1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910416089003321

Autore

Malpass Alan

Titolo

British Character and the Treatment of German Prisoners of War, 1939–48 / / by Alan Malpass

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2020

ISBN

3-030-48915-9

9783030489151

3030489140

9783030489144

Edizione

[1st ed. 2020.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource

Disciplina

940.547241

900

Soggetti

World War, 1939-1945

Civilization - History

Social history

History of Britain and Ireland

History of Germany and Central Europe

History of World War II and the Holocaust

Cultural History

Social History

Great Britain History

Europe, Central History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Introduction -- 2. Characteristic Decency of Dangerous Sentimentality? 1939-43 -- 3. Atrocities and the Limits of Civility. 1944-45 -- 4. Rubbing Shoulders with the (Ex)Enemy: Fraternisation and Marriage -- 5. ‘A Blot on Our Fair Name’? Indefinite Detention and Exploitation -- 6. After Liberation: Migration, Memory and the Meaning of British POW treatment -- 7. Conclusion.

Sommario/riassunto

This book examines attitudes towards German held captive in Britain, drawing on original archival material including newspaper and newsreel



content, diaries, sociological surveys and opinion polls, as well as official documentation and the archives of pressure groups and protest movements. Moving beyond conventional assessments of POW treatment which have focused on the development of policy, diplomatic relations, and the experience of the POWs themselves, this study refocuses the debate onto the attitude of the British public towards the standard of treatment of German POWs. In so doing, it reveals that the issue of POW treatment intersected with discussions of state power, human rights, gender relations, civility, and national character.