Mirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide, and Modern Identity

TitleMirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide, and Modern Identity
Publication TypeBook
Year of Publication2000
AuthorsBartov, Omer
Number of Pages310
PublisherOxford University Press
CityOxford
Abstract

Mirrors of Destruction examines the relationship between total war, state-organized genocide, and the emergence of modern identity. To provide the context for the "Final Solution," Bartov examines the changing relationships between Jews and non-Jews in France and Germany from the outbreak of World War I to the present... He begins with an analysis of the glorification of war and violence, from its modern birth in the trenches of World War I to its horrifying culmination in the presentation of genocide by the SS as a glorious undertaking. He then examines the pacifist reaction in interwar France to show how it contributed to a climate of collaboration with dictatorship and mass murder. The book goes on to argue that much of the discourse on identity throughout the century has had to do with identifying and eliminating society's "elusive enemies" or "enemies from within." Bartov concludes with an investigation of modern apocalyptic visions, showing how they have both encouraged mass destructions and opened a way for the reconstruction of individual and collective identifies after a catastrophe. 

URLhttp://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780195151848.html
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42022246

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