War as a politicizing experience: the Belgian veterans’ movement in the interwar period

During the interwar period (1918-1939), the struggle for building public opinion was staged by political movements as a propaganda-war for mass mobilisation. This unfolded on city streets and squares, which played a much more integrated role in the political culture than before. However, public demands on public urban space have in fact played a significant role in the political negotiation in Denmark since the era of absolutism (1660-1849). By analysing the long-term trends in this negotiation, this article examines the role played by so-called street politicsin the development of democracy in Denmark from spontaneous rioting during absolutism and the rival Constitution Day parades of the 1880s, to the propaganda race waged on the streets by political youth during the 1930s, and finally, the resurgence of popular rioting at the core of Danish politics during the German occupation (1940-1945). Considering this development, the article discusses the historical role of street politics as a democratic corrective to the established political system. The article synthesises previous Danish research conducted over the past 40 years, which has contributed with various individual studies of 18th and 19th street mobilisation with research on the role of street politics during the first half of the 20th century by the author, in an analysis addressing the question: What role did street politics and the struggle for public urban space play in the development of Danish democracy from the era of absolute monarchy to the war-time period? The article thus presents a first attempt to synthesise older case studies and recent research into a comprehensive analysis that develops the concept of “street politics” not only as a field but also as an analytical framework for the study of extra-parliamentary political culture in Denmark. The article concludes that the struggle in and for public urban space has indeed played a important role in the development of democracy during this period. it has functioned as both an arena where demands not accommodated in institutional politics could be asserted towards the political system and as a means of expanding the boundaries of political culture. Furthermore, the article demonstrates the potential of using the concept of street politics in analysing the population’s use of public urban space to articulate their political demands.

“Die Russen in Ostpreussen“: Images of Russia and Russians in the memoirs on the Great War in East Prussia, published in Germany from

This chapter assesses the preponderant role of 'street politics' in the Bolivian political scenario, presenting an analysis of the decisive role of Bolivian social movements in terms of 'protest State'. It discusses the critical nature of the State-social movements' relation to our understanding of the underlying developments that led up to the 2019–2020 crisis, as well as making sense of the baffling events of October/November 2019. Weak political representation in particular and weak and low esteemed political institutions in general, in combination with increased organizational resources, account for the considerable impact of 'street politics'. Although social movements are not on their own sufficient or all-determining, institutional politics are both dependent on and vulnerable to social protest, rendering any political force unable to govern without 'contentious power'. In that way, the Bolivian political experiment continues to look for effective ways to incorporate social movements in the political process that allow the necessary 'transits' or 'grey zones', to attain a balance between institutionalized and street politics.

"The history of Bukovina in general and that of Bukovina during the interwar period in particular dispose of a series of historiographical works intended to highlight the various aspects of political, social, cultural, economic, ethno-linguistic, confessional issues etc. of the former Moldavian province. Some of these works are general, others specific, and many of them succeed to offer a fairly comprehensive image of the elements, processes and phenomena that have influenced the ethno-linguistic and confessional evolution of Bukovina’s population in the interwar period. The specialized articles and studies are distinguished by the great analytical and synthesis capacity of their authors, but the aspects considered by them, although extremely valuable for knowing the international factors which have influenced the evolution of national political processes, overtake only extremely tangentially the particularities of the local communities from different territorial-administrative units which could have influenced, in turn, the evolution or the tendency of certain ethno-linguistic and confessional phenomena and processes which can or could have taken an international amplitude. While many studies succeed to highlight the socio-cultural, inter-ethnic and identity realities of Bukovina during the interwar period, whose contribution to the understanding and evaluation of the international framework is extremely valuable, they do not explicitly aim to contextualize the interethnic and confessional facts and processes during the interwar period in Bukovina. The main objective of this research is to understand the impact of national and international government policies on administrative-territorial changes and, implicitly, on the ethno-linguistic and confessional structure of the Bukovinaʼs population in the interwar period. The research methodology takes into account the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data provided by statistical yearbooks, county, national and international archives, as well as Romanian and foreign historiography on the analysed issues. Therefore, this research aims to highlight the evolution of the ethno-linguistic and confessional structure of the population of Bukovina in the interwar period, as well as the internal and international factors that favoured or, on the contrary, inhibited the physiognomy of Romanian communities and national minorities in this historical space. "

Historians have often considered the international veterans’ organizations which came into being after World War I as proof of the pacifist, internationalist orientation of the majority of the Great War ex-combatants. However, veterans active in these organizations were often inspired by specifically national and partisan objectives that belie any simplistic equation between altruistic transnational activism, international cooperation and pacifism. Conceiving of war veterans as transnational actors, this article explores the origins and decline of the veterans’ transnational sphere in the interwar period. It singles out four shades of competing veterans’ internationalism and describes the crucial differences that separated actors such as Henri Barbusse, René Cassin, Henri Pichot and Carlo Delcroix, among others. The article argues that both the veterans’ organizations and their protagonists, while reaching out across national borders, remained embedded in specific constellations of personal trajectories, political partisanship, nation-state interests and inter-state alliances. Their political and social activities also tried to reshape, and were subjected to, existing or emerging spatial configurations such as Great Power alliances and wider internationalist projects. Thus, the article shows that there was no homogeneous transnational sphere in international veteran politics; it was rather the competition between different internationalist practices and projects which shaped veterans’ transnational activities.

This chapter assess the preponderant role of ‘street politics’ in the Bolivian political scenario, presenting an analysis of the decisive role of Bolivian social movements in terms of ‘protest state’. It discusses the critical nature of the state-social movements relation to our understanding of the underlying developments that lead up to the 2019-2020 crisis, as well as to making sense of baffling events of October/November 2019. Weak political representation in particular and weak and low esteemed political institutions in general, in combination with increased organizational resources, account for the considerable impact of ‘street politics’. Although social movements are not on their own sufficient or all determining, institutional politics are both dependent of and vulnerable to social protest, rendering any political force unable to govern without ‘contentious power’. In that way, the Bolivian political experiment continues to look for effective ways to incorporate social movements in the political process that allow the necessary ‘transits’ or ‘grey zones’, to attain balance between institutionalized and street politics.

Drawing on available archival sources, memoir literature, and periodical materials, the article reveals the activities of the Womenʼs Sich as a structural unit of the Carpathian Sich and the organizational form of women's participation in the socio-political and paramilitary movement in Carpathian Ukraine during the «Czechoslovak crisis» (1938–1939). This phenomenon is analysed in the broader historical context of the development of the women's movement in Transcarpathia in the interwar period and as a manifestation of the pan-European tendency towards the militarization of society, including its female part, amid growing military threats on the eve of the Second World War. It has been established that the Women’s Sich was the first attempt at mass militarization of women by the Ukrainian nationalist movement in the interwar period. In a short period of time – from the beginning of January to mid-March 1939 – the organization was able to expand its activities in all districts of Carpatho-Ukraine, develop a network of women's units, form its own uniform, conduct sanitary, socio-political and intelligence training, and organize a hospital for wounded Sich fighters in the city of Khust. Even though women performed mainly auxiliary and service functions in the Carpathian Sich, their role was indispensable for ensuring the needs of Carpatho-Ukraine’s military formation. Transcarpathian women were for the first time given the opportunity to create a separate paramilitary unit and organize its work in accordance with their own vision, to acquire new knowledge and master new specialties, to expand the range of social roles acceptable to them, and ultimately to demonstrate their civic and national position as full members of society. At the same time, their influence on the activities and leadership of the Carpathian Sich remained quite limited. Women were not represented in its Chief Command and military headquarters, did not have the right to possess and use weapons, and were not included on an equal basis with men in combat units. These restrictions corresponded to the prevailing social ideas about the role of women, which did not extend to the sphere of armed violence. The militarization of women in Carpatho-Ukraine was a harbinger of a broader gender transformation that took place during the Second World War, when women significantly increased their presence in both the rear and combat units of the armed forces of the main belligerents. Keywords: Carpatho-Ukraine, Womenʼs Sich, Czechoslovak crisis, militarization, nationalism.

A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title The 20th century furniture is hot. American Furniture Designers: 1900 to the Present highlights the furniture produced by the 20 most important American furniture designers of the 20th and early 21st centuries plus a selection of the best-known European designers whose work is sold by Knoll International and Herman Miller. The designers are organized into five chapters. Introductions to each section summarize the evolution of furniture design as it evolved through the 20th and early 21st centuries. The book begins with the Arts and Crafts era before World War I; moves into the interwar period when Modernism gained a foothold in America; continues through the Postwar heyday of Mid-century Modern; highlights the furniture from the 1970s and into the 21st century with a focus on the foremost promoters of modern furniture, Knoll International and Herman Miller; and concludes with a selection of the top Studio Furniture makers and their innovative creations. The book focuses on the leading American designers from each of these periods including Gustav Stickley and Charles Rohlfs during the Arts and Crafts movement, Paul Frankl and Gilbert Rohde in the interwar period, Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson for Mid- century Modern, and Wendell Castle and George Nakashima for Studio Furniture to name just a few. All their furniture is explained and profusely illustrated with 280 color photos. For anyone curious about the modern material culture that surrounds them, the book will explain everything about American furniture from 1900 into the 21st century: when it was made, where it was made, who made it, what it was made of, how it was designed, how long it was in production, and how the furniture related to its contemporaries.

A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title The 20th century furniture is hot. American Furniture Designers: 1900 to the Present highlights the furniture produced by the 20 most important American furniture designers of the 20th and early 21st centuries plus a selection of the best-known European designers whose work is sold by Knoll International and Herman Miller. The designers are organized into five chapters. Introductions to each section summarize the evolution of furniture design as it evolved through the 20th and early 21st centuries. The book begins with the Arts and Crafts era before World War I; moves into the interwar period when Modernism gained a foothold in America; continues through the Postwar heyday of Mid-century Modern; highlights the furniture from the 1970s and into the 21st century with a focus on the foremost promoters of modern furniture, Knoll International and Herman Miller; and concludes with a selection of the top Studio Furniture makers and their innovative creations. The book focuses on the leading American designers from each of these periods including Gustav Stickley and Charles Rohlfs during the Arts and Crafts movement, Paul Frankl and Gilbert Rohde in the interwar period, Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson for Mid-century Modern, and Wendell Castle and George Nakashima for Studio Furniture to name just a few. All their furniture is explained and profusely illustrated with 280 color photos. For anyone curious about the modern material culture that surrounds them, the book will explain everything about American furniture from 1900 into the 21st century: when it was made, where it was made, who made it, what it was made of, how it was designed, how long it was in production, and how the furniture related to its contemporaries.

In the summer of 2014 the Swedish Church is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the appointment of Nathan Söderblom as archbishop of Uppsala, and thus head of the Swedish church organisation. As a Lutheran with an enormously broad-minded and broad-reaching approach to ecumenical understanding and community-building, Söderblom shot to prominence in the interwar period not only because of his ecumenical engagement, calling for an evangelical catholicity so stand side by side with the Roman catholic and Orthodox catholic traditions, but also because of his comprehensive secular engagement for peace and understanding between peoples. In the latter context he also acquired a solid reputation as a perhaps less prominent but still noteworthy figure in the history of European integration. This article investigates how, why and to what extent Söderblom’s ecumenical and secular engagements were intertwined. The first part discusses how his biographical and academic background led to such staunch ecumenical positions, while the second part focuses on the secular engagement, which was perceived by Söderblom as necessary to make progress on the ecumenical front in the practical political realities of the 1920s. The final part, comparing and contrasting Söderblom’s views with those of Count Richard von Coudenhove-Calergi and the Pan-European Union, demonstrates why Söderblom’s engagement for Europe had to be limited: unity in Christ is by definition global in nature and therefore cannot be continent-specific.

British veterans of the First World War were avid writers. From The First Hundred Thousand to The Last Tommy, Britain’s soldiers and aid workers left behind a vast literature of wartime memories. Veteran recollections have been a significant part of the formation of British popular memory of the conflict, as well as part of the ‘cultural turn’ in First World War studies since the 1980s. The war’s literary legacy, it has been argued, has helped to frame the public narrative of the conflict. What has attracted less attention has been the British publishing industry’s role in the dissemination of war memories to the public when those memories were most acute, the interwar period. This article considers the British publishing industry and commercial war memoirs. It assesses the literary marketplace for martial literature and the commercial memory of the First World War in the interwar period.

This article discusses the role played by war veterans in the various fascist and para-fascist groups present in Yugoslavia in the interwar period. The article finds that significant numbers of veterans and the nationalist associations to which they belonged contributed to proposed or actual departures from the democratic norm in interwar Yugoslavia, and were especially supportive of King Aleksandar Karadjordjevic’s dictatorship of 1929–1934. In this respect, they could be termed ‘para-fascist’. The article also notes that whilst the two groups typically identified in the literature as ‘fascist’, the Croatian Ustashe and Serbian/Yugoslav Zbor, fit into the ‘second-wave’ of 1930s fascist forces not usually marked by a strong presence of First World War veterans, their membership and ideological organisation were nevertheless significantly influenced by both the traditions of the war and the men who fought in it.

In France, the inter-war years were a time when the sports movement was truly in need of structure and the media wanted to play a part in the process. At that time, sports practice was fairly limited and making it an integral part of French daily life was an essential goal. With this in mind, the French media took part in the popularisation of sports practice where the rationale seemed more concerned with its emergence rather than its development. Regional case studies can be helpful in pinpointing how social perspectives were viewed by the media, provided that they focus on the territories that reflected the national frame of mind. This allows for plausible generalisation. The Rhône-Alps region, more precisely the Grenoble valley, was typical in this respect. An in-depth study of a regional weekly sports newspaper, ‘Les Alpes Sportives’ (8 November 1919 – 5 May 1928), demonstrates how editorial leverage was used to convince readers to turn to sport and recognise its cultural worth.

The article analyzes the history of the development of the political movement of the National Democrats, also known as endecs, in Poland during the interwar period. The process of appearance of the movement in the previous stateless period of the history of Poland, the formation of the foundations of their ideology is considered. The peculiarities of the development of the national democratic movement in the conditions of the revival of the independent II Rzeczpospolita, creation of new political organizations by the endecs, their participation in parliamentary life and government are described. Attention is drawn to the development of ideological postulates of the movement in which the evolution of the views of Polish nationalism of the first half of the 20th century was reflected. The National Democrats opposed the ideas of marshal J. Pilsudski and his political camp, who were for creating a federal state of peoples in the territories between the Black and Baltic Seas, and wished to build a mono-ethnic state within the boundaries of the resettlement of the Polish people. The views of the endek people on the solution of the national question in the interwar Polish state, which developed the concept of national assimilation of the foreign ethnic group in the Polish environment, are separately highlighted. Important in the ideology of Polish national democracy were the postulates of building a socially-corporate society with the rule of elites where the nation was seen as the highest value and was viewed as a living organism where each of its members fulfills the role assigned to it. Also endecs were opponents of liberalism, individualism and market economy. Stressed the importance of traditions and the Catholic Church for maintaining the unity of the Polish people. Separately, the article examines the land and educational policy of the ruling camp, headed by the National Democrats. In land policy, endeki contributed to the strengthening of Polish landowners in the eastern lands inhabited by the non-Polish majority of the II Rzeczpospolita and contributed to the Polish resettlement movement on these lands, in particular, the actions of settling Polish military colonists. In education they defended the idea of assimilation of Ukrainians, Lithuanians and Byelorussians through the liquidation of the national education and the introduction of bilingual and exclusively Polish-speaking education. The activities of the Polish national-democratic movement in the interwar period greatly contributed to the aggravation of interethnic relations, the intensification of Polish chauvinism and the oppression of national minorities. This, in turn, led to a deepening of the Polish-Ukrainian conflict, which grew into a bloody confrontation during the Second World War and subsequent years.

Reviewed by: The Vatican & Catholic Activism in Mexico & Chile: The Politics of Transnational Catholicism, 1920–1940 by Stephen J. C. Andes Matthew A. Redinger The Vatican & Catholic Activism in Mexico & Chile: The Politics of Transnational Catholicism, 1920–1940. By Stephen J. C. Andes. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. 266pp. $99.00. In The Vatican & Catholic Activism in Mexico & Chile, Stephen Andes provides readers a thoroughly researched, eminently readable work that focuses on a seemingly impossible task for the Vatican in the interwar period. The Catholic Church was virtually being rent asunder by competing demands in the first decades of the twentieth century, including calls for church modernization, growing challenges to the church’s traditional position in society, demands for activism coming from lay Catholics, and the Vatican’s need to maintain open communication with governments embarking on anticlerical reforms in the interwar period. Further complicating this delicate balancing act was the emergence of Catholic Action movements in both Mexico and [End Page 84] Chile in response to Pope Pius XI’s call for an energized laity, and the outbreak of the Cristero Rebellion in Mexico. At the foundation of the Vatican’s position in all cases was its insistence that Catholic organizations steer clear of both militance and political affiliation. Andes does an admirable job outlining the pressure primarily from the laity in Mexico and Chile who tried to force the hand of the Vatican to recognize and thereby legitimize their efforts to respond to the anticlerical assaults launched by those governments. In Mexico’s case, the Cristero Rebellion (1926–1929) presented a particular challenge to the Vatican’s advocacy for church-state treaties, or concordats, rather than political activism by grassroots Catholic organizations. Various grassroots organizations – some of which directly aided the Cristero cause – received support by the Mexican episcopacy, even though this clearly conflicted with Vatican moves toward official diplomacy and aversion to violence and political activism. The Vatican, however, had to walk a fine line – too strong of a condemnation of the Cristero movement would alienate Mexican Catholics afire with devotion to their assaulted religion. In the case of Chile, Andes points out that Rome’s position vis-à-vis Catholic activism there was substantially the same as it was for Mexico. In pursuit of top-level diplomatic settlements, the Vatican often overlooked political activism on the ground to avoid alienating the laity, while simultaneously working with the episcopacy on official diplomatic efforts. In Chile, unlike in Mexico, the church was active within the political process through a specific party. By the middle of the nineteenth century, Catholics in Chile had formed Partido Conservador, which, by the end of the century, was so closely aligned with the church that differences between the two were often difficult to determine. In the interwar period, the Vatican’s overall prioritization for ecclesial diplomacy directed at concordats challenged this alignment. Rome, in fact, backed the Chilean version of the global apolitical Catholic Action movement as the most effective way to counter anticlerical attacks on the church, and encouraged new generations of Chilean activists to view Catholic Action as the social [End Page 85] Christian foil to political activism. The fact that some clerics continued to back a Catholic party, however, is evidence of the rift between Vatican goals internationally and popular sentiment on the ground. Andes’s work would be an appropriate work for a variety of academic contexts. It could be effectively used in advanced undergraduate or graduate courses in Latin American history, international relations, and church history. It is exhaustively researched and well written, and deserves a wide readership. Matthew A. Redinger Montana State University Billings Copyright © 2015 American Catholic Historical Society