The first half of the twentieth century was of one of the most turbulent periods in Europe's history. While social theorists challenged orthodox ways of thinking about the establishment of a -good society, - scientists offered up new visions of the workings of the universe. Women fought for increased power within the altered social landscape, and change and controversy reigned in the worlds of art and culture. The chaos of world politics ushered in the two great wars, which would forever alter Europe's position in the world. Europe, 1890-1945 offers a concise, accessible overview of this tumultuous time period. It provides a clear outline of the political events that shaped the age and offers a discussion of the seismic shifts in social and cultural landscapes. Topics covered include the rise of modernism in the arts, Social Darwinism and its effects on theories of race, the making of -national- identities, the origins of the modern ecology movement, and the changing roles of women in an era of war and violence. The authors thoroughly analyze the causes and effects of the two great wars, while reaching beyond Europe to discuss the events in the United States, Africa, and Asia that contributed to the evolving face of world politics. With nine maps for easy reference, chapter summaries to aid in reader comprehension, a detailed chronology, and twenty-four photographs, Europe, 1890-1945 is an ideal text for undergraduate courses that explore the crisis and conflict that governed the early twentieth-century European world.

In a unique style, this new approach to teaching and learning early twentieth century European history at A level focuses on the key topics within the period to meet the needs of teachers and students studying for revised AS and A2

A major new interpretation of Nazi influence in southeastern Europe through the concepts of soft power and informal empire.

How did typhus come to be viewed as a "Jewish disease" and what was the connection between the anti-typhus measures during the First World War and the Nazi gas chambers and other genocidal medical practices in the Second World War? This powerful book provides valuable new insight into the history of German medicine in its reaction to the international fight against typhus and the perceived threat of epidemics from the East in the early part of this century. Paul Weindling examines how German bacteriology became increasingly racialized, and how it sought to eradicate the disease by the eradication of the perceived carriers. Delousing became a key feature of Nazi preventive medicine during the Holocaust, and gassing a favored means of eliminating typhus.

Europe, 1890-1945 is a new approach to teaching and learning early twentieth century European history at A level. It meets the needs of teachers and students studying for today's revised AS and A2 exams. In a unique style, Europe, 1890-1945 focuses on the key topics within the period. Each topic is then comprehensively explored to provide background information, essay writing advice and examples, source work, and historical skills exercises. From 1890 to 1945, the key topics featured include: * the origins and impact of the First World War * the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin * the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler * Mussolini and Fascist Italy * Stalin and the Soviet Union, 1928-41.

Fixes the important developments of the period not only in the political framework of the time, but also in their social and cultural context. These essays throw new light on the European situation between 1890 and the Second World War.Themes in European History treats in thematic fashion a period of great change and upheaval in Europe. A collection of twelve essays by five leading historians, this textbook:* highlights important developments and changes that occurred* sets these changes in their social and cultural context as well as in the political framework* concentrates on the most important powers in Europe* vompletes each essay with suggestions for further reading to guide your students into continuing their research.Whereas other textbooks of this period focus on the political events, Themes in Modern European History uses a comparative history of institutions and societies, with emphasis on the cultural changes as well.Students are provided with the whole picture of events and are made aware of the wider consequences of the changes taking place - enabling them to understand all aspects of the dramatic transformation of Europe from 1890-1945.

The volume undertakes a comparative analysis of the various discursive traditions dealing with the connection between modernity and historicity in Southeastern and Northern Europe, reconstructing the ways in which different "temporalities" produced alternative representations of the past and future, of continuity and discontinuity, and identity.

No American history or food collection is complete without this lively insight into the radical changes in daily life from the Gilded Age to World War II, as reflected in foodways. From the Gilded Age to the end of World War II, what, where, when, and how Americans ate all changed radically. Migration to urban areas took people away from their personal connection to food sources. Immigration, primarily from Europe, and political influence of the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific brought us new ingredients, cuisines, and foodways. Technological breakthroughs engendered the widespread availability of refrigeration, as well as faster cooking times. The invention of the automobile augured the introduction of "road food," and the growth of commercial transportation meant that a wider assortment of foods was available year round. Major food crises occurred during the Depression and two world wars. Food in the United States, 1890-1945 documents these changes, taking students and general readers through the period to explain what our foodways say about our society. This intriguing narrative is enlivened with numerous period anecdotes that bring America history alive through food history.

At the turn of the twentieth century, an emerging consumer culture in the United States promoted constant spending to meet material needs and develop social identity and self-cultivation. In Sold American, Charles F. McGovern examines the key players active in shaping this cultural evolution: advertisers and consumer advocates. McGovern argues that even though these two professional groups invented radically different models for proper spending, both groups propagated mass consumption as a specifically American social practice and an important element of nationality and citizenship. Advertisers, McGovern shows, used nationalist ideals, icons, and political language to define consumption as the foundation of the pursuit of happiness. Consumer advocates, on the other hand, viewed the market with a republican-inspired skepticism and fought commercial incursions on consumer independence. The result, says McGovern, was a redefinition of the citizen as consumer. The articulation of an "American Way of Life" in the Depression and World War II ratified consumer abundance as the basis of a distinct American culture and history.

In examining the economic and cultural trs that expressed America's expansionist impulse during the first half of the twentieth century, Emily S. Rosenberg shows how U.S. foreign relations evolved from a largely private system to an increasingly public one and how, soon, the American dream became global.