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Dynamic of Destruction

(Redirected from Dynamic of Destruction: Culture and Mass Killing in the First World War)

Dynamic of Destruction: Culture and Mass Killing in the First World War is an analysis of the causes and attitudes behind the cultural destruction and mass killings during World War I, which indiscriminately included large numbers of civilians. This book was written by Alan Kramer [de], a professor of history at Trinity College of Dublin. It was first published in 2007 by Oxford University Press. Additionally, this book focuses on and advances the literature pertaining to the Eastern front more than the Western front.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Dynamic of Destruction: Culture and Mass Killing in the First World War
An image of the 2007 book cover
2007 book jacket
AuthorAlan Kramer
SeriesMaking of the Modern World (Oxford University Press series)
SubjectWorld War, 1914-1918--Destruction, pillage and atrocities. War crimes. Cultural property destruction. Recovery of Memory.
GenreNonfiction-history
Set inWorld War One, Europe
PublishedJuly 26, 2007
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication placeGreat Britain, United States
Media typePrint, Audio, E-book
Pages416
ISBN9780192803429 9780199543779
OCLC85833457
940.4/05
LC ClassD625 .K73 2007
WebsiteOfficial website

Synopsis

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In the book, Kramer expresses the sentiment that the two World Wars can be viewed as a distinct event that produced four decades of agony and upheaval. World War I was not only a new industrial type of warfare. Violence, eradication and annihilation became military policy for most and perhaps all the warring powers. Additionally, Kramer expresses the sentiment of "hooliganism" as policy to be employed toward cultural icons, such as churches. One infamous example occurred in August 1914: "German forces in Louvain, Belgium, not only murdered 248 innocent civilians in cold blood, but burned the city's ancient library to the ground."[1] The author notes that the book "is a story of unremitting violence, destruction, hatred, and misery."[7]

About the book

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Research for the book was initially conducted by the author during a 2002–2003 sabbatical leave in Rome, and at the library of the German Historical Institute there.[7] The book is organized by the following chapter titles:[8]

  1. The Burning of Louvain
  2. The Radicalization of Warfare
  3. The Warriors
  4. German Singularity?
  5. Culture and War
  6. Trench Warfare and its Consequences
  7. War, Bodies, and Minds
  8. Victory, Trauma, and Post-War disorder

The book opens with an introductory chapter. It also includes 33 illustrations, five maps, a concluding chapter, a historiographical note, a notes section, an appendix, and a bibliography section.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Montefiore, Simon Sebag (November 4, 2007). "Extermination States". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Scutts, Joanna. "Review of Dynamic of Destruction". Library of Social Science. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  3. ^ Naimark, Norman M. (2009). "Alan Kramer . Dynamic of Destruction: Culture and Mass Killing in the First World War. (The Making of the Modern World.) New York: Oxford University Press. 2007 . Pp. Vi, 434. $34.00". The American Historical Review. 114 (4): 1145. doi:10.1086/ahr.114.4.1145. JSTOR 23883081.
  4. ^ Allen, Barbara C. (2009). "Reviewed work: Dynamic of Destruction: Culture and Mass Killing in the First World War, Alan Kramer". The Historian. 71 (4): 905–907. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.2009.00252_59.x. JSTOR 24454137. S2CID 142987279.
  5. ^ Hull, Isabel V. (2008). "Reviewed work: Dynamic of Destruction: Culture and Mass Killing in the First World War, Alan Kramer". Central European History. 41 (3): 524–526. doi:10.1017/S000893890800068X. JSTOR 20457379. S2CID 145088521.
  6. ^ Stephenson, Scott. "Dynamic of Destruction: Culture and Mass Killing in the First World War." Military Review, vol. 89, no. 3, May-June 2009, p. 127. ProQuest. (Free PDF download}.
  7. ^ a b Kramer, Alan. "Acknowledgements". Dynamic of Destruction. 2007.
  8. ^ a b Kramer, Alan. "Table of Contents". Dynamic of Destruction. 2007.

Further reading

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