Brill’s Digital Library of World War I

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Brill’s Digital Library of World War I
is an online resource that contains over 700 encyclopedia entries plus 250 peer-reviewed articles of transnational and global historical perspectives on significant topics of World War I. This collection includes Brill’s Encyclopedia of the First World War, an unrivalled reference work that showcases the knowledge of experts from 15 countries and offers 26 additional essays on the major belligerents, wartime society and culture, diplomatic and military events, and the historiography of the Great War.

The 250 articles address not only the key issues from political, historical and cultural perspectives, but also engages with aspects of the war which have remained underexplored such as the neutrals, the role of women before, during and after the war, and memory. The chapters have been drawn from a select number of Brill publications that have been published in the last 15 years. Brill’s Digital Library of World War I is a unique digital library that will allow researchers to discover new perspectives and connections with the enhanced navigational tools provided.

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Name Index

(4,045 words)

Contributor(s): Amersfoort, Herman | Klinkert, Wim
Amersfoort, Herman; Klinkert, Wim - Name Index Keywords: military problem | neutrality | Total War Abstract: This index presents the list of author names that occur in this book titled Small Powers in the Age of Total War, 1900-1940. The collective result of the research of the authors contributing to the book is in fact a strong plea to not only investigate neutrality as a legal concept or the stance of a country in its international relations, but also as a military problem. Small Powers in the Age of Total War, 1900–1940 Herman Amersfoort and Wim Klinkert, (2011) Publication Editor: Brill,…

Narew Offensive

(882 words)

Author(s): Stone, Norman
Narew Offensive In mid-June of 1915, the Russian High Command (Stavka) reviewed the depressing military situation at a conference in Cholm (Chełm). The conference was called in the aftermath of the defeat in Galicia and the Russian Army was now half a million men understrength. In the north, in Courland, the German Army Group Lauenstein (later: Army of the Neman) was now in a favorable position that enabled it to level threats both at Riga, Russia’s most important Baltic port and one of Russia’s m…

Narrow Escapes, 1917–1918

(97 words)

Author(s): van Tuyll van Serooskerken, Hubert P.
van Tuyll van Serooskerken, Hubert P. - Narrow Escapes, 1917–1918 ‛The Netherlands and World War I’ Hubert P. van Tuyll van Serooskerken, Hubert P. van Tuyll van Serooskerken - The Netherlands and World War I Publication Editor: Brill, The Netherlands, 2001 e-ISBN: 9789047405187 DOI: 10.1163/9789047405187.007 © 2001 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands van Tuyll van Serooskerken, Hubert P.

Nationalities Question

(1,312 words)

Author(s): Hecker, Hans
Nationalities Question The nationalities question in Eastern and Southeastern Europe developed in the course of the 19th century from the greatly mixed population that inhabited Russia, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Prussia in the German Reich, plus the newly independent states of Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, and Greece – a great variety of nationalities, with their different languages, religions, cultures, and interests. Although the murder of the Austro-Hungarian he…

National Socialism

(2,472 words)

Author(s): Krumeich, Gerd
National Socialism The first industrialized mass war had considerable effects on political and social relationships, and on the mentality of people. Italian Fascism and German National Socialism owe their particular characteristics and their legitimization to the First World War, described by Eric J. Hobsbawm as a “machine for brutalizing the world.” By his own testimony, Hitler himself was a “son of the war.” In repeated references to the war in Mein Kampf and in numerous statements and documented conversations ( Hitler’s Table Talks), Hitler returned time and again to his p…

National Women’s Service

(977 words)

Author(s): Süchting-Hänger, Andrea
National Women’s Service Organization of the German women’s movement. During the war, the National Women’s Service (NWS) regulated the various social welfare activities both by and for women which were important for the political and economic promotion of the war effort on the home front. On August 1, 1914, the Prussian Ministry of the Interior established the Bund deutscher Frauenvereine (Union of German Women’s Organizations). In case of war, these organizations had already drawn up a provisional plan in July, outlining the responsibilities of the NWS …

Naumann, Friedrich

(545 words)

Author(s): Theiner, Peter
Naumann, Friedrich (March 25, 1860, Störmthal [Leipzig] – August 24, 1919, Travemünde), German politician and publicist. After completing his theological studies, Naumann had many experiences at the Rauh Haus, a Protestant aid foundation for children and youth that influenced him regarding the social problems of his heavily industrialized era. He became a spokesman for the young Christian socialists at the Evangelical Social Congress of 1890, speaking out for a renewal of the institution of German Protestantism. Under the …

Naval Arms Race

(1,316 words)

Author(s): Krüger, Friederike
Naval Arms Race When he ascended the throne in 1888, Kaiser Wilhelm II was determined to practice Weltpolitik. His instrument of choice to achieve this aim would be a strong battle fleet. With the appointment of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz as secretary of state for the German Imperial Naval Office in 1897, the Kaiser found an officer who was willing to implement the Kaiser’s ambitious plans, and to manipulate public opinion to that purpose. Already in the years prior to his appointment, Tirpitz had in several mem…

Naval Blockade

(1,483 words)

Author(s): Neitzel, Sönke
Naval Blockade During the World War, the Allied naval blockade brought German foreign trade practically to a standstill, especially after 1916. It contributed significantly to the serious subsistence problems in Germany. On the eve of the World War Germany was one of the most important economic powers in the world. Obviously, accomplishing this required extensive trade relationships. This left the German economy highly vulnerable during such a long-lasting war. Indeed, Germany had to import 30% of all processed iron ore. The …

Naval Cabinet ( Marinekabinett )

(353 words)

Author(s): Herwig, Holger H.
Naval Cabinet ( Marinekabinett ) The German Naval Cabinet was founded on April 1, 1889, as a joint military-civilian bureau to handle the human resources tasks of the naval officer corps. The new cabinet was placed under the initial leadership of Naval Captain Freiherr Gustav von Senden-Bibran. Candidates for the top command levels of the German navy were chosen in full accordance with the recommendations of the chief of the Naval Cabinet, who enjoyed direct access to the Kaiser. Accordingly the cabinet chief bore the respons…

Naval Warfare

(2,850 words)

Author(s): Salewski, Michael
Naval Warfare In all theoretical discussions of a future war the war at sea was expected to play a major, if not the decisive role. For this reason all leading industrial nations had from the early 1890s onward been building massive, homogenous battle fleets. The “naval race” played a central role in souring Anglo-German relations during Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz’ tenure as the German Naval Secretary. The fledgling détente in the maritime sector, which was noticeable two years prior to the outbreak of the war, came …

Nerves

(695 words)

Author(s): Ulrich, Bernd
Nerves The mental history of the Wilhelminian epoch is marked by the phenomenon of “nervousness.” The over-exertion of mind and body, the worries and fears, the sexual excesses and aberrations, the rapid pace, the noise; the over-indulgence in coffee, alcohol, tobacco, and morphine; as well as the “violent shocks to the body, for example from rail accidents” – those were causes that, taken with the suspected inheritability of “nervousness,” were ascribed to the “cultural progress” of the 19th cen…

Netherlands

(1,981 words)

Author(s): Blom, J.C.H.
Netherlands On the eve of the World War, the Netherlands held the same neutral stand regarding international relations as it had for the preceding three-quarters of a century. The Netherlands thus stood apart from the international alliances. This decision rested as much upon the safeguarding of Netherlands’s economic and military-political interests, as it did upon considerations of civil rights and ethics. The deciding question, however, was whether the Great Powers would respect Netherlands’s …

Neutral Borders, Neutral Waters, Neutral Skies: Protecting the Territorial Neutrality of the Netherlands in the Great War, 1914-1918

(9,124 words)

Author(s): Abbenhuis, Maartje M.
Abbenhuis, Maartje M. - Neutral Borders, Neutral Waters, Neutral Skies: Protecting the Territorial Neutrality of the Netherlands in the Great War, 1914-1918 Keywords: Netherlands | Neutral States | International Relations during the War | Home fronts | Naval Warfare | Aviation | Germany | Belgium | Economy Boundaries and their Meanings in the History of the Netherlands Benjamin Kaplan, Marybeth Carlson and Laura Cruz , (2009) Publication Editor: Brill, The Netherlands, 2009 e-ISBN: 9789047429814 DOI:10.1163/ej.9789004176379.i-258.30 © 2009 Koninklijke Brill NV, L…

Neutrality Guard or Preparations for War? The Norwegian Armed Forces and the Coming of the Second World War

(11,610 words)

Author(s): Kristiansen, T.
Kristiansen, T. - Neutrality Guard or Preparations for War? The Norwegian Armed Forces and the Coming of the Second World War Keywords: neutrality guard | Norwegian armed forces | second world war Abstract: This chapter focuses on the rearmament period from 1937 to 1940. A salient feature in Norwegian war preparations was the urgency attached to the building up of a wide array of war provisions and the improvement of civilian infrastructure that could buttress the armed forces. The more specific issues that…

Neutral States

(688 words)

Author(s): Hoff, Henning
Neutral States States that do not participate in a war. The legal status “neutral” implies the right and the duty to pursue corresponding policies. The consequence thereof is a foreign policy that avoids any more or less explicit alignment in the international conflicts that occur in times of peace. Six European states adhered to various forms of neutrality for the entire duration of the war. The monarchs of the Scandinavian states Denmark (Christian X), the sovereign territory of which also inclu…

Neutral Tones. The Netherlands and Switzerland and Their Interpretations of Neutrality 1914–1918

(12,157 words)

Author(s): Moeyes, P.
Moeyes, P. - Neutral Tones. The Netherlands and Switzerland and Their Interpretations of Neutrality 1914–1918 Keywords: First World War | Netherlands | Scandinavian countries | Swiss federal republic | Swiss neutrality | Vienna Congress ISFWWS-Keywords: Netherlands | Switzerland | International Relations during the War | Home fronts | Neutral States | Politics | Germany Abstract: Switzerland's neutrality was guaranteed by the leading nations at the Vienna Congress in 1815, Belgium was proclaimed a neutral nation after its separation from …

New Jerusalems: Sacrifice and Redemption in the War Experiences of English and German Military Chaplains

(12,828 words)

Author(s): Porter, Patrick
Porter, Patrick - New Jerusalems: Sacrifice and Redemption in the War Experiences of English and German Military Chaplains Keywords: Religion | Culture | Legacy | Politics | Germany | Britain | Society | Home fronts ‛Warfare and Belligerence’ Pierre Purseigle, Publication Editor: Brill, The Netherlands, 2005 e-ISBN: 9789047407362 DOI: 10.1163/9789047407362.005 © 2005 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands Porter, Patrick

New Light on the East African Theater of the Great War: A Review Essay of English-Language Sources

(7,917 words)

Author(s): Vandervort, Bruce
Vandervort, Bruce - New Light on the East African Theater of the Great War: A Review Essay of English-Language Sources Keywords: East Africa | Military organisation of combat | Published memoirs and biographies | Literature | Africa | The French and British Empires | Germany | Legacy | India | Portugal | Belgium Abstract: The marine officers interest in the exploits of Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck reflects an earlier period, now superseded, at least as far as academic military history is concerned, in the historiography of the East Africa…

Newspapers

(526 words)

Author(s): Bohrmann, Hans
Newspapers The print medium that offers “the most recent topical events in quickest regular succession to the widest public” (Emil Dovifat). Newspapers became a mass product as society became industrialized. It was only after the First World War that they had to contend with significant competition from any other medium, and then in particular from the radio. Some 4,200 newspapers existed in Germany before 1914, and their numbers decreased during the war by just one thousand. The medium was soon …
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