Child forced labour: an analysis of ego documents throughout time

This article centralises a unique collection of ego documents created under Communism in which Polish former child forced labourers articulate their war experiences. A comparative analysis of them with recent testimonies reveals that these ego documents offer a more nuanced depiction of Germans and display richer information on the specific working conditions and daily routine for children than the contemporary ones. A comparative reading of the archival testimonies with their published equivalents shows how the streamlining of a publicly acceptable version of the past under Communism went both ways, that is, at times foregrounding the propaganda content of autobiographical wordings, but also at other moments downplaying this element. The collection increases our understanding of child forced labour experiences during the Second World War, specifically the ways in which children perceived that experience, and offers insights into the negotiated appropriation of Communist ideology at the individual level.     

Re-education in times of transitional justice: the case of the Dutch and Belgian collaborators after the Second World War

After the liberation of the Second World War, the governing parties in both Belgium and The Netherlands agreed that it was necessary to punish the collaborators. But the notion that the large majority had to be ‘re-educated’ for social reintegration also very soon prevailed in both countries. Collaborators had to be ‘cured’ to become full democratic national citizens again, and their punishment was designed to achieve this. Although in the last few decades the research scope of transitional justice has developed greatly and has contributed to an ever more nuanced picture of the punishment of collaboration in the post-war period, the question of to what extent prisons were used as places to ‘improve’ enemies of the state during a regime change has largely been overlooked. But precisely by studying the execution of the punishment, underlying ideologies and interests are exposed, and we can see how well defined citizenship was. This paper, with the aid of the Dutch–Belgian comparison, considers how post-war re-education was approached in those countries and what this says about the meaning of imprisonment during regime changes.     

Naming and Claiming: Official History as Contemporary History in the Recording of New Zealand 23rd Battalion,Galatas, Crete, 1941

While official war histories have been readily criticised for the limitations associated with their government funding and production, the influence of the very contemporary nature of the histories has been less generally acknowledged. In the case of the Second World War, official history programmes were underway in the United Kingdom and across the British Commonwealth by 1946 and often drew on personal documents and recollections in conjunction with the more formal records of war. This article provides an example of the writing of an official history in practice to show ways in which the methodological challenges of producing these volumes could lie as much within their contemporary nature as with their official designation.     

The Water Pools and the Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the Late Second Temple Period

A significant number of water pools existed in Jerusalem in the Late Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. The pools constitute an archaeological phenomenon that should be analysed in its own right. No other city in the region had so many stand-alone large pools in its urban landscape. This paper offers an explanation of this phenomenon based on its cultural, historical, and archaeological context. The article discusses the corpus of pools, including the dating, the methods of water collection and their possible use in light of similar water installations that were common in this period. In the analysis of the pools' appearance in Jerusalem, the paper examines the broader context of the phenomenon—water utilisation by Jewish society in the time of the Second Temple before 70 AD. The conclusion drawn is that the pools are a manifestation of the wide-scale pilgrimage movement to Jerusalem that emerged in the Late Second Temple.     

当代中国城市地理学的基石——记我的导师周一星教授的重要学术创建

本文概述了中国当代著名城市地理学者周一星教授所取得的若干重要学术成就。     

‘THE FIVE ACCURSED YEARS’

The subject for this paper is the question of how the Second World War has been perceived and used since that war – in Denmark, and especially in recent years, but also with a comparative view to Norway and Sweden. In addition to an outline of the development of public history regarding the war and the Scandinavian countries and a comparison of the ways history is used, the paper examines the friction areas between history, politics and morality in relation to actual cases and raises the question of how to establish a balance between the three which will enable a reliable picture of historical events as well as secure a positive identification for future generations.     

Transatlantic Generosity: Canada's ‘Billion Dollar Gift’ to the United Kingdom in the Second World War

On the basis of research in Canadian, British, and US records, this article examines the development and implementation of the most generous financial act in the Second World War: Canada's billion dollar gift to the United Kingdom in 1942. The origins of this extraordinary measure, the political and economic factors that influenced its introduction, and the reasons why its replacement differed so markedly in format even as it replicated the fundamental purposes of the gift, are all assessed within the context of Canada's economic relations with Britain and the United States. As this analysis demonstrates, the gift advanced Canada's enlightened self-interest and bolstered the war effort of its oldest and closest ally. It was an economic success but a political failure; how it was perceived and depicted in Canada ensured that it would not be repeated, even though the conditions and requirements that necessitated the gift had not changed and equivalent measures had to be implemented.     

Albert the Great's interpretation of neuropsychiatric symptoms in the context of scholastic psychology and physiology* 1

Abstract

Albert the Great (ca. 1193–1280) serves as an example to show how the Latin West successfully integrated Greco‐Arabian psychology with Galenic physiology. He divised a model of perceptive, cognitive and mnestic powers located in different areas of the “brain cells”; and interacting with the immaterial and man‐specific intellect. He managed to describe anmesis, epileptic seizures and psychotic states as results of disturbed brain fuction. Finally, further aspects of Scholastic theorizing on mental disorders are discussed.     

The Study of Small Finds at the 1644 Battle of Cheriton

Abstract

A metal detection survey over a 2.6% sample of the Registered 1644 Battlefield of Cheriton yielded 355 metallic small finds, of which 92% were directly related to the battle. An archaeological analysis of the sample emphasises the use of non-valuable small finds as an aid to understanding the location, direction and participants of battle. An appreciation of battle and the actions of warfare has been indicated via the social and functional aspects of weaponry. The finds have been assessed within their Civil War context and indicate that the presumed extent of the battlefield could be much larger than previously thought. The distribution of the finds confirms that the retreating Royalist army were pursued as they fled. Individual regiments within the armies have been identified based on find typology and distribution, to build up a coherent interpretation of the battle.     

The question of Fascist Italy's war crimes: the construction of a self-acquitting myth (1943 – 1948)

Between the announcement of the armistice on 8 September 1943 and 1948, the anti-fascist ruling class developed a narrative of the ‘Fascist war’ that was destined to mark deeply the historical conscience of the country and the national self-image. Until now, extraneous to both of these has been the awareness of Fascist Italy's role as protagonist in a policy of aggression towards various foreign states (Ethiopia, Albania, France, Greece, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union) and as an occupation regime distinguished by violent forms of repression and control not dissimilar to the abominations committed by Nazi Germany in western Europe. A study of the debate on the question of Italian war crimes and criminals from 1943 to 1948 will shed light on this lacuna in the historical memory of the Italians.