‘Judgement at Tokyo’ by Gary J. Bass review
Pacy and even-handed, Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary J. Bass is unlikely to be bettered as a portrait of the Tokyo trials.
Second World War
An Uyghur Chieftain in China’s Civil War
How did Uyghur chieftain Yolbars Khan come to be buried in a Chinese Nationalist grave in Taipei? The answer reveals much about China’s violent relationship with its most western province.
‘One Fine Day’ and ‘Imperial Island’ review
One Fine Day: Britain’s Empire on the Brink by Matthew Parker and Imperial Island: A History of Empire in Modern Britain by Charlotte Lydia Riley are filled with ambition.
Sokol: An Exercise in Czech Nation-Building
In the late 19th century a new trend captured the Czech people –gymnastics. But sokol was more than just exercise: a healthy body was a healthy nation and the Czechs wanted independence.
The Rise and Fall of Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf was an unexpected bestseller, whose success rose and fell with its author.
Will Putin Get His ‘Nuremberg Moment’?
As new crimes are committed, new laws must be written to punish them. When it comes to crimes committed by states like Putin’s Russia, who decides?
Diamonds and the Holocaust
As Jewish lapidaries were held in Nazi concentration camps, diamond sales soared in the US. Both sides saw gemstones as integral to the war effort.
Shots Fired: Marjorie Foster and Women at War
After winning the biggest shooting prize in the Empire, Marjorie Foster joined the new pantheon of women making sporting headlines. On the eve of the Second World War, she had a new target in her sights: the War Office.
‘Men at War’ by Luke Turner review
A part-memoir, part-historical exploration of British Second World War masculinity and sexuality.
The Battle of Königsberg
For the German military command, the citizens of East Prussia were not a concern; they were a weapon.