German-Balkan Entangled Histories in the Twentieth Century

This work brings to light an important chapter in Germany’s Destructive drive for power in the first half of the twentieth century while highlighting the ways that ethnic Germans from the Balkans and West Germany came to terms with this tragic history in the postwar period. . . . Zakić and Molnar have successfully woven together a diverse range of research topics and themes in such a way that the individual contributions both stand alone and link together seamlessly.
German Studies Review

This volume brings together a diverse group of scholars from North America and Europe to explore the history and memory of Germany’s fateful push for power in the Balkans during the era of the two world wars and the long postwar period. Each chapter focuses on one or more of four interrelated themes: war, empire, (forced) migration, and memory. The first section, “War and Empire in the Balkans,” explores Germany’s quest for empire in Southeast Europe during the first half of the century, a goal that was pursued by economic and military means. The book’s second section, “Aftershocks and Memories of War,” focuses on entangled German-Balkan histories that were shaped by, or a direct legacy of, Germany’s exceptionally destructive push for power in Southeast Europe during World War II. German-Balkan Entangled Histories in the Twentieth Century expands and enriches the neglected topic of Germany’s continued entanglements with the Balkans in the era of the world wars, the Cold War, and today.

394 Pages, 6 x 9 in.

January, 2021

isbn : 9780822966753

about the editors

Christopher A. Molnar

Christopher A. Molnar is associate professor of history at the University of Michigan–Flint and the author of Memory, Politics, and Yugoslav Migrations to Postwar Germany.

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Christopher A. Molnar
Mirna Zakic

Mirna Zakić is associate professor of German history at Ohio University and the author of Ethnic Germans and National Socialism in Yugoslavia in World War II.

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Mirna Zakic