Hitler's Scandinavian Legacy

by Stephenson, Jill; Gilmour, John

• ISBN13: 9781472578419
• ISBN10: 1472578414
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-07-03
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

The Scandinavian [Nordic] countries of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland experienced the effects of the German invasion in April 1940 in very different ways. Collaboration, resistance, and co-belligerency were only some of the short-term consequences. Each country's historiography has undergone enormous changes in the seventy years since the invasion, and this collection by leading historians examines the immediate effects of Hitler's aggression as well as the long-term legacies for each country's self-image and national identity.

The Scandinavian countries' war experience fundamentally changed how each nation functioned in the post-war world by altering political structures, the dynamics of their societies, the inter-relationships between the countries and the popular view of the wartime political and social responses to totalitarian threats.

Hitler was no respecter of the rights of the Scandinavian nations but he and his associates dealt surprisingly differently with each of them. In the post-war period, this has caused problems of interpretation for political and cultural historians alike. Drawing on the latest research, this volume will be a welcome addition to the comparative histories of Scandinavia and the Second World War.

Author Biography

John Gilmour is Honorary Fellow in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He is the author of Sweden, the Swastika and Stalin (2010).

Jill Stephenson is Professor Emeritus of Modern German History at the University of Edinburgh, UK. She has published widely on modern German history, including Hitler's Home Front: Württemberg under the Nazis (2006), Women in Nazi Germany (2001), The Nazi Organisation of Women (1981) and Women in Nazi Society (1975).

Table of Contents

1. Editors' Introduction John Gilmour (University of Edinburgh, UK) and Jill Stephenson (University of Edinburgh, UK)
2. Scandinavia in the Second World War Richard Overy (University of Exeter, UK)
3. The Nordic Countries and the Second World War: A British Perspective Patrick Salmon (University of Newcastle, UK)
4. The Obsession with Sovereignty: Cohabitation and Resistance in Denmark 1940-45 Niels Wium Olesen (University of Aarhus, Denmark)
5. Closing a Long Chapter: German-Norwegian Relations 1939-45: Norway and the Third Reich Tom Kristiansen (Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, Norway)
6. The Case of Sweden Kent Zetterberg (Swedish National Defence College, Sweden)
7. Janus of the North? Finland 1940-44: Finland's road into alliance with Hitler Oula Silvennoinen (University of Helsinki, Finland)
8. 'The Five Evil Years': National Self-image, Commemoration and Historiography in Denmark 1945-2010: Trends in Historiography and Commemoration Claus Bundgård Christensen (University of Roskilde, Denmark)
9. Hitler's Norwegian Legacy Ole Kristian Grimnes (University of Oslo, Norway)
10. Realism and Idealism: Swedish Narratives of the Second World War: Historiography and Interpretation in the Post-War Era Johan ?stling (Lund University, Sweden)
11. Two Shadows over Finland: Hitler, Stalin and the Finns Facing the Second World War as History 1944-2010 Juhana Aunesluoma (University of Helsinki, Finland)
12. Conclusion Allan Little (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Index