Second World War Research Group Annual Conference, 13-14 June 2019
City Campus, University of Wolverhampton
Keynotes: Professor Jeremy Black (University of Exeter) and Dr Jenny Macleod (University of Hull)
‘The difficulties, obstacles, and ambiguities that confront anyone who tries to compare historical events or processes [are many] ... Yet, comparison is truly valuable we must not be cowards and shrink from our obligations’. (Carl Degler, 1991).
The Second World War was not a standalone conflict (or rather series of conflicts). It was part of a continuum of warfare that stretched back into the past and forward into the future. It can be seen as both the culmination of one particular type of conflict and the beginning of another one; as the central event in a short twentieth century that lasted from 1914 to 1991; as the second stage of a European-focused conflict that began at Sarajevo and ended at Potsdam 31 years later; or as the prelude to the Cold War. Moreover, the Second World War was a crucial point in the unravelling of European empires, leading to a series of ‘aftershock wars’, mostly based around insurgencies. The phrase ‘total war’, although not unproblematic, offers a vehicle for assessing the extent to which developments on the various home fronts during the Second World War built upon earlier precedents, and in turn influenced post-1945 trends and events: the debate on the impact of the war on gender is a case in point.
Most senior politicians, officials and military officers of the Second World War had served in a junior capacity in 1914-18, and for many civilians, 1939-45 was their second experience of a major war. Indeed, the responses of the belligerents to the Second World War cannot be understood without reference to their First World War. Likewise, 1939-45 was the formative experience for many in senior positions in the decades that followed. Indeed, memories and interpretations of the Second World War continue to influence discourse and politics in various ways in different countries to the present day, for good or ill. Of course, connections can be traced between the Second World War and conflicts other than the First World War. Arguably, the formulation and conduct of Anglo-American strategy was complicated by the fact that the two nations drew on very different strategic traditions, one reaching back to the American Civil War, the other to the eighteenth century.
The Second World War offers rich potential for historians to rise to Degler’s challenge, and to re-evaluate its myriad aspects in the context of earlier and later conflicts. The 2019 conference of the Second World War Research Group, hosted by the Centre for Historical Research at the University of Wolverhampton, has as its theme ‘The Second World War in Comparative Perspective’. We welcome proposals for papers on subjects including, but not necessarily limited to:
Insurgency - Legitimacy - Mobilisation - Political and social change
Alliance and coalition warfare - Propaganda and diplomacy - Neutrality and belligerence Intelligence - Empire/Imperialism - Writing the history of Wars - Gender - Elites/Minorities Strategy - Operations - Tactics - Global war - Experiencing war - Forgotten fronts Resistance/Collaboration – Technological change
Paper proposals should include an abstract of no more than 300 words and a one-page CV. Panel proposals for groups of three to four speakers are also welcomed; they should, in addition to individual paper abstracts and CVs, include a brief description of the panel theme (no more than 500 words). The deadline for proposal submissions is Monday 22 April 2019. Submissions, queries and expression of interest to attend should be addressed to Neil Evans at SWWRG.wlv19@gmail.com.
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