1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910459669603321

Titolo

'These strange criminals' : an anthology of prison memoirs by conscientious objectors from the Great War to the Cold War / / edited by Peter Brock

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Toronto, [Ontario] ; ; Buffalo, [New York] ; ; London, [England] : , : University of Toronto Press, , 2004

©2004

ISBN

1-4426-2080-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (530 p.)

Collana

Heritage

Disciplina

355.2/24/0922

Soggetti

Conscientious objectors

World War, 1914-1918 - Conscientious objectors

World War, 1939-1945 - Conscientious objectors

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Conscientious objectors

World War, 1914-1918 - Prisoners and prisons

World War, 1939-1945 - Prisoners and prisons

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Prisoners and prisons

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword / Gaucher, Robert -- Preface -- Document Credits -- Part One: The Great War -- Introduction -- Britain -- Canada -- New Zealand -- United States -- Part Two: The Good War -- Introduction -- Britain -- New Zealand -- Australia -- United States -- Part Three: Cold-War America -- Introduction -- Appendix -- Further Reading

Sommario/riassunto

In many modern wars, there have been those who have chosen not to fight. Be it for religious or moral reasons, some men and women have found no justification for breaking their conscientious objection to violence. In many cases, this objection has led to severe punishment at the hands of their own governments, usually lengthy prison terms. Peter Brock brings the voices of imprisoned conscientious objectors to the fore in These Strange Criminals.This important and thought-



provoking anthology consists of thirty prison memoirs by conscientious objectors to military service, drawn from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and centring on their jail experiences either during the first or second world wars or in Cold War America. Voices from history - like those of Stephen Hobhouse, Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, Ian Hamilton, Alfred Hassler, and Donald Wetzel - come alive, detailing the impact of prison life and offering unique perspectives on wartime government policies of conscription and imprisonment. Sometimes intensely moving, and often inspiring, these memoirs show that in some cases, individual conscientious objectors - many well-educated and politically aware - sought to reform the penal system from within either by publicizing its dysfunction or through further resistance to authority. The collection is an essential contribution to our understanding of criminology and the history of pacifism, and represents a valuable addition to prison literature.