This article discusses how analyses of conflict often overlook competing interpretations of violence in times of change and transition. As a result, in historiography as well as in public discourse, wars just ‘end’ while neglecting the phenomena that are overlapping war and peaceful periods. This article argues that, along the dimensions of state domination, economy and law, alternative periodizations are required to do justice to actors whose politics are often not very strategic yet important for the political dynamics of transitions. Violence, we argue, can be used as a marker and entry point into the complex politics of change, which are motivated by ideology, opportunity, societal dynamics and lack of coherent control by the state or other institutions.

Veterans' and war invalids' organizations were - nationally and internationally - among the biggest social movements of the interwar period. While at first organised on a national level, many of them discovered international platforms to promote their interests. This article explores the relationship between the veterans' and war invalids' movement and the International Labour Organization (ILO). By undertaking a thorough analysis of the files of the Central European archives as well as archives of the League of Nations and the ILO, it traces how veterans' and war invalids' issues became a matter of labour politics. In this process, the article argues, war invalids - instead of veterans - became the core target group of the ILO's engagement in the field. This went hand in hand with an increasing fixation on labour and welfare. Focusing on the war invalids' political positioning between pacifism and revisionism, it follows back the preconditions of the founding of Conference Internationale des Associations des Mutiles et Anciens Combattants (CIAMAC) in 1925, hinting specifically at the importance of East Central and South Eastern European organizations and activists, who are often neglected in the shadow of the more outspoken French and German communities.

Crimes against peace' and 'crimes against humanity' are two elements of international law which acquired enormous resonance in the legal and moral discussions in the aftermath of the Second World War.The origination of these concepts is often attributed to the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and the American chief prosecutor at Nuremberg, Robert Jackson, and Hersch Lauterpacht.1However, this approach, quite widespread among international lawyers, overlooks the significant impact of the United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC) which, since its foundation in 1943, had paved the way for the London Charter.The UNWCC and its predecessors, the Cambridge Commission and the London International Assembly (LIA)concerned itself with legal questions relating to war crimes, to which its copious minutes testify.It had been established by seventeen of the Allied nations, initiated by representatives of occupied European countries, such as France and Poland, the Netherlands and Yugoslavia, but also included Australia, New Zealand and China and was thus one of the first global endeavours.The UNWCC's main function was to formulate and implement general measures for trial and punishment of alleged Axis war criminals.When central aspects of their findings were discussed at the London Conference in the summer of 1945, Robert Jackson was present as the head of the American delegation.The ideas shaping Nuremberg predominantly originated within the debates of the UNWCC, contributed to not only by the few known central figures (Jackson, Lauterpacht, Lemkin) but by the 1 Compare amongst others Vrdoljak, Ana Filipa.

During the Second World War, representatives of occupied European countries fled the continent, mostly to Great Britain. From 1940 onwards, exiled political representatives of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Yugoslavia and Free France were situated in London. This initiated debates about a broad range of legal issues, ranging from recognition and legitimacy to post-war justice. Law thus became a focal point in London, both imperative to uphold statehood and legitimacy in exile and an indispensable tool for planning and structuring the post-war world. This article looks at the pre-history of the UNWCC and presents interests and forces behind the creation of such a commission, and the attempts of different groups, states and individuals to maintain agency. This article will introduce discussions around the St James’s Declaration, the London International Assembly ( LIA ) and at Chatham House as important steps leading towards the UNWCC .

Menschen schreiben, Menschen notieren. Papierne (heute auch digitale) Gedachtnisstutzen halten fest, was sich im Kopf der oder des Schreibenden abspielt, um es fur kurze oder langere Zeit zu sichern und zu ubertragen. Termine, Kontakte und Adressen werden besonders oft verschriftlicht, da es sich um Informationen handelt, die prazise wiedergegeben werden mussen. Jeder einzelne Datensatz (eine Adresse, Telefonnummer, Ort und Zeit eines Treffens, Kontakte zu einer bestimmten Person) ist in sich eher trocken und schwer zu merken, die Verschriftlichung verwaltet also und assistiert unserer Erinnerung. An der Schnittstelle zwischen Alltagslogistik, Sozialleben und Erinnerung sind Adressbucher Hilfsmittel und Kulturtechnik zugleich. Das Adressbuch als Gegenstand dient im Sinne Bruno Latours der Delegation, da sein*e Benutzer*in Informationen auslagern kann. Dadurch werden Adressbucher fester Bestandteil von Netzwerken, welche ohne diese Niederschrift nicht aufrechtzuerhalten waren. Das lasst sich am Beispiel europaischer Netzwerke in London wahrend des Zweiten Weltkrieges darlegen: anhand eines edierten »Who’s Who« und des personlichen Adressbuches des Juristen Rene Cassin.

Historiker und Historikerinnen, zumal jene der jungeren deutschen Geschichte, beschaftigen sich am liebsten mit Recht, wenn es nicht weh tut. Der Boom der Menschenrechtshistoriographie steht dieser Diagnose ebensowenig entgegen wie die Flut an Behordengeschichten der NS-Zeit. Beide Trends bestatigen vielmehr den Befund, versteckt sich hinter den Etiketten doch nicht selten eine klassische Politik­historie, oft in der Gestalt einer Gesetzgebungsgeschichte, aufgelockert durch und verwoben mit ideen- und diskurshistorischen Elementen. Dies erlaubt es einerseits, sich von der etablierten, meist juristisch definierten Rechtsgeschichte abzusetzen, der vorgeworfen wird, zu einer sterilen Dogmengeschichte erstarrt zu sein. Andererseits halt man an tradierten Arbeitsteilungen fest: Die lastige, wiewohl notwendige Pflichtaufgabe, sich in die technischen Einzelheiten des Rechts zu vertiefen, darf aus der eigenen Zustandigkeit entlassen werden. Entsprechend begrenzt bleibt der wissenschaftliche Austausch: Rechtswissenschaftler/innen lesen historiographische Arbeiten als leichte Lekture fur den Hintergrund; Historiker/innen rezipieren die Studien ihrer juristischen Kolleg/innen als sprodes Fusnotenfutter. Dass der facherubergreifende Kontakt zuletzt vor allem durch regierungsseitig initiierte Projekte uber die NS-Belastung einzelner Ministerien und Behorden vorangetrieben wurde, bestatigt diese Beobachtung eher, als dass sie widerlegt wurde.

In 1931, Winston Churchill called the events of the First World War in Eastern Europe “The Unknown War.” For the course of the 20th Century, his judgment remained true. A war that most Eastern Europeans fought in foreign uniforms proved difficult to commemorate. Then the horrible experiences of the Second World War overshadowed the grim experience of the First. Only a handful of publications—many still valid and worthwhile—engaged with the subject of the First World War in Eastern Europe. It was only in the 21st Century that new interest was ignited. Eventually, the centenary of the First World War also brought new works on the history of Eastern Europe at the beginning of the 20th Century. Robert Blobaum’s book A Minor Apocalypse contributes to this renewed conversation. Blobaum sets out to deliver an up-to-date account of the history of Warsaw during the First World War for the English-speaking world. He aims to write a history of Warsaw that includes daily social and cultural life in the city and that explores the life of women and the Jewish minority. He also wants to put the events into perspective: on the one hand, by comparing Warsaw to other European cities during the First World War, and, on the other hand, to compare it to the experiences of the Second World War.

Während des Zweiten Weltkrieges flüchteten etwa 150.000 Europäer vor Krieg und Besatzung nach Großbritannien. Unter ihnen waren Angehörige der vormaligen europäischen Regierungen, Verwaltungen, politischen Eliten, Militärs und Königshäuser. Aus ihren Reihen bildeten sich Nationalkomitees und Exilregierungen, die die nationale Souveränität ihrer Länder trotz deutscher Besatzung aufrechterhalten und als Alliierte für einen gemeinsamen Sieg über Hitler eintreten wollten. Im Zentrum Londons lebten und arbeiteten sie in enger Nachbarschaft. Rechtlich betrachtet erreichten die Mitglieder der Exilregierungen London meist als individuelle Flüchtlinge; sie verließen die Stadt überwiegend als Angehörige anerkannter Regierungen. Eine genauere Untersuchung des »London Moment«, dieser formativen Phase europäischer Politik, bricht den vermeintlichen Gegensatz zwischen Macht und Ohnmacht auf und trägt so zur Reflexion über Flucht und Flüchtende bei. Der Aufsatz erläutert die Entwicklung des rechtlichen Status der Exilanten und folgt vier Fallbeispielen von der Ankunft zur Etablierung in London. * * * Some 150,000 Europeans fleeing war and occupation arrived in Great Britain during World War II. Among their number were members of the former European governments, administrations, political elites, armed forces and royal dynasties. National committees and governments in exile were formed from their ranks, seeking to uphold the national sovereignty of their countries despite the German occupation and to join forces as allies to defeat Hitler. They lived and worked in central London in close proximity to one another. In legal terms, most members of the governments in exile arrived in London as individual refugees; they largely left the city as members of recognised governments. A closer exploration of the ›London Moment‹, this formative phase in European politics, questions the supposed dichotomy between power and powerlessness and helps us reflect on flight and those forced to flee. The article looks at the development of the legal status of émigrés and follows four individuals from their arrival as refugees to becoming established in London.

Winston Churchill, célèbre pour ses remarques bien senties, nommait la Première Guerre mondiale dans l’Est une « guerre inconnue » (1931). Encore aujourd’hui, en 2014, en dépit de toute l’attention pour le centenaire, la commémoration de ce qui s’est passé en Pologne entre 1914 et 1918 ne peut pas être décrite mieux que par cette expression. Pourtant, la guerre fut loin d’être négligeable dans la région. La commémoration nationale et nationaliste de la guerre qui a dominé la période d’entre-deux-guerres a largement privilégié la mémoire des guerres d’Indépendance (1918-1921). Les mémoires concurrentes ont été réduites au silence et ont disparu des commémorations publiques. Cela a jeté les bases de l’oubli progressif de la Première Guerre mondiale durant les cent dernières années. Toutefois, assez récemment, la densification des contacts avec des pays européens possédant une culture différente de la commémoration, et le développement de réseaux transnationaux de recherche ont conduit à un intérêt croissant pour la Première Guerre mondiale. Ainsi, c’est paradoxalement par le niveau local et transnational que la mémoire de la Première Guerre en Pologne refait son apparition.

11 November has been celebrated in Warsaw since 1918. It was not only the day of armistice on the Western front, but also the day Poland regained independence. In 1926, it became an official holiday on Pilsudski's orders.1 Patriotic symbols — the red and white flag and the Polish eagle — and anthems — especially the national anthem 'Jeszcze Polska nie zginęla' (Poland is not yet lost) and the anthem of the Polish Legion's first brigade 'My, pierwsza brygada' (We are the First Brigade) — accompanied the celebrations.2 Even though it was celebrated as Independence Day, Swięto Niepodleglosci, 11 November was highly influenced by the 'Western' meaning of Armistice Day, without which independence could not have been reinstalled.3 Western European symbols and rituals were adapted: in 1925, Poland buried their own Unknown Soldier. Polish difficulties in dealing with the memory of the First World War were clearly expressed by the fact that only battlefields of the border wars had been considered, thus ruling out the risk of choosing an Unknown Soldier who had served with the armies of the partitioning powers, Germany, Austria and Russia.4 The ceremony included many references to the First World War, such as a one-minute silence, a ritual copied from the British ceremony5

The Great War created a new social group throughout Europe: ex-servicemen. Mass conscription and total warfare led to a vast number of combatants returning from the various battlefields. Unlike previous wars and times — and in what turned out to be a long-term legacy of the First World War — veterans emerged as a distinct group, defined by a construction of war commemoration and identity, as well as by their legal demands and rights.

After the Great War, Veterans were a new transnational mass phenomenon. This volume uses case studies to discuss the extent and impact of international veterans' organisations and draws out important

Julia Eichenberg's chapter analyses the continuation of violence in Ireland and Poland after the end of the Great War. In both countries, the postwar conflict was dominated by irregular warfare. The genesis of paramilitary formations in Poland and Ireland shows a radicalization of independence movements, accelerated by the political disintegration of the former regimes. Distinctions between civilians and the military were eroded in the face of guerrilla warfare and ethnic, religious and ideologically motivated violence.

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