Australians from every branch of our armed forces in World War ll found themselves captives in Hitler's notorious prisoner of war camps. Whether bomber crews and fighter pilots shot down over Europe, soldiers taken in North Africa and the disastrous Greek and Cretan campaigns, or even merchant seaman captured half a world away, they were to see out the war in the heart of Hitler's Europe, their fate intimately connected to the fortunes of the Reich. Most were forced to labour in factories, down mines or on the land - often in conditions of enormous privation and hardship. All suffered from shortages, overcrowding and the mental strain of imprisonment. Some tried to escape - a few successfully, a few paying with their lives. The experiences of Australian prisoners of war in Germany have long been overshadowed by the horrors of Japanese imprisonment, yet their stories of courage, stoicism, suffering and endurance deserve to be told. Peter Monteath's fascinating narrative history of these prisoners of war is exhaustively researched, and compelling in its detailed evocation.
At what point does the will to survive on the battlefield give way to bloodlust? The battle for Crete was at once the most modern and the most ancient of wars. For a week Australian and New Zealand forces were relentlessly hammered from the skies by the Luftwaffe and pursued across Crete by some of the most accomplished and best equipped forces Hitler could muster. On the morning of 27 May 1941, however, all that was about to change. When a unit of German mountain troops approached the Allies’ defensive line — known as 42nd Street — men from the Australian 2/7th and 2/8th Battalions and New Zealanders from several battalions counter-attacked with fixed bayonets. By the end, German bodies were strewn across the battlefield. Acclaimed historian Peter Monteath draws on recollections and records of Australian, New Zealand, British and German soldiers and local Cretans to reveal the truth behind one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War. 'This is military history at its best: deeply researched, powerfully told and proving that the essence of war is men killing other men.' — Joan Beaumont
Australians from every branch of our armed forces in World War ll found themselves captives in Hitler's notorious prisoner of war camps. Whether bomber crews and fighter pilots shot down over Europe, soldiers taken in North Africa and the disastrous Greek and Cretan campaigns, or even merchant seaman captured half a world away, they were to see out the war in the heart of Hitler's Europe, their fate intimately connected to the fortunes of the Reich.Most were forced to labour in factories, down mines or on the land - often in conditions of enormous privation and hardship. All suffered from shortages, overcrowding and the mental strain of imprisonment. Some tried to escape - a few successfully, a few paying with their lives. The experiences of Australian prisoners of war in Germany have long been overshadowed by the horrors of Japanese imprisonment, yet their stories of courage, stoicism, suffering and endurance deserve to be told. Peter Monteath's fascinating narrative history of these prisoners of war is exhaustively researched, and compelling in its detailed evocation.
From Beehive Corner and Bert Flugelman's polished balls in Rundle Mall to the vineyards, churches and cemeteries of the Barossa Valley, tangible signs of South Australia's Germans are everywhere to be seen. Too often, however, 'the Germans' are regarded as a single group in the state's history. The truth is more complex and intriguing.
The never-before-told story of World War II escape artist extraordinaire, Johnny Peck.In August 1941, an eighteen-year-old Australian soldier made his first prison break an audacious night-time escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp in Crete. Astoundingly, this was only the first of many escapes.An infantryman in the 2/7 Battalion, Johnny Peck was first thrown into battle against Italian forces in the Western Desert. Campaigns against Hitlers Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe in Greece and Crete followed. When Crete fell to the Germans at the end of May 1941, Peck was trapped on the island with hundreds of other men. On the run, they depended on their wits, the kindness of strangers, and sheer good luck.When Pecks luck ran out, he was taken captive by the Germans, then the Italians. Later, after his release from a Piedmontese jail following the Italian Armistice of 1943, and at immense risk to his own life, Peck devoted himself to helping POWs cross the Alps to safety. Captured once more, Peck was sentenced to death and detained in Milans notorious, Gestapo-run San Vittore prison until escaping again, this time into Switzerland.Historian Peter Monteath reveals the action-packed tale of one young Australian soldier and his remarkable war.
Captured Lives peers behind the barbed wire drawn around people deemed threats to Australia's security during the two world wars. Civilians from enemy nations, even if born in Australia, were subjects of suspicion and locked away in internment camps. Prisoners-of-war were shipped from the other side of the world and shut away in camps in country Australia. No matter how unjust their internment or how severe the privations, most internees and POWs worked out ways to relieve their discomfort, physical and mental, and their boredom. Internees devoted their time to creative pursuits like theatre, musical ensembles, art and photography, while others involved themselves in sporting activities, gardening or studying. Captured Lives mentions over 30 of the main camps that were spread across Australia during the two world wars. Included are sketches, watercolours and photographs made by internees serve as references of the conditions and life in the camps from an insider's perspective.
This bibliography is the first attempt to establish a comprehensive list of secondary material relating to the Spanish Civil War in literature, film, and art. It includes books, articles, and chapters in a wide range of languages, including Spanish, English, Russian, French, German, and Italian. Monteath begins the work with an introductory essay surveying the breadth of the scholarship on the cultural manifestations of the war, which he places in its broader cultural-historical context. The bibliography is organized alphabetically within sections devoted to literature, film, and art, and a general subject index completes the work. Anyone interested in the fiction of Hemingway, the film of Ivens, the art of Picasso, and many of the key figures in Western culture of the 1930s will find this work of value.
Fred Rose's life takes us through rip-roaring tales from Australia's northern frontier to enthralling intellectual tussles over kinship systems and political dramas as he runs rings around his Petrov inquisitors. More than any other injustice, the abuse of Aborigines leads him into the Communist Party in 1942. His move to academic life in what he insisted on calling the German Democratic Republic made him a dissident against anthropological orthodoxies in the Soviet Bloc as he had been in Australia. Those final three decades also see his informing on his children to his Stasi handlers. Out of relentless research, Peter Monteath and Valerie Munt present an engrossing portrait of the short twentieth century from Rose's birth during the Great War to his death in Berlin shortly after the Wall comes down. The result is unputdownable for its sweep of events while causing us to reflect on how someone can be heroic and horrendous, appalling and admirable.
This book explores the place of China and the Chinese during the age of imperialism. Focusing not only on the state but also on the vitality of Chinese culture and the Chinese diaspora, it examines the seeming contradictions of a period in which China came under immense pressure from imperial expansion while remaining a major political, cultural and demographic force in its own right. Where histories of China commonly highlight episodes of conflict and subjugation in China’s relations with the West, the contributions to this volume explore the complex spaces where empires and their peoples did not merely collide but also became entangled.
Encountering Terra Australis traces the parallel lives and voyages of the explorers Flinders and Baudin, as they travelled to Australia and explored the coastline of mainland Australia and Tasmania. Unusually, the book takes its lead from the voyages of Baudin, rather than Flinders. Furthermore the authors have sourced original accounts including material which has never before been available in English. Extensively illustrated in colour and black and white.
The never-before-told story of World War II escape artist extraordinaire, Johnny Peck. In August 1941, an eighteen-year-old Australian soldier made his first prison break an audacious night-time escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp in Crete. Astoundingly, this was only the first of many escapes.
Encountering Terra Australis traces the parallel lives and voyages of the explorers Flinders and Baudin, as they travelled to Australia and explored the coastline of mainland Australia and Tasmania. Unusually, the book takes its lead from the voyages of Baudin, rather than Flinders, providing a rather different interpretation than those presently circulating. Furthermore the authors have worked using their own totally fresh translation of Baudin's journals, sourcing original accounts including material which has never before been available in English. Extensively illustrated in colour and black and white. Jean Fornasiero teaches French in the Centre for European Studies at Adelaide University, John West - Sooby is head of the centre and Peter Monteath is head of history at Flinders University.?
In August 1914 war broke out across Europe. Within months hundreds of men - 'enemy aliens' - were interned on Torrens Island, in the Port River estuary near Adelaide. Sailors taken off enemy ships, foreign nationals living in South Australia, and even some naturalised British subjects found themselves behind barbed wire.
Captured Lives peers behind the barbed wire drawn around people deemed threats to Australia's security during the two world wars. Civilians from enemy nations, even if born in Australia, were subjects of suspicion and locked away in internment camps. Prisoners-of-war were shipped from the other side of the world and shut away in camps in country Australia. No matter how unjust their internment or how severe the privations, most internees and POWs worked out ways to relieve their discomfort, physical and mental, and their boredom. Internees devoted their time to creative pursuits like theatre, musical ensembles, art and photography, while others involved themselves in sporting activities, gardening or studying. Captured Lives mentions over 30 of the main camps that were spread across Australia during the two world wars. Included are sketches, watercolours and photographs made by internees serve as references of the conditions and life in the camps from an insider's perspective.
The never-before-told story of World War II escape artist extraordinaire, Johnny Peck.In August 1941, an eighteen-year-old Australian soldier made his first prison break an audacious night-time escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp in Crete. Astoundingly, this was only the first of many escapes.An infantryman in the 2/7 Battalion, Johnny Peck was first thrown into battle against Italian forces in the Western Desert. Campaigns against Hitlers Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe in Greece and Crete followed. When Crete fell to the Germans at the end of May 1941, Peck was trapped on the island with hundreds of other men. On the run, they depended on their wits, the kindness of strangers, and sheer good luck.When Pecks luck ran out, he was taken captive by the Germans, then the Italians. Later, after his release from a Piedmontese jail following the Italian Armistice of 1943, and at immense risk to his own life, Peck devoted himself to helping POWs cross the Alps to safety. Captured once more, Peck was sentenced to death and detained in Milans notorious, Gestapo-run San Vittore prison until escaping again, this time into Switzerland.Historian Peter Monteath reveals the action-packed tale of one young Australian soldier and his remarkable war.
Annotation Peter Turner presents a rich overview of New Zealand that helps tailor your visit to the time you have and your specific interests. Insider tips are provided on favourite hotspots, practicalities, and more.
In his famous argument against miracles, David Hume gets to the heart of the modern problem of supernatural belief. 'We are apt', says Hume, 'to imagine ourselves transported into some new world; where the whole form of nature is disjointed, and every element performs its operation in a different manner, from what it does at present.' This encapsulates, observes Peter Harrison, the disjuncture between contemporary Western culture and medieval societies. In the Middle Ages, people saw the hand of God at work everywhere. Indeed, many suppose that 'belief in the supernatural' is likewise fundamental nowadays to religious commitment. But dichotomising between 'naturalism' and 'supernaturalism' is actually a relatively recent phenomenon, just as the notion of 'belief' emerged historically late. In this masterful contribution to intellectual history, the author overturns crucial misconceptions – 'myths' – about secular modernity, challenging common misunderstandings of the past even as he reinvigorates religious thinking in the present.
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