European Culture in the Great War. The Arts, Entertainment, and Propaganda, 1914-1918 by Aviel s> Roshwald Richard Stites (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS 519 The bulk of the work, with its carefulanalysisof culturalmanifestationsof the rise and fall of the Yugoslav idea represents an important and original contribution to the topic and a uniquely valuable document in the cultural historyof the region. If at times the case may seem overstated,as a whole the argumentis revealing.The workhas the qualityof an essentialelement in the whole picture, one that was waiting to be written in view of the vital role played by culture in what was at firstso promising and ultimatelyso tragic a story. School ofSlavonic andEastEuropean Studies E. C. HAWKESWORTH University College London Roshwald, Aviel, and Stites, Richard (eds). European Culture in theGreatWar. 7heArts,Entertainment, andPropaganda, I9I4-I9I8. Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare, 6. Cambridge University press,Cambridge, I999. xii+ 430pp.Illustrations. Notes.Index.$64.95: f140.00. SIXTH in the seriesStudiesin the Socialand CulturalHistoryof Modern Warfare,thisbookembraceswarand its culturalconsequences in a crossdisciplinary approachthat is both problematicand substantial.It brings together fourteen scholars withambitious andfar-reaching aims,sotheeditors mustformaneffectivesynthesis fromdiversematerialseenin a newcontext. In factallof thesescholarswriteindependently in denselyargued,minutely referencedand informativeessays.If the FirstWorldWar unites them, geographykeepsthemapart.As each scholarremainsisolated,interaction, cross-fertilization and collaborationare little developed.But the editors' problemshouldnotbe underestimated. Eachchapterhasitsownhistorical, culturalandpoliticalperspective, andeach scholarhasheror his material, methodand viewpoint.The editorsmay have madethe wisestdecisionin simplypresenting subjectsas neatlyadjacentas possible:it is a clearwayof organizinig textsbutitmakesa collectionofessays,nota cohesivebook. The subtitle,'Arts, Entertainment andPropaganda, I9I4-I9I8', indicates initselfa spectrum toowidetocoverinchapters thatvaryfromthirteen pages (TMarc Ferro,'Cultural LifeinFrance1914- I9I8')tothirty-eight pages(Aviel Roshwvald, JewishCulturalIdentityin Easternand CentralEuropeduring the GreatXVar'). WVithin thesechapterswar,theatre,theculturalpress,art, music,letters,film,popularculture, highcultureandpropaganda areassessed and analysed.The readerlearnsa little about a lot. It is impossibleto concentrate ondetail,yetthewiderviewisimpliedonlyintherangeofessays, yet this idiosyncraticbook has much to offerto universitylibrariesand historical institutes. AsRichardStitesexplainsin hisintroduction: 'Sincethe bulkof thebibliography isfixatedupontheWVestern Frontandon themajor powers,in thisbookwe soughtbalanceby includingasmuchaspossiblethe "smallnations"of East CentralEurope,so often marginalized in general histories'(p.4). StiteshimselfdiscussesRussia(withlittle mentionof the Revolution), PeterJelavichcoversdevelopments in Germany,butthereis a greater discussioin of war and culture among the Poles,Jews, Czechs, 520 SEER, 79, 3, 200I Hungarians, and the Southern Slavs,discussedhere by AndrewWachtel.The evident need to know about the history and interaction of these diverse culturesjustifiesthe book. Evalina Kelbetcheva'sessay on Bulgaria('Between Apology and Denial: BulgarianCultureduringWorldWarI') can be assessed alongside studies of Romania (Maria Bucur, 'Romania: War, Occupation, Liberation')beforeveeringWestwith 'Occupation, Propaganda,and the Idea of Belgium' by Sophie de Shaepsdrijver, to France (Marc Ferro), Italy (Walter L. Adamson), and 'Popular Culture in Wartime Britain' by Jay Winter. This dense tangle of alliances and patriotisms is seen against the shiftingscenarioof war and new ideologies. The editorsdescribethis as 'afirst step in the direction of a synoptic culturalhistoryof Europe duringthe Great War'.It is a brave undertakingwith a long way to go. The least familiar material concerns Eastern Europe. Harold B. Segel on 'Culture in Poland during WorldWar I' brings home the effects of transient armies trampling indigenous identities. Steven Beller describes Austrian culture from the Vienna Secession to Karl Kraus's operetta 7The LastDaysof iVIankind.It was ambitious to discuss Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia as 'the South Slavic lands', when their cultural differences recently proved so incompatible. By contrast the thread of Jewish culture may been glimpsed stretchedthroughoutEasternEurope, seemingly caught in every conflict and disadvantagedby everyformof nationalism. Any specialistexpertreaderwill encounter unfamiliarnames here, whether painters,writersor political activists.The effectcan be overwhelmingbut the aim is worthwhile and the overall vision coherent enough to provide the readerwith the prospectof culturalhistorythat does not prioritizethe biggest and most powerful countries. Furthermore the notes are extensive and scholarly, giving references to sources which can then be pursued by the individualscholar. This is a problematic,usefuland ambitiousbook which willoffersomething to any scholarworkingin the fieldwhetherin literature,artor history.Whilst it can never hope to be complete or coherent in itself, it provides a multitude of leads to follow. Department ofFineArt JOHN MILNER University ofNewcastle uponTyne Smith,Jeremy (ed.). Beyond theLimits.TheConcept ofSpace inRussian Histog and Culture.Studia Historica, 62. Suomen Historiallinen Seura, Helsinki, 1999. 276 pp. Illustrations. Notes. Index. Price unknown. BEYOND THE LIMITS consists of the following chapters: Jeremy Smith, 'Introduction'; Sergei Medvedev, 'A General Theory of Russian Space: a Gay Science and a Rigorous Science'; Elena...