not succeed. After analyzing the prewar history and the wartime destruction of Jews in German Breslau and Polish Lwów, the book explores the postwar regimes' attempts, with the assistance of Holocaust survivors, to recreate Jewish life. It reviews the history of these developing communities up to 1968 in Wrocław (WOK-VOW) and into the 1970s in L'viv. The comparison is made in five interconnected contexts. These include the official policies towards Jews from the governments of the Polish People's Republic and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, the local application of these central policies, the specific national frameworks of Jewish life in communist Poland and Soviet Ukraine, the influence of popular and official antisemitism on postwar Jewish communities in Wrocław (WOs-VOW), Breslau, and L'viv, and the consequences of the economic and social modernization of the Communist regimes for local Jewish communities.

    44 min
  8. Michael Halperin, *Out of the Storm: Holocaust to Hope*. Boston: Cherry Orchard Books, 2025.

    JAN 8

    Michael Halperin, *Out of the Storm: Holocaust to Hope*. Boston: Cherry Orchard Books, 2025.

    Send us a text This memoir recounts the story of Alex and Mela Roslan, a typical yet brave Polish family, who assist Jewish brothers in fleeing the Warsaw Ghetto. They develop a strong relationship and safeguard them throughout the Holocaust, persevering together through the difficult post-Holocaust years in Europe—a region plagued by increasing antisemitism.

    1h 11m
See All (14)

About

This podcast features interviews with authors of new research, fresh monographs and recent books about the Holocaust and World War II.

Information