World War II Re-explored

Germany and Japan, totally broken and demoralized in 1945 not only by their military defeat, but even more by the magnitude of their war crimes and the genocide (not only the Holocaust, but also atrocities committed against other nations and millions of Prisoners of War) committed in the name of their nations, showed that they were able to re-consolidate, and draw conclusions from the horrible wartime experience of failed expansion supported by the totalitarian and toxic ideologies of Nazism, Fascism and militarism. Therefore, although they lost the war, these nations were able to win the peace, and become not only economic giants, but – probably, we should say ‘but first of all’ – reliable and respected members of the international community.

The next chapter by Stephanie James describes and analyses some Australian newspaper responses to the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbour and Darwin. James argues that the perceived threat to Australia’s national security in 1941–1942 found strong links in much earlier fears of Asia embodied in ‘the Yellow Peril’ motif, alongside a powerful sense of isolation from Britain.

The Readers obtain another insight in the consequences of the Pacific War thanks to Christine Winter. She utilised the rare documents written by some senior New Guinean men either during or in the immediate aftermath of the war when, in addition to the occupying Japanese on the Huon Peninsula, there were also pressures from remaining German missionaries, and behind the line Australians. Such a localised history enables a powerful revision of the war’s impact on this region of New Guinea.

The focus of Frank Dohnt’s chapter, ‘In search of an independent Indonesia: Japanese Occupation Policies for Asia versus Indonesian Nationalist Aspirations during World War Two,’ is the fate of the former Dutch East Indies colony at the turn of the war and peace, when the defeat of the Japanese Empire became an obvious matter. He interrogates the wartime roles played by Japan and Indonesian Nationalists in the declaration of Indonesian independence in August 1945.

The chapter, ‘The Japanese Invasion of Malaya in World War Two Anti-Japanese Resistance and the Malay Nationalist Movement,’ written by Abdul Rahman Embong and Zaharul Abdullach, enables close reflection on the immediate impact of the war on differently motivated anti-colonial movements, and provides insights into the longer term process of demands for independence in Malaya.

The contribution by Frank Dhont, Janet E. Marles and Maslin Bin Haji Jukim/Jukin is centred on an oral history project involving video interviews with local people who experienced Japan’s military occupation of Brunei Darussalam. Augmenting and extending the preexisting historical narrative, the joint authors of ‘Memories of World War Two: Oral Histories from Brunei Darussalam (December 1941-June 1945),’ explain how they have, with the help of graduate students, created an archival data base of interviews as an important and accessible resource.

Fumitaka Furuoka’s chapter, ‘Japanese ultranationalism and its “holy” war: A brief intellectual history,’ presents a survey of the main features of anti-western sentiment among Japanese ultranationalists, emphasising four central elements of their critique. Thus, he discusses the uniqueness of Japanese culture, the decay and imminent decline of the West, Western interference in domestic issues, and Western hypocrisy.

The chapter ‘Introducing the Memorial Site for Asia-Pacific War Forced Labourers in Hokkaido – Background, Constraints, and Opportunities in a Foreign Language Classroom,’ explores the important question of increasing awareness of memorial sites in Japan. The authors, Raimond Selke and Masahiro Saito urge greater utilisation of these sites in order that all facets of the country’s past are understood in order that forgetfulness is never allowed to occur.

In another very different perspective on World War Two, Paul Cornelius and Douglas Rhein explore the world of filmic representations of the war in ‘Cinema of Change: Evolving Responses to World War Two in Japan and the United States.’ They argue that war films reflect attitudes and prejudice, especially those made in close proximity to the war, but show that the punitive response to the German film industry was not replicated in Japan. And, via a detailed study of individual Japanese and American films up to the early years of this century, they highlight the process of evolution in both countries.

The next chapter is intent on discussing the war from the specific perspective of a small country, Nepal. In ‘The Second World War and Nepal: A Discussion of Involvement and Experience,’ Surendra K. C. and Ratna M. Nepal explain that Nepal only became involved because of its close relationship with Britain, and that when the Nepalese troops fought overseas, their bravery distinguished them, and their tiny country provided extraordinary support for the war. Returning home, these men were carriers of new ideas and experiences, and contributed to changing ideas about government and politics.

Esmaeil Zeiny’s chapter, ‘From the Imperial Venture to the Poles’ Haven: World War Two and Iran, 1939–1945,’ explores the reasons for the Allies relatively easy invasion of Iran in August 1941, and the reasons for its continuing wartime importance. In addition, Zeiny relates the saga of many thousands of Poles who were, firstly, deported to Siberia from the eastern half of Poland occupied in 1939 by the Soviet Union and later, after Germany attacked the Soviets in 1941, they were released from the Siberian exile and transported to safety in Iran. He also explores their experience of life in wartime Iran.

The chapter by Jan Asmussen, ‘Amidst Abyss and Paradise – Germany’s War in East Asia,’ examines the strategic rationale for Germany’s East Asian military operations. Against this backdrop, the social lives of German navy personnel in Asian locations produced surprising challenges to their notions of racial prejudice and superiority, as at least some seamen developed growing respect for Asian culture.

The intention of Aleka Strzova in ‘The Establishment of Bulgarian-Japanese Diplomatic Relations and the First Bulgarian Diplomatic Representatives in Tokyo (1942–1945),’ has been to highlight the nature of the early bilateral connections of these two countries which remained wartime allies. Her chapter also charts the story of the forgotten Bulgarian diplomats, who served in Tokyo during World War Two.

Alessandro Salvador’s discussion of ‘Italian-Japanese relations during the crisis of Fascist Italy, 1943–1945,’ while it illuminates surprising aspects of Japanese hero worship of Mussolini, also reveals some basic weaknesses of the alliance. He argues the relationship was more ideological than military or political, and that this aspect of the Tripartite Pact deserves closer attention.

Tuomo Melasuo’s contribution to this book, ‘The Second World War and Africa – New Perspectives within Colonial Contexts,’ highlights the impact of the war on colonial relationships, while at the same time, demonstrating the ways the African continent formed an important theatre of war. His approach looks backwards to World War One and the inter-war period, identifies the various phases of the global conflict in Africa, and finally shows how the intense international hostility produced a new world order in which the colonial legacy was subverted, and new kinds of political profiles emerged on the continent.

‘Brazil’s Participation in World War Two’ analysed the origins of Brazil’s alliance with America by means of the development of a Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) which then saw action on the Italian war front. Alfredo O. Salun incorporated oral history sources to examine the FEB, his approach highlighted racism and culture clashes, as well as daily life at the front.

In ‘Terror Remembered, Terror Forgotten: Stalinist, Nazi, and Nationalist atrocities in Ukrainian National Memory’ Per A. Rudling focusses on the Ukraine, and the challenges of memory. His discussion incorporates the horrific political violence of the 1930s and 1940s coming from Soviet and German authorities – the death of millions later unmentionable under the double yoke of one party rule and the Cold War – and the ethnic cleansing of Poles and Jews by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, also a closed subject. He concludes that the ‘mutually exclusive narratives’ emanating from both the Soviets and the Ukrainian diaspora are significant for the post-Soviet Ukraine to integrate in ‘coming to terms with a difficult past.’

Yuliya Yurchuk also writes about the Ukraine. Her paper – ‘Memories of the war-time nationalist movement during the Orange Revolution (2004) and the Euromaidan (2014): similarities, differences, and purposes of the use of the past in the turbulent times of the present’ – reveals the ways historical evidence of past actions can be distorted by neglect, being ignored, and incompletely presented.

The paper from Helene P. Evans presents a somehow neglected aspect of the maritime history of World War II. She concentrated on the fate of the Finnish Merchant Navy and their ships. Specifically she looked at the ships seized as prize, and the sailors who were either interned or who sailed on behalf of the British and the Commonwealth contributing to the war effort of the allies.

In his ‘Hitler’s Satellites? Finland and Romania in Nazi Foreign Policy and War Strategy, 1940/1941–1944,’ Michael Jonas compares two smaller nations of Finland and Romania, which became attached to the early 1940s Nazi German orbit, but later managed to detach themselves. He discusses the range of reasons and events which differentiated the attitude of Germany to these countries, commenting that in many ways Romania was more compatible with the Third Reich, and yet it fared much worse than Finland which was always a special case.

In his examination of ‘Authorship during National-Socialism and War – Conservative Conspiracy. Dangers and Despair of ‘the Inner Exile’ – Rudolf Borchardt and Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen,’ Alexander Mionskowski shows how these monarchist and right-wing conservative writers assembled historic comparisons as their platform against contemporary Germany in the 1930s. Although he judges their criticisms as valid, nevertheless their elitist framework limited their ability to precipitate meaningful action from the population or dissident groups.

The paper by Thorsten Schaar, Annika Gilgen and Chang Shi Wen, ‘Cinematic Representation of World War Two in Scandinavia in Contemporary European Movies (2010–2015)’ convincingly argues that the visual media have become the most important medium for public understanding of history. To support this claim, ten recent films set in Scandinavian countries are dissected by the authors. They discuss which aspects of the war are shown, and how both critics and audiences have viewed these narratives – the emphasis here is on plot and historical content rather than ‘cinematic aesthetics and value.’

The focus of the next chapter authored by Mika Suonpää – ‘British Security Agencies and Suspected German Espionage Couriers during the “Phoney War,”’ focuses on the examination of the ways the British ‘secret state’ operated, evolved and organised itself on a daily basis. It also highlights the paranoid ‘phoney war’ atmosphere, and discusses modern warfare’s increasing appetite for different types of information for its successful conduct.

Stuart Wakefield in his chapter, ‘A Village Tale: The Impact of War Office ownership of Salisbury Plain upon the village of Imber during World War Two,’ charts the gradual official military takeover of this agriculturally based hamlet. Initiated in 1897, it culminated with the eviction of all remaining villagers in 1943; despite post-war struggles to return attracting support, War Office decisions proved unchallengeable.

In ‘The Flawed Vision of World Peace. Yalta,’ Marek Kornat argues that ‘countless myths and simplifications’ have accompanied the voluminous discussion about whether peace could have been achieved on more just terms. And he concludes that Western appeasement of the Soviet Union could never have been effective because Moscow always interpreted concessions as weakness, and then sought further opportunities for expansion.

The chapter titled ‘Horrible Decade 1938–1947. Europe during and directly after World War Two: Some Selected Problems,’ focusses attention on some horrific consequences of the war. Jan M. Piskorski links the post-war desire for retaliation, especially against Germany, but also, horrifically, against the Jews, to the corrupting consequences of ‘long-lasting violence.’ He urges that critical examination of post-war decisions must be evaluated in their context, because we are the ‘guardians of memory.’

Marek Kozłowski’s ‘Comparative Analysis of Post-Second World War Urban Environments in Western and Central Europe and Southeast Asia,’ highlights the diverse impacts of war in these very different locations, and views warfare through a totally different perspective. Providing examples of the immense destruction caused to European cities – and emphasising their urban population ratios in contrast to those in Southeast Asia where most fighting and impact was in rural areas – Kozłowski demonstrates why the path of post-war rebuilding developed differently in these two regions.

Arnd Bauerkämper, the author of the final chapter, ‘The Second World War in the New Millennium: National memory Cultures and Universalist Narratives in Europe – Contrary or Complementary?’ argues that despite the end of the Cold War, there is no common memory culture. The years of mass violence remain as contested and fractured memories both within and between nation-states. He views the more recent movement towards more sophisticated, or perhaps universalistic, recollections of the mass atrocities associated with World War Two as having reframed rather than replaced European national memory cultures.

Curtin sought accurate information regarding ‘the real attitude of the aborigines’ from officers responsible for the ‘protection and control of aborigines.’ A Queensland security report of July 1942, entitled ‘Japanese Activities Among the Aborigines,’ meanwhile stated that