European Neutrals and Non-Belligerents during the Second World War
European Neutrals and Non-Belligerents during the Second World War
This collection provides a comprehensive English-language survey of the conduct of neutral and non-belligerent states during the war. Instead of narrowly focusing on the few neutrals that survived the war intact, the volume broadens our understanding of neutrality, by including chapters on 'non-belligerents' and those neutrals of south-east Europe, such as Romania and Yugoslavia. The essays focus on how individual neutral governments perceived international developments and throw light on the domestic political circumstances that critically affected their response to the course of the war. They therefore provide the political context that has been overlooked in controversies surrounding their humanitarian and financial activities. While based on the authors' own research, the essays draw widely on secondary literature and provide invaluable analytical introductions to the large amount of historical writing on these countries.
- A comprehensive treatment of Europe's neutrals and non-belligerents
- Contributions drawn from scholars who are not only experts in their fields, but who come from the countries they write about - which enhances the book's unique perspective
- Presents for an English-language audience the results of research carried out in foreign countries
Reviews & endorsements
Review of the hardback: 'The attention properly given to historiography increases the book's value as a complement to mainline Second World War histories … Not only do these essays modify our understanding of neutrality, they also prompt us to rethink the Second World War itself.' The Times Literary Supplement
Review of the hardback: '… there is much to commend in this book … It is a very accessible book which will give the undergraduate an understanding of how the war was seen in the varying categories of 'neutral' nations, and will help fill in some gaps for researchers working on the Second world war period.' History
Review of the hardback: '… a very wide-ranging, but also a highly constructive treatment … The editor is to be commended on bringing these essays together; without doubt the collection will be valuable to academics and students alike.' Diplomacy and Statecraft
Review of the hardback: '… the book is attractively presented. There are handy short identifications of the contributors and the notes are at the bottom of the pages …'. H-Diplo
Product details
August 2010Paperback
9780521153621
382 pages
229 × 152 × 22 mm
0.56kg
Available
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Table of Contents
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: victims or actors? European neutrals and non-belligerents, 1939–45 Neville Wylie
- Part I. The 'Phoney War' Neutrals:
- 1. Denmark, September 1939–April 1940 Hans Kirchhoff
- 2. Norway Patrick Salmon
- 3. The Netherlands Bob Moore
- 4. Belgium: fragile neutrality, solid neutralism Alain Colignon
- Part II. The 'Wait and See' Neutrals: Map of South-East Europe and the Balkans, 1939–41
- 5. 'Where one man, and only one man, led': Italy's path from non-alignment to non-belligerency to war, 1937–40 Brian R. Sullivan
- 6. Treaty revision and doublespeak: Hungarian neutrality, 1939–41 Tibor Frank
- 7. Romanian neutrality 1939–40 Maurice Pearton
- 8. Bulgarian neutrality: domestic and international perspectives Vesselin Dimitrov
- 9. Yugoslavia Dragoljub R. Živojinovič
- Part III. The 'Long Haul' Neutrals:
- 10. Spain and the Second World War, 1939–45 Elena Hernández-Sandoica and Enrique Moradiello
- 11. Portuguese neutrality in the Second World War Fernando Rosas
- 12. Irish neutrality in the Second World War Eunan O'Halpin
- 13. Swedish neutrality during the Second World War: tactical success or moral compromise? Paul A. Levine
- 14. Switzerland: a neutral of distinction? Neville Wylie
- Appendix
- Index.
