Research Catalog

Title

The triumph of the dark : European international history, 1933-1939 / Zara Steiner.

Author

Steiner, Zara.

Publication

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2011.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xiv, 1222 p. : maps; 23 cm.

Summary

In this magisterial narrative, Zara Steiner traces the twisted road to war that began with Hitler's assumption of power in Germany. Covering a wide geographical canvas, from America to the Far East, Steiner provides an indispensable reassessment of the most disputed events of these tumultuous years. Steiner underlines the far-reaching consequences of the Great Depression, which shifted the initiative in international affairs from those who upheld the status quo to those who were intent on destroying it. In Europe, the 1930s were Hitler's years. He moved the major chess pieces on the board, forcing the others to respond. From the start, Steiner argues, he intended war, and he repeatedly gambled on Germany's future to acquire the necessary resources to fulfill his continental ambitions. Only war could have stopped him-an unwelcome message for most of Europe. Misperception, miscomprehension, and misjudgment on the part of the other Great Powers leaders opened the way for Hitler's repeated diplomatic successes. It is ideology that distinguished the Hitler era from previous struggles for the mastery of Europe. Ideological presumptions created false images and raised barriers to understanding that even good intelligence could not penetrate. Only when the leaders of Britain and France realized the scale of Hitler's ambition, and the challenge Germany posed to their Great Power status, did they finally declare war. - Publisher.

Series Statement

Oxford history of modern Europe

Uniform Title

Oxford history of modern Europe.

Subjects

• Europe > Politics and government > 1918-1945
• Europe > History > 1918-1945

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [1082]-1116) and index.

Contents

Brown dawn: the rise of Hitler and the death of disarmament, 1933-1934 -- Uncertain embraces: the European powers and Nazi Germany, 1934-1935 -- The assault on Versailles and Locarno: Ethiopia and the remilitarization of the Rhineland -- The remnants of internationalism, 1936-1937 -- The Spanish cockpit, 1936-1937 -- 'Loaded pause': remarmament and appeasement, 1936-1937 -- Illusions of neutrality: Eastern Europe, 1936-1938 -- Whither the Soviet Union? Moscow and the West, 1936-1938 -- Thunder from the East: the Sino-Japanese conflict and the European powers, 1933-1938 -- Hitler moves: Austria and Czechoslovakia, 1938 -- The Munich settlement -- The fog of peace: strategic choices after Munich -- Black sun: aggression and deterrence -- Darkening skies: peace talking and war planning in Britain and France -- Unleashing the dogs of war -- Red clouds: the Soviet Union and the Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1939 -- Escape from war or persecution? The smaller powers and the Jews -- The nightmare of the dark: the decision for war -- Appendices: Statistical tables -- Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of selected European powers -- Chronology of international events, 1933-1941.

Call Number

JFD 12-1161

ISBN

• 9780199212002 (hardback)
• 0199212007 (hardback)

LCCN

2010935056

OCLC

713501690

Author

Steiner, Zara.

Title

The triumph of the dark : European international history, 1933-1939 / Zara Steiner.

Imprint

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2011.

Series

Oxford history of modern Europe

Oxford history of modern Europe.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (p. [1082]-1116) and index.

Connect to:

Table of contents only

Research Call Number

JFD 12-1161