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Title: Wikipedia: Facts, Bias, and Critical Thinking.
Creator: Stoltzfus, Nathan, Sieman, Michela, Young, Shelby
Abstract/Description: As a part of Florida State’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), students Michela Sieman and Shelby Young were two among a group of research assistants who worked with Dr. Nathan Stoltzfus in fulfilling what he deemed as a project on current-day historical representations in digital media. The project explores the representations of the Nazi regime in digital media today. By analyzing English Wikipedia pages related to Nazi Germany, this project aims to examine this...
Show moreAs a part of Florida State’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), students Michela Sieman and Shelby Young were two among a group of research assistants who worked with Dr. Nathan Stoltzfus in fulfilling what he deemed as a project on current-day historical representations in digital media. The project explores the representations of the Nazi regime in digital media today. By analyzing English Wikipedia pages related to Nazi Germany, this project aims to examine this relationship in terms of discovering biases behind editors and editing trends. With the prevalence of digital media and technology in today’s society and information now at everyone’s fingertips, it is important that this information is represented truthfully and with no hint of personal bias or unsupported claims. Despite the inability to produce conclusive results, the project has already identified trends of Wikipedia editing, the types of editors on the Nazi Germany pages, and some reasons that pages are being changed. This work is holding Wikipedia to its own fair standards in hopes to further present reliable information about the Nazi regime. Through a year of communication and working in various settings, this research group was able to explore a research area as well as open up pathways of research for all parties involved.
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Date Issued: 2017-11-09
Identifier: FSU_libsubv1_scholarship_submission_1534432089_a0e040b4
Format: Citation

Title: "As Blond as Hitler": Positive Eugenics and Fatherhood in the Third Reich.
Creator: Carney, Amy Beth, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Grant, Jonathan, Childs, Matt, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: In seeking to build the Thousand Year Reich, the German government under the administration of the National Socialist party constructed many different ideologies to create the foundation for its new community. Although not as highly prominent others, the ideology of fatherhood had a role in the formation of this state. Because of the scientific trends prevalent during the early to mid twentieth century, fatherhood at this time had a strong biological bent; men were mainly regarded as fathers...
Show moreIn seeking to build the Thousand Year Reich, the German government under the administration of the National Socialist party constructed many different ideologies to create the foundation for its new community. Although not as highly prominent others, the ideology of fatherhood had a role in the formation of this state. Because of the scientific trends prevalent during the early to mid twentieth century, fatherhood at this time had a strong biological bent; men were mainly regarded as fathers due to their reproductive contributions. Therefore, the Nazi government wanted to encourage each man to sustain his personal lineage because a healthy, burgeoning population would guarantee the longevity of the German nation founded by its leadership. In seeking a stronger and larger population, the Nazi party adopted a contemporary science movement: eugenics. The government divided people based on racial criteria, and the individuals whom it deemed most eligible to pass on their genes belonged to the "blond hair, blue eyed" Aryan race. After firmly establishing this archetype as the ultimate goal, the state had to disseminate this information to the general population and persuade these people to adopt this racial hierarchy willingly. It propagated this information through both formal education and direct contact with the German people through speeches and publications. This instruction served to inspire healthy citizens to have offspring who would strengthen the position of Germany through racial superiority. Of the male German population, the men who best personified the Aryan elite belonged to the Schutzstaffeln (SS). As the most unwavering followers of the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler, the soldiers of the SS provided the best paternal audience. The leader of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, sought to convince these men that their responsibilities included supplying the Third Reich with an abundance of racially healthy children. Himmler's directives and other documents substantiated this desire to encourage his men to reproduce copiously and to furnish Germany with a new aristocracy based on blood. Furthermore, the newspaper of the SS, Das Schwarze Korps, publicly correlated many of Himmler's perspectives. Articles, editorials, and letters encourage marriage, link SS men with images of healthy families, and promote fatherhood as a respectable and natural duty. Despite these efforts, the SS did not raise the birthrate in Germany, and the inability to produce enough children resulted in the failure of the eugenical measures. However, an investigation into the role of fatherhood during this era still addresses many historiographical issues. Beyond showing one way in which the Nazi government attempted to foster a new national community, it demonstrates the changing role of paternity throughout the twentieth century as well as merges with studies of German fatherhood in the post Second World War era. Examining fatherhood also explains the attempted application of eugenics to increase the population of a country. Finally, it dovetails with existing research on motherhood during the Third Reich, and therefore provides a more comprehensive understanding of familial life and parental relations during the reign of the Nazi regime.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-4187
Format: Thesis

Title: Crimes Unpunished: An Investigative Look at the Soviet Use of Terror under Joseph Stalin, 1934-1953.
Creator: Rooney, Amanda C., Grant, Jonathan, Wynot, Edward, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis presents an investigative look at the events of the Soviet Terror from 1934-1953. It analyzes these events on two key levels. The first is the historiography and its continuing mysteries and shortcomings. The argument asserted is a call for future historical research to attempt to answer questions still unanswered and for a more comprehensive inclusion of all events that occurred under the leadership of Joseph Stalin. The Terror that existed under Joseph Stalin consists of three...
Show moreThis thesis presents an investigative look at the events of the Soviet Terror from 1934-1953. It analyzes these events on two key levels. The first is the historiography and its continuing mysteries and shortcomings. The argument asserted is a call for future historical research to attempt to answer questions still unanswered and for a more comprehensive inclusion of all events that occurred under the leadership of Joseph Stalin. The Terror that existed under Joseph Stalin consists of three major levels. The first is the Great Terror which encompassed the years 1936-1939. The second is the ongoing effect the Terror held on citizen life and how it transformed Soviet ways of life including jobs, family relationships, and fears. The third is the lesser terror period that occurred from 1939-1953 during the years of World War II and ended with Stalin's death. It is argued that while the Terror is a highly researched area of Soviet history, in today's world it deserves to receive more extensive coverage as other mass murders of the twentieth century. Historians should begin to undo the crimes of misinformation and uncover the truth for the victims, survivors, historians, and world understanding.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1838
Format: Thesis

Title: Never Forget: How Public Memory of the Holocaust Is Displayed in Holocaust Museums and Memorials in Florida.
Creator: Hoekstra, Nicole, Koslow, Jennifer, Grant, Jonathan, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis examines the similarities and differences between Florida's Holocaust museums and memorials and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this study is to illustrate how each institution is a reflection of its local community and how that reflection is based on each institution's perceived audience. Holocaust awareness grew in the United States over the last sixty years, culminating in the opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum...
Show moreThis thesis examines the similarities and differences between Florida's Holocaust museums and memorials and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this study is to illustrate how each institution is a reflection of its local community and how that reflection is based on each institution's perceived audience. Holocaust awareness grew in the United States over the last sixty years, culminating in the opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993. Since its opening the museum has served as a template for other museums on how to define the Holocaust and promote education. Museums in Florida that have opened post-1993 contain elements that are reminiscent of the national museum. At the same time, they are designed in a way that best represents the audience that each institution reaches. This thesis uses newspapers, institutional records, interviews, and the physical examination of the memorials and museums themselves, to analyze the creation of public memory. These institutions of Holocaust memory in Florida have created a sense of place for survivors and their loved ones. They are also places to honor the memory of the people whose lives were lost. Lastly, they are permanent fixtures that ensure that the story of the Holocaust will not be forgotten by future generations.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3998
Format: Thesis

Title: Art "Vexed to Nightmare"?: Traditionalism and Modernism in the Painting of Nazi Germany.
Creator: Burkhalter, Matthew, Williamson, George S., Gellately, Robert, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Painting in the Third Reich is frequently dismissed as mere propaganda, as anti-modernist kitsch, or as a homogeneous body of realist or academic "genre painting" in the tradition of nineteenth-century Munich naturalism. However, there was no monolithic aesthetic in Nazi painting. Though Nazi painting was representational and while abstract expressionism was stricken from artistic life by gradations after 1933, the roots of Nazi painting are complex. I focus on the paintings displayed at each...
Show morePainting in the Third Reich is frequently dismissed as mere propaganda, as anti-modernist kitsch, or as a homogeneous body of realist or academic "genre painting" in the tradition of nineteenth-century Munich naturalism. However, there was no monolithic aesthetic in Nazi painting. Though Nazi painting was representational and while abstract expressionism was stricken from artistic life by gradations after 1933, the roots of Nazi painting are complex. I focus on the paintings displayed at each of the Grosse Deutsche Kunstausstellungen (GDK) or Great German Art Exhibitions, 1937 – 1944, held each year in the Haus der Kunst in Munich. My examination of Nazi painting reveals a multiplicity of sources, traditional and modernist, for artists of the period. I also examine how artists' considerable agency in the period was defined by what they should not create more so than by what they should. By considering the competing voices within the Nazi cultural bureaucracy, including Hitler's own negatively-defined artistic preferences, it is clear that the regime lacked a rigorously-defined aesthetic program, even after the first GDK in 1937. Nazism incorporated into its fold, even until the end of the war, artists of varying aesthetic stripes, including some who had been defamed as "degenerate." In my research, I attempt to overcome the implicit Manichean divide between (good) modernist art and (bad) anti-modernist art. When one recognizes that Nazi painting was not stylistically or structurally homogeneous, that it contained elements of archaism and modernism, that artists responded to the vaguely defined aesthetic demands of the regime in varying ways, that the accusation of "degeneracy" was not always a pest-ban but sometimes a negotiable roadblock, and that even more artistic experimentation was possible in the Third Reich outside the confines of the GDK, one is forced to acknowledge that Nazi art did not emerge ex nihilo in 1933. At the same time, it was not a mere revival of academic trends that were eclipsed or discredited years before the First World War. This thesis is composed of three chapters, the first of which is focused on the origins and contours of Nazi painting. I examine the Kunstpolitik between the pragmatic or promodernist (Goebbels) and reactionary (Rosenberg) voices during the 1930s and conclude that, while Hitler's own tastes leaned closer to the latter, modernist art was publicly exhibited in Germany as late as 1937. After examining Die Kunst im Deutschen Reich, the regime's official magazine on contemporary art, and Kunst dem Volk, its widely-distributed art-history cousin, I argue that, as late as 1943, Nazi functionaries, ideologues, art critics, and, most importantly, artists themselves were unsure how to proceed in discussing or creating art for the new Reich. Nazi painting naturally developed as a forest of different (and often competing) stylistic trends. One sees ample evidence of art which was drawn from a variety of preexisting traditions: the Northern Renaissance, Munich naturalism, impressionism, Symbolism, and, in limited cases, even Fauvism or mild expressionism. In the second chapter, I focus on the question of Nazi artists' agency within the Third Reich's cultural apparatus. In other words, how did artists respond to the unclear artistic parameters provided by the regime? I examine the magazine Die Kunst, a monthly journal on contemporary art, art history, and home design published in Munich from 1884 through the fall of the Third Reich. After identifying a group of Nazi artists representative of the general artistic environment of the GDK (i.e., artists who were featured in numerous GDK exhibitions, artists often featured in contemporary-art publications, etc.), I turn my discussion to what they did before they were "Nazi artists." What becomes most clear from examining Die Kunst is the extent to which some artists in Germany during the Nazi era, paradoxically, were simultaneously autonomous and fettered — free to be stylistically inventive within the parameters outlined by Hitler's various pronouncements against modernism as well as the artistic program of the GDK. By examining their careers more fully, through the lens of Die Kunst in issues as early as 1920, it is clear that artists responded to those guidelines in various ways — by significantly moderating their more experimental personal styles, by adjusting their subject matter instead of changing stylistically, or by remaining the same and painting under Hitler as they had done even before the NSDAP was a vital political force. The third chapter is divided into two sections. In the first, I examine the immediate connections between the art of the Weimar era, so often maligned in Nazi propaganda, and the art of the Third Reich. I argue that there is more in common between the representational art of the neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), which dominated Weimar culture during the mid-1920s, and the art of the Third Reich than one is generally led to believe by major histories of Weimar culture. I have found considerable evidence which suggests more immediate parallels between German art in the mid-1920s and in the GDK. The deeper connections between fascism and modernism as well as the linkages between the avant-garde and reactionary ideology further complicate the notion that totalitarian systems arise from the political and social upheavals of modernity and then sever all ties to modernism in favor of stultifying realism. In the second section, I argue that, while there are certainly similarities between the realisms employed by totalitarian regimes — as examples, Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia — I maintain that the two aesthetic programs are ultimately different. While the former is defined more by its looseness and variation, both stylistically and programmatically, the latter can be comprehensibly broken down into an iconographic program. By juxtaposing Nazi painting against painting under Stalin, I show that artists in the two regimes utilized old artistic styles and structures in the creation and dissemination of new political and cultural realities. However, while legitimization through sacralization was employed in both art systems (through the altarpiece and the icon), the stylistic multiplicity of Nazi painting separates it from total parity with Stalinist art. The two can be discussed in terms of commonalities in twentieth-century representational or political art, but they should not be viewed as identical figures in a matrix of totalitarian aesthetics.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-8746
Format: Thesis

Title: The U.S. Army's 2nd Ranger Battalion: Beyond D-Day.
Creator: Quistorff, Alissa, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Grant, Jonathan, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis is a micro-history of how the 2nd Ranger Battalion, during World War II evolved their military doctrine. This work focuses on their training for operation Pointe du Hoc and the ensuing battle. After the fight for Pointe du Hoc the Rangers were deployed in a variety of ways. Be examining the Brest campaign, the battles in the Hurtgen Forest, and the crossing of the Rhine River, the Ranger doctrine slowly begins to emerge.
Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-2255
Format: Thesis

Title: The Evolution of German-Jewish Intermarriage Laws and Practices in Germany to 1900.
Creator: Griffin, Christopher W., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Creswell, Michael, Sinke, Suzanne, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: In 1875, citizens throughout the recently formed German nation were for the first time allowed to intermarry without conversion. Over the course of the next fifty years, German Jews marriages to German non-Jews increased to such a level that German-Jewish intermarriage became one of the central issues in German-Jewish relations. This thesis places intermarriage within the larger frameworks of German-Jewish relations and German-Jewish history. It develops a new interpretation of the evolution...
Show moreIn 1875, citizens throughout the recently formed German nation were for the first time allowed to intermarry without conversion. Over the course of the next fifty years, German Jews marriages to German non-Jews increased to such a level that German-Jewish intermarriage became one of the central issues in German-Jewish relations. This thesis places intermarriage within the larger frameworks of German-Jewish relations and German-Jewish history. It develops a new interpretation of the evolution and legalization of intermarriage. The legalization of intermarriage took place within the framework of the kulturkampf and civil marriage debates of the early 1870s. Though intermarriage between German Jews and German non-Jews would become far more frequent after the turn of the century, intermarriage during the late nineteenth century had far more important political, religious, and social implications than mere numbers would suggest.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3962
Format: Thesis

Title: The Romanian Media in Transition.
Creator: Georgiadis, Basil D., Grant, Jonathon, O'Sullivan, Patrick, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Creswell, Michael, Childs, Matt, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The Romanian media has progressed in only a decade and a half since the fall of Communism. Reporters discuss themes about political reform, the elections, corruption, and even political protest. They critically analyze stories asking the basic questions while frequently providing follow-up. The press has liberalized, reflecting pluralistic domestic and international information sources as opposed to the State-controlled media before 1990. The media, along with free elections, transparency of...
Show moreThe Romanian media has progressed in only a decade and a half since the fall of Communism. Reporters discuss themes about political reform, the elections, corruption, and even political protest. They critically analyze stories asking the basic questions while frequently providing follow-up. The press has liberalized, reflecting pluralistic domestic and international information sources as opposed to the State-controlled media before 1990. The media, along with free elections, transparency of law and government, and a civil society, are important benchmarks for a society that strives to compare favorably with the West, and for that reason deserves examination. Serious problems exist however. A weak economy makes the media susceptible to government manipulation. Legal challenges by the government and businessmen against journalists as defendants, impose hefty fines over libel and slander challenges. Control of state broadcast media by ex-Communist ruling Social Democrats prevents the mass media from contributing to the public dialogue. Social attitudes developed in the twentieth century, negatively shape the reporting of national minority groups which are substantial in Romania and the Balkans. Finally, an authoritarian tradition based on imperial, fascist, and communist rule, has manifested itself in violence towards journalists. The dissertation examines the media within the Communist tradition from 1945-1989 and followed with a survey of the post-Communist media. A brief history of the national minorities question provides perspective on present day attitudes in the media towards these groups. A survey of NGO's and other institutions examined progress towards a civil society. In the international context, a comparison of the situation in Romania with countries in Eastern Europe and Latin America revealed similar problems. The media has diversified greatly considering the short time frame of this study in post-Communist Romania. Election choices, international structures and non-governmental agencies will continue to influence and change the political and media culture while a weak economy and authoritarian mentality in the government and legal system offer challenges to a developing free press and young democracy in Romania.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0139
Format: Thesis

Title: Danes, Orientalism and the Modern Middle East Perspectives from the Nordic Periphery.
Creator: Kauffeldt, Jonas, Garretson, Peter P., Flanagan, Scott C., Singh, Bawa S., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Creswell, Michael, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: In 1978, Edward W. Said (1935-2003), Professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University, published his now famous book, Orientalism. Intended as an indictment of the di-chotomization of East and West – the willful categorization of the Orient as distinct and ne-cessarily stunted in comparison to the Occident – Said argued that the perception, rooted in the murky centuries of medieval Europe, crystallized into a potent and pervasive discourse that once manufactured, combined...
Show moreIn 1978, Edward W. Said (1935-2003), Professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University, published his now famous book, Orientalism. Intended as an indictment of the di-chotomization of East and West – the willful categorization of the Orient as distinct and ne-cessarily stunted in comparison to the Occident – Said argued that the perception, rooted in the murky centuries of medieval Europe, crystallized into a potent and pervasive discourse that once manufactured, combined establishment knowledge with political and economic power in the 19th century. Imperialism and direct occupation of the Middle East reinforced the belief in its re-gional subservience and weakness and forged a virtual ideology of Western superiority and entitlement. Yet how did societies and individuals at the margins of European and Western power fit into the framework put forth by Said? Was he correct to assert that the Orientalist discourse was all encompassing and colored every observer and scholar who studied the region? Or was it pos-sible for individuals, both from within the states that dominated the Middle East and even more readily those native to the lesser powers that did not, to assert an independent basis for judgment and interpretation? This dissertation explores a range of experiences that Danes, citizens of a small and relatively weak European state, garnered in their encounters with the Middle East. Their views and under-standings of events, as well as their perspectives on "the Other," served to influence the shaping of knowledge in Denmark about the East. Further, as their country was unentangled in the web of strategic and imperial intrigue that dominated the affairs of the larger powers, Danes were able to position themselves before the local populations as individuals untainted by affiliations that might present a danger of undue influence. Ever conscious of this advantage, they worked dili-gently to cultivate that perception and harness it as an advantage wherever possible. In short, a revelation and consideration of Danish perspectives adds to the diversity of sources encompassed by the study of Orientalism.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3293
Format: Thesis

Title: The Italian Occupations of Ethiopia and Cephalonia: A Comparative Analysis.
Creator: Rowlands, Amanda, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Garretson, Peter, Maier-Katkin, Daniel, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This work examines the nature of two of Fascist Italy's military occupations: that of Ethiopia from 1935-1941 and that of the Greek island of Cephalonia from 1941-1943. Beginning with the case of Ethiopia, this work describes the sheer brutality that Fascist Italy was capable of--from the use of poison gas bombings to the murder of innocent civilians--and contrasts this with the later occupation of Cephalonia where the level of brutality exacted upon the native population was far less...
Show moreThis work examines the nature of two of Fascist Italy's military occupations: that of Ethiopia from 1935-1941 and that of the Greek island of Cephalonia from 1941-1943. Beginning with the case of Ethiopia, this work describes the sheer brutality that Fascist Italy was capable of--from the use of poison gas bombings to the murder of innocent civilians--and contrasts this with the later occupation of Cephalonia where the level of brutality exacted upon the native population was far less pronounced, almost nonexistent. By comparing and contrasting the two occupations, this work analyzes the factors that could then account for this disparity. By and large, race was a crucial element in determining the nature of the occupations, though other factors also had an effect upon this, such as geography, religion and the time frame that the occupations took place. More importantly, since they were the ones who interacted with the occupied populations on a daily basis, the Italian soldiers had a significant bearing on the nature of the occupations. As such, their experience as occupiers deserves to be examined. This work attempts that to the extent possible, positing that the nature of the occupation changed as the soldiers' own relationship to fascism changed.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-6836
Format: Thesis

Title: Rhetorical Pop: The Art of Roger Shimomura.
Creator: McCormick, Allison Morgan, Weingarden, Lauren, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Jolles, Adam, Carrasco, Michael, Department of Art History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study examines the works of Roger Shimomura. I argue that the ukiyo-e elements infuse the artist's paintings and prints with a secondary iconography that is overlooked by art historians to date. I accept Shimomura's assertions that he is completely unfamiliar with the iconography of Japanese art. However, I assert that his use of this visual sign system creates new meanings in the eyes of educated viewers, beyond the intentions of the artist. In addition, I argue that Shimomura adopts...
Show moreThis study examines the works of Roger Shimomura. I argue that the ukiyo-e elements infuse the artist's paintings and prints with a secondary iconography that is overlooked by art historians to date. I accept Shimomura's assertions that he is completely unfamiliar with the iconography of Japanese art. However, I assert that his use of this visual sign system creates new meanings in the eyes of educated viewers, beyond the intentions of the artist. In addition, I argue that Shimomura adopts visual rhetorical devices that aid in the didactic function of many of his works. This study explores how Shimomura creates and communicates ideas within individual works. Moreover, I examine particular figures that appear repeatedly in his art over time, and how these figures develop meanings that are particular to Shimomura's works. Underlying the entirety of this study is Shimomura's exploration of identity, both ethnic and personal. I utilize literature from numerous fields, including art history, history, Asian studies, literature, anthropology, and sociology. These enrich the contextual sources, including reviews of Shimomura's works, articles from journals and newspapers, and other works of art. All of this supplements interviews with Shimomura, as well as primary documents, such as his artist's statements, essays, and personal papers. Together, these materials help to create an understanding of not only the artist's working methods and intentions, but also his inspirations. In addition, the critical approaches allow me to discuss how his works are entrenched in socio-political contexts that may not be immediately apparent. Finally, these sources open up new discourses on Shimomura's ouvre, including how he adopts disparate visual languages and utilizes them to didactic ends.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-8710
Format: Thesis

Title: From Pearl Harbor to Peace: The Gendered Shipyard Experience in Tampa.
Creator: Tanner, Stacy Lynn, Sinke, Suzanne, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Jones, James P., Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: An elaboration on the story of the wartime shipyards in Tampa is due. This reevaluation of the conditions of the workers includes a depiction of some of the issues that women workers faced. In addition, the efforts of government officials, the managements of the shipyards, and the individual worker are revealed to better understand this home front industry in Tampa and its effect on the postwar development of the area. The reflections of three shipyard workers are included in order to...
Show moreAn elaboration on the story of the wartime shipyards in Tampa is due. This reevaluation of the conditions of the workers includes a depiction of some of the issues that women workers faced. In addition, the efforts of government officials, the managements of the shipyards, and the individual worker are revealed to better understand this home front industry in Tampa and its effect on the postwar development of the area. The reflections of three shipyard workers are included in order to comprehend the sacrifices of these workers and to further evaluate the impact of the home front experience on women's lives.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1699
Format: Thesis

Title: Casualties of Unification?: Understanding the Various Interpretations of the Dissolution of the Nationale Volksarmee and the Integration of Its Members into the Bundeswehr.
Creator: Weidanz, Roy R., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Adamovich, Ljubisa S., Jones, James P., Program in Russian and East European Studies, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Over the last few years the military aspect of German unification has received positive media coverage, which has prompted some to apply the term Armee der Einheit (Armed Forces of Unity) to describe the Bundeswehr of today. However, there are others who have argued that this term is inappropriate, as the process that occurred between the two militaries was a one-sided procedure that almost entirely favored the Bundeswehr (West German armed forces). After the NVA (East German armed forces)...
Show moreOver the last few years the military aspect of German unification has received positive media coverage, which has prompted some to apply the term Armee der Einheit (Armed Forces of Unity) to describe the Bundeswehr of today. However, there are others who have argued that this term is inappropriate, as the process that occurred between the two militaries was a one-sided procedure that almost entirely favored the Bundeswehr (West German armed forces). After the NVA (East German armed forces) was dissolved, only a limited number of its personnel was taken over into the West German military and an even smaller amount eventually became permanent Bundeswehr soldiers. Furthermore, the process did not occur without some form of sacrifice placed upon most of the NVA personnel. As a result, there are a variety of interpretations on the dissolution of the NVA and the integration of its personnel into the Bundeswehr. Thus, one of the main challenges to understanding the event is to analyze how and why divergent interpretations have been derived, which in turn will help in the comprehension of the overall unification event as well as the open issues that continue to have a psychological impact on the former East Germans.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1220
Format: Thesis

Title: Conflict, Cooperation, and the World's Legal Systems.
Creator: Powell, Emilia Justyna, Smith, Dale L., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Mitchell, Sara McLaughlin, Hensel, Paul R., Staton, Jeffrey K., Department of Political Science, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: In this dissertation, I explore the relationship between legal systems, the rule of law, and states' cooperative and conflictual behavior. I analyze how domestic legal systems (common, civil, Islamic, etc.) influence a state's foreign policy behavior towards other states and international regimes. I also consider the extent to which the legitimacy of a domestic legal system modifies the relationship between legal systems and foreign policy behavior. In particular, I address the following...
Show moreIn this dissertation, I explore the relationship between legal systems, the rule of law, and states' cooperative and conflictual behavior. I analyze how domestic legal systems (common, civil, Islamic, etc.) influence a state's foreign policy behavior towards other states and international regimes. I also consider the extent to which the legitimacy of a domestic legal system modifies the relationship between legal systems and foreign policy behavior. In particular, I address the following questions: 1) How does the similarity of domestic legal system influence a state's foreign policy behavior towards other states and international institutions?, and 2) How does the legitimacy of a domestic legal system shape states' behavior towards other states and international institutions. I put forth a legal normative argument, which traces the reasons standing behind states' actions to their internal legal structure. I argue that states with similar and highly legitimate legal systems are more likely to cooperate with one another than states representing divergent and weakly legitimate legal traditions. In the same way, a nation is more likely to be supportive of an international institution if its legal rules and procedures resemble the nation's domestic legal order. My argument can be summarized as follows: International cooperation, both formal and informal, can be understood as contractual relationships. Domestic legal systems have an important effect on the way that states bargain over international contracts, because they affect the costs, benefits, and uncertainties of interstate cooperation. In particular, domestic legal system types and legitimacy influence contractual relations as far as the probability of signing interstate contracts, design of contracts, and their enforcement. I test my argument empirically in three different areas: states' propensity to accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice; alliances; and the link existing between states' legal tradition and their conflictual interstate behavior. I find that both of the characteristics of the internal legal structure, legal system type and legitimacy, have a substantial impact on the way that states behave on the international arena.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0453
Format: Thesis

Title: Cut from Different Cloth: The USS Constitution and the American Frigate Fleet.
Creator: Byington, Richard Brownlow, Blaufarb, Rafe, Ward, Candace, Grant, Jonathan A., Jones, Maxine Deloris, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences,...
Show moreByington, Richard Brownlow, Blaufarb, Rafe, Ward, Candace, Grant, Jonathan A., Jones, Maxine Deloris, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
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Abstract/Description: The historiography of the early American navy and, more definitively, the USS Constitution's role in American consciousness revolve around the valorous acts associated with the naval engagement between the Constitution and the HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812. The basis for this mass public appeal was presented, disseminated, and perpetuated by historians, journalists, and popular writers. Paralleling historical and popular works, the public perception of the Constitution and the prowess...
Show moreThe historiography of the early American navy and, more definitively, the USS Constitution's role in American consciousness revolve around the valorous acts associated with the naval engagement between the Constitution and the HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812. The basis for this mass public appeal was presented, disseminated, and perpetuated by historians, journalists, and popular writers. Paralleling historical and popular works, the public perception of the Constitution and the prowess of America's frigate fleet as a whole subsequently rose to dizzying heights after the War of 1812—based on the evidence emanating from a single naval engagement that lasted just over half an hour. This work seeks to examine how the Constitution ascended to such great military heights when all the odds were against American naval hegemony following the Revolutionary War. By comparing and contrasting naval correspondence, captain's logs, and ship records associated with America's original frigate fleet, a better sense of the collective biographies of the six frigates will be achieved; and, in the process, lend greater perspective to the history of the early American Navy. The methodology of this dissertation is to view the American Navy through the lens of the captains, officers, and crew that served on the Constitution. While this study looks to add insight into naval development by comparing and contrasting each of the original six American frigates, the USS Constitution is at the center of the investigation. This is a case study that utilizes the Constitution as a means to view and balance the successes and failures of the early American Navy.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: FSU_2015fall_Byington_fsu_0071E_12858
Format: Thesis

Title: Doing a Real Job: The Evolution in Women's Roles in British Society through the Lens of Female Spies, 1914-1945.
Creator: Wirsansky, Danielle, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Upchurch, Charles, Roberts, Diane, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
Abstract/Description: The first half of the twentieth century was in many ways a watershed era for women and their role in British society. The world wars ushered in a time of unprecedented change. The wars opened positions for women outside of the home, making it a more accepted practice; the government recruited and drafted women not just for work but for active service. Looking at these changes, the shifts in women’s roles in British society can be reflected by the more extreme cases of this shift, focusing on...
Show moreThe first half of the twentieth century was in many ways a watershed era for women and their role in British society. The world wars ushered in a time of unprecedented change. The wars opened positions for women outside of the home, making it a more accepted practice; the government recruited and drafted women not just for work but for active service. Looking at these changes, the shifts in women’s roles in British society can be reflected by the more extreme cases of this shift, focusing on the experiences of female spies. This paper serves to demonstrate that the involvement of female spies in WWI and WWII is a useful indicator in the shift of women’s role in British society during this span of time. Alongside the goals of the government, this paper aims to analyze the broader shift in gender roles. Focusing in on the micro-history of spies, this study explores the evolution of the experience of female spies from WWI to WWII, reflecting the same kinds of changes taking place in the experience of the everyday British woman. Then, by focusing in on the struggle for agency that British female spies faced in the second world war, the study directly relates their attempts with those of the everyday British woman. War did not simply generate a change, a quick and sudden reversal of gender roles. Instead, the war afforded women opportunities to prove themselves and make strides towards being the kind of woman they wanted to be.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: 2018_Sp_Wirsansky_fsu_0071N_14327
Format: Thesis

Title: The Choctaw Club: Martin Behrman, Reform, and the Roots of Modern American Politics.
Creator: Criss, Ralph Eric, Jumonville, Neil, Bonn, Mark A, Creswell, Michael H., Gray, Edward G., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department...
Show moreCriss, Ralph Eric, Jumonville, Neil, Bonn, Mark A, Creswell, Michael H., Gray, Edward G., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
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Abstract/Description: The proper role of government at all levels—local, state and federal—has been debated since the birth of the Republic. This project explores that debate by illustrating how a variety of social and political issues manifested themselves in the real life of New Orleans' longest serving mayor, Martin Behrman, and the lives of millions of other Americans, in the early twentieth century. Integral to the story of Martin Behrman's life is the tale of Storyville—the infamous red-light district—the...
Show moreThe proper role of government at all levels—local, state and federal—has been debated since the birth of the Republic. This project explores that debate by illustrating how a variety of social and political issues manifested themselves in the real life of New Orleans' longest serving mayor, Martin Behrman, and the lives of millions of other Americans, in the early twentieth century. Integral to the story of Martin Behrman's life is the tale of Storyville—the infamous red-light district—the growth of the beer industry, and World War I. These matters were bound together in a ball of confusion surrounding the act of congress authorizing the war and its funding. Specifically, questions poured in from across the nation, asking which parts of American cities sailors could visit, whether or not sailors and soldiers were to be treated equally under the law, and even whether or not a civilian could buy a soldier a cold beer to say "thank you" for his service. In this way, the politics of beer, sex, and reform exploded across the United States. In Louisiana, these issues contributed to the defeat of Martin Behrman in the mayoral election of 1920, the weakening of the "Regular" political machine, and the ascent Huey Long, the "Kingfish." Many of the same legal and moral questions that were asked in 1915 are now asked in 2015 as presidential candidates jockey for position in the presidential primaries of both major parties. How much federal government intrusion into the private lives of citizens is appropriate, given the urgent need to protect the nation from terrorism? Which civil liberties may be encroached upon and to what extent? What is government's role in promoting public health, fair wages, and morality? What is the appropriate role of the federal government versus states and localities, especially during wartime? How do we handle the large numbers of immigrants flocking to our shores—from both a policy and rhetorical perspective? Answers to such questions constituted the political fault lines of the early twentieth century, as they do today. This study does not attempt to answer the policy questions above. Rather, it seeks to add context to debates surrounding them and to demonstrate their durability. The challenge is how to discuss these complex issues in a concise and cohesive manner. The author chose the political career of the longest serving mayor in the history of New Orleans to act as the glue that holds the narrative together.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: FSU_2015fall_Criss_fsu_0071E_12842
Format: Thesis

Title: Empire of the Mind: Subscription Libraries, Literacy & Acculturation in the Colonies of the British Empire.
Creator: Coleman, Sterling Joseph, Upchurch, Charles, Wiegand, Wayne, Garretson, Peter, Grant, Jonathan, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: In his ground-breaking Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson declared that the census, map and museum shaped the manner in which the colony imagined its dominion, the nature of the colonized, the geography of the colony and the ancestral right of the colonizer to rule. The author's analysis not only highlighted the impact of print-culture within a colonial setting but also created an opportunity to explore how other information gathering institutions may have contributed to the social and...
Show moreIn his ground-breaking Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson declared that the census, map and museum shaped the manner in which the colony imagined its dominion, the nature of the colonized, the geography of the colony and the ancestral right of the colonizer to rule. The author's analysis not only highlighted the impact of print-culture within a colonial setting but also created an opportunity to explore how other information gathering institutions may have contributed to the social and cultural development of both the metropolis and the colony. This dissertation is designed to build upon Anderson's work through an analysis of the social and cultural roles subscription libraries played throughout the colonies of the British Empire. By analyzing British government documents, library annual reports and a variety of secondary sources, this study will assess the history, growth and development of subscription librarianship in the colonies of Jamaica, Malaysia and Nigeria as a microcosm for British-controlled areas of the Caribbean, Asia and Africa respectively. This dissertation will argue that colonial subscription library development was a key component of "Neo-Macaulayism" which advocated the cultural enfranchisement and intellectual development of the indigenous elite to maintain a fully functioning colonial government bureaucracy against the threats of disloyalty and illiteracy.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3564
Format: Thesis

Title: Empire, Terror, and Human Rights: Political and Intellectual Discourses in France and the United States since "9/11".
Creator: Kemp, Matthew A. (Matthew Alva), Hargreaves, Alec G., Garretson, Peter, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Cloonan, William, Boutin, Aimée, Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics,...
Show moreKemp, Matthew A. (Matthew Alva), Hargreaves, Alec G., Garretson, Peter, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Cloonan, William, Boutin, Aimée, Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, Florida State University
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Abstract/Description: In this dissertation, I compare the discourses of key political and intellectual actors in France and in the United States, in order to better understand the ways in which they have articulated major global issues since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. I situate my investigation against three main themes - empire, terror(ism), and human rights - which have gained heightened prominence and coalesced in new ways since the attacks. Through its interdisciplinary and comparative...
Show moreIn this dissertation, I compare the discourses of key political and intellectual actors in France and in the United States, in order to better understand the ways in which they have articulated major global issues since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. I situate my investigation against three main themes - empire, terror(ism), and human rights - which have gained heightened prominence and coalesced in new ways since the attacks. Through its interdisciplinary and comparative framework, this dissertation explores the nature of "empire" in a globalized world and the increasing prominence of a human rights agenda in considering issues relating to both empire and terrorism. Specifically, the two case studies presented in the dissertation examine areas of similarity and contrast in the post-September 11 discourses of 1) Presidents Bush and Chirac, and 2) French and American intellectuals. Through my analysis both of the language, and of the arguments which emerge in the pronouncements of these important actors, I aim to elucidate the manner in which the themes of empire, terrorism, and human rights have been debated in France and America since the September 11 attacks and in the light of subsequent international developments, most notably the Iraq War. In doing so, this dissertation aims to contribute to our understanding of present-day Franco-American relations, and the key role played by language in constructing collective perceptions of some of the most important issues in contemporary history and politics.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3210
Format: Thesis

Title: Victory in the Cradle: Fatherhood and the Family Community in the Nazi Schutzstaffel.
Creator: Carney, Amy Beth, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Maier-Katkin, Birgit, Childs, Matt, Davis, Fritz, Gellately, Robert, Grant, Jonathan, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Racial superiority was deeply embedded in the philosophy and world-view of National Socialism. It was also a key tenet within the Nazi SS (Schutzstaffel), as possessing a superior Nordic racial lineage became a crucial criterion for admission to the organization by the early 1930's. With this racial basis, the SS was posed to serve as a new aristocracy in the fledgling Third Reich. However, this service was only to be the beginning. The leader of the SS, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler,...
Show moreRacial superiority was deeply embedded in the philosophy and world-view of National Socialism. It was also a key tenet within the Nazi SS (Schutzstaffel), as possessing a superior Nordic racial lineage became a crucial criterion for admission to the organization by the early 1930's. With this racial basis, the SS was posed to serve as a new aristocracy in the fledgling Third Reich. However, this service was only to be the beginning. The leader of the SS, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, desired that his elite corps not only serve Adolf Hitler's Reich in the present, but perpetually in the future as well. To achieve this goal, he created an ambitious plan to use his SS men as a starting point from which he could establish a larger SS family community (Sippengemeinschaft). To realize this aspiration, the wives and children of SS men also had to be vetted in order to prove their biological and hereditary worth. An entire process was created to oversee the development of the SS Sippengemeinschaft as both a biological and a cultural entity, with the vast majority of it managed by the SS Race and Settlement Main Office (Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt). This administrative oversight of family life, and in particular the promotion and regulation of fatherhood among SS men, represented one method through which the SS leadership wanted its elite cadre to reshape societal and familial norms, thus having these men and their families serve as the racial and biological vanguard of the Nazi Reich. However, the means used to attempt to achieve this goal were not unique to the SS, the Nazi party, or even to Germany. The vast majority of the measures implemented in the SS to encourage SS men to marry racially suitable women, to father racially healthy children, and therefore to create the ideal SS family community were based on ideas which had been existed for decades as part of a then-valid science, eugenics. Eugenicists, especially those in Germany, Britain, and the United States, had wanted to find a humane means of selection to improve the quantity and quality of their respective populations. Based on their class, racial, religious, or national bias, they wanted to limit benignly the reproduction of certain people while strongly encouraging other people to have more children. However, while many scientists and physicians advocated a wide variety of measures, eugenics had been nothing more than scientific rhetoric in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particualrly when it came to using this science to promote the birth of "wellborn" children. That changed in the 1930's as among the people who saw value in positive eugenics was Heinrich Himmler. He sought to reshape the SS and to construct a family community within the organization by selectively employing the eugenic ideals which best suited his needs. Therefore, what Himmler and the SS, particularly the Race and Settlement Main Office, attempted to do was to turn rhetoric into reality by applying eugenic ideals. By investigating fatherhood and the family community in the SS, this work contributes to several historiographies. First, it contributes to a stronger understanding of the SS. It evaluates how the construction and implementation of a racial ideology facilitated the burgeoning bureaucracy of the SS, especially in the offices responsible for promoting and supporting families. This research analyzes the notion of the SS as an elite community, both the ideology and the reality of this ideal. In particular, it examines how the SS leadership sought to have its men willingly comply with its racial notions instead of obliging them to obey through force as well as allowed selective compliance from SS men, particularly during the Second World War. Consequently, this dissertation explores why, if the ideal of developing eugenically healthy families represented a goal of the SS, SS leaders permitted their men leeway in their personal decisions and how this tolerance defined the organization's familial ideology. Second, as this endeavor by the SS to foster an elite community was an application of eugenics, it was the first attempt to implement this scientific rhetoric in a positive manner. Therefore, this work adds to the literature which examines the role of the biological sciences in the Third Reich. Third, it engages historical research which focuses on family life in the Third Reich as well as in the postwar era and provides a stronger understanding of the role of the father within the family. Fourth, this research addresses sexual politics in Nazi Germany, specifically how the SS attempted to reconceptualize the purpose and value of sex in order to create its family community.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-4180
Format: Thesis

Title: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary: The Political Career of Louis-Marie Stanislas Fréron, Representative on Mission and Conventionnel, 1754-1802.
Creator: Greene, Karen L., Horward, Donald D., O'Sullivan, Patrick, Grant, Jonathan, Garretson, Peter P., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This dissertation examines the Revolutionary career of Louis-Marie Stanislas Fréron (1754-1802). Fréron was born the son of Élie-Catherine Fréron, was a prominent author and literary critic who championed the traditional institutions of France against the philosophes. But, with the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Fréron made a complete break with his father's principles. He joined the Jacobin Club, embraced republicanism, and became a well-known, radical journalist through his...
Show moreThis dissertation examines the Revolutionary career of Louis-Marie Stanislas Fréron (1754-1802). Fréron was born the son of Élie-Catherine Fréron, was a prominent author and literary critic who championed the traditional institutions of France against the philosophes. But, with the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Fréron made a complete break with his father's principles. He joined the Jacobin Club, embraced republicanism, and became a well-known, radical journalist through his notorious newspaper L'Orateur du Peuple. Along with his work as a journalist, Fréron pursued a political career. In 1792 he was elected to the National Convention and was subsequently sent as a representative on mission to the departments of southeast France (1793-94). It was here that Fréron gained a notorious reputation as a ruthless Terrorist, especially as a result of his activities in the cities of Marseilles and Toulon. Fréron later played a leading role in the coup of 9 Thermidor (27-28 July 1794) that toppled Robespierre's government and began the process to dismantle the Terror. During the following chaotic period of the Thermidorian Reaction, Fréron sought to disassociate himself from his past activities as a Jacobin and agent of the Terror. But, public knowledge of Fréron's past activities as a representative and participant in the Terror as well as his support and encouragement of violence after Thermidor ultimately brought him criticism and condemnation. His political career was irrevocably damaged. In the final days of the National Convention, Fréron obtained one last assignment as a representative on mission to southeast France. On this mission Fréron showed great moderation and sagacity in the implementation of his duties, but found it impossible to cleanse his tarnished reputation or silence his political opponents. As a result, the last seven years of Fréron's public and private life were plagued with disappointment and failure. Fréron drifted, debt-ridden, able only to obtain insignificant employment. In 1802 he was appointed to a position as sous-préfet to the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti). But this mission was to be his last. He contracted yellow fever, just weeks after his arrival there, and died alone and forgotten.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3997
Format: Thesis

Title: The Bridge to Victory: The Iranian Crisis and the Birth of the Cold War.
Creator: Harper, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Frederick), Souva, Mark A., Hanley, Will, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Frank, Andrew, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of...
Show moreHarper, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Frederick), Souva, Mark A., Hanley, Will, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Frank, Andrew, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
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Abstract/Description: This work examines the Iranian Crisis of 1946 and its active role in shaping the Cold War that followed. It is intended to serve as a case study of how the United States was able to successfully flex its short-lived atomic monopoly and achieve its international objectives in the early postwar era by means of direct engagement with so-called "peripheral actors." This writing engages with the robust academic field of U.S. foreign relations that over the past number of years revisited and...
Show moreThis work examines the Iranian Crisis of 1946 and its active role in shaping the Cold War that followed. It is intended to serve as a case study of how the United States was able to successfully flex its short-lived atomic monopoly and achieve its international objectives in the early postwar era by means of direct engagement with so-called "peripheral actors." This writing engages with the robust academic field of U.S. foreign relations that over the past number of years revisited and reimagined the origins and driving forces of the Cold War. My own international archival research and comparative historiographical analysis supports the growing synthesis of the field, and it has led me to argue the importance of peripheral actors, and specifically Iran, in establishing the Cold War system. The claims that Soviet expansionism or American economic agendas were the sole agitants behind the emergence of the decades-long struggle no longer satisfies in lieu of the new materials and analytical approaches now available. While the Russians and the British jockeyed for positions of leadership within wartime-occupied Iran, the United States was welcomed into the region by many Iranians as a potential balancing force and check on European imperialism. The Soviet Union's violation of a troop withdrawal agreement at the conclusion of the Second World War, coupled with its active support of Kurdish and Azeri separatist movements, aggressively tested the new and evolving international order. The primary objective of this work is to understand how the international community, in this case led by the United States, the Soviet Union, Iran, and the newly-formed United Nations, achieved a relatively peaceful withdrawal of Soviet forces from Iranian territory. I contend that: 1) Iran possessed, due to its wartime role and latent economic potential, a degree of leverage in negotiations with the United States and Russia that other nations did not; 2) that the Iranian prime minister, Ahmad Qavām, shrewdly manipulated both superpowers with his own brand of masterful statecraft while pursuing his own "Iran-centric" objectives; 3) that the United States used its preponderance of military, economic, and diplomatic might to effectively achieve its postwar aims; and 4) the primary actors in the crisis solidified the legitimacy of the United Nations and its Security Council, which had previously been in jeopardy. The Iranian Crisis presents a challenge to those scholars who present models premised on a rigid Cold War binarism, while it seemingly strengthens the case of those scholars who take account of other actors when assessing power dynamics and the ability of the superpowers to implement their will. Evidence indicates that Prime Minister Qavām was one of the principal figures behind the peaceful resolution of this matter. Representing a "third-party" force outside of Europe, Qavām skillfully used the tools he had at his disposal to transform the foreign policies of the superpowers while advancing his own country's agenda. Qavām would not have taken the bold risks that he did – which included offering highly sought after oil concessions to Soviet leaders while deftly wrapping them in legalistic parlance and damning requirements – unless he was positive that the United States would stand behind him militarily, economically, and politically, even if doing so risked the continuation and perhaps escalation of global conflict. While lesser known than the Berlin Airlift or the Korean War or the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Iranian Crisis revealed for the first time what a superpower clash might look like. This event provides a stunning example of crisis management by the primary participants. The Iranian Crisis was indeed the birth of the Cold War, and it established a model for state actions during and after this long conflict. The Crisis also provides a powerful example of how third-party entities outside of Europe, despite possessing relatively meager military and economic might, had the ability to alter and occasionally manipulate superpower behavior.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: FSU_2017SP_Harper_fsu_0071E_13566
Format: Thesis

Title: Siegfried Kracauer and the Photographic Image of the Angestellten: Constructions of the Salaried Class in the Weimar Republic.
Creator: Bender, Stephanie, Jolles, Adam, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Jones, Lynn, Weingarden, Lauren S., Florida State University, College of Fine Arts, Department of Art History
Abstract/Description: This dissertation examines Weimar-era constructions of the salaried worker, or die Angestellten, as expressed in German photography and its dissemination in mass media through the theoretical lens of Siegfried Kracauer, who lived and worked as a cultural critic and journalist during this period in Germany. The Angestellten were the fastest-growing demographic within Germany during the 1920s, their numbers booming following the end of the First World War, before which they were but a fraction...
Show moreThis dissertation examines Weimar-era constructions of the salaried worker, or die Angestellten, as expressed in German photography and its dissemination in mass media through the theoretical lens of Siegfried Kracauer, who lived and worked as a cultural critic and journalist during this period in Germany. The Angestellten were the fastest-growing demographic within Germany during the 1920s, their numbers booming following the end of the First World War, before which they were but a fraction of the population. Their situation was closely tied to that of the turbulent economy, and as such they generally endured low incomes and redundancy within the salaried work place. Nevertheless, the salaried classes maintained a superficial connection to upper classes whose dignified appearances were imitated with ready-made clothing bought at department stores. Thus the Angestellten were economic equals to the proletariat, but ideologically maintained themselves as superior to blue-collar workers. The growing number of female white-collared workers, often regarded as synonymous with the New Woman, made up over one-third of the salariat population after the war. These working women particularly aided the surge of the salariat and subsequently such jobs at typists and secretaries became gendered as feminine, further exasperating unemployment numbers among male salariats. Despite the instability of employment and low incomes, the salaried type became a ubiquitous presence in Weimar media. Kracauer points out that this salaried type was one identified visually, and this image of the Angestellten was promulgated by the new media of photography. Kracauer’s analysis of the Angestellten suggests the salariat as “spiritually homeless” figures formed from commercial goods and fantasy aspirations influenced by film and media. Their identity is a façade obscuring nothing, and they remain blind to the severity of their circumstance because of the urban distractions that pull continuously at their attention. In this way, the salariat aligns with and is subject to Kracauer’s concept of the mass ornament, the “inconspicuous surface-level expressions” that, if concentrated upon and analyzed, may reveal the circumstances of reality beneath the “surface glamour.” It is in this overlapping of Angestellten and mass ornament that this dissertation pivots, manifest in the Weimar-era photographs of salaried workers, their environments, and the commercial goods that help to define their mass-produced identities. I have chosen photographs from various contexts, including the street photography of Lyonel Feininger and Friedrich Seidenstücker, the typological portraits of August Sander, the photo essays of Sasha Stone, and the advertisements of Ellen Auerbach and Grete Stern of studio ringl + pit. I argue that these photographs contain rhetorical potential as mass ornaments that, when analyzed through Kracauer’s theoretical approach, offer insights to the role of photography in salaried class construction of the Weimar Republic.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: 2019_Fall_Bender_fsu_0071E_15557
Format: Thesis

Title: The Gestapo, Critics, and Social Control Selective Enforcement in the Rhineland, 1933-1944.
Creator: Stackhouse, J. Ryan (John Ryan), Gellately, Robert, Stults, Brian J., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Williamson, George S., Creswell, Michael, Florida State University, College of Arts and...
Show moreStackhouse, J. Ryan (John Ryan), Gellately, Robert, Stults, Brian J., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Williamson, George S., Creswell, Michael, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
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Abstract/Description: How did the Secret State Police (Gestapo) enforce laws governing opinion in Nazi Germany? This dissertation argues that lenience rather than terror defined the relationship between state and society for Germans who fit into the so-called racial community (Volksgemeinschaft). The work sheds new light on the Gestapo's changing role in the broader system of social control as well as its standard practices, decision making processes, and enforcement criteria when investigating different socio...
Show moreHow did the Secret State Police (Gestapo) enforce laws governing opinion in Nazi Germany? This dissertation argues that lenience rather than terror defined the relationship between state and society for Germans who fit into the so-called racial community (Volksgemeinschaft). The work sheds new light on the Gestapo's changing role in the broader system of social control as well as its standard practices, decision making processes, and enforcement criteria when investigating different socio-political groups. A statistically grounded system immanent analysis of 200 case files from government district Düsseldorf reveals that political police reserved arbitrary detention, surveillance, and torture to unravel networks of organized resistance. The Gestapo's initial reliance on terror against the underground communist party proved unsuited for policing society at large. New laws criminalizing all criticism meanwhile raised concerns about alienating support. The Gestapo, in cooperation with the Nazi Party and the judiciary, compensated with an explicit policy of selective enforcement. Authorities punished "subversives" and warned "supporters" based on perceptions of motive extrapolated from an evaluation of "political reliability" grounded in the concept of racial community. The Gestapo focused harsher forms of social control against "subversives" while reintegrating "otherwise upstanding" Germans with stern warnings to correct their "momentary weakness." The judiciary initially consulted with the Nazi Party on enforcement decisions, but police increasingly prescribed outcomes to state prosecutors after Himmler became Chief of German Police in June 1936 and issued warning independently after the declaration of war in September 1939. The Nazi Party assumed greater responsibility for investigating and warning critics after early 1943 with significantly harsher consequences in cases that filtered upward to political police thereafter. The regime thereby suppressed open discussion of political alternatives without risking backlash from blanket enforcement. The findings break with the view that pervasive terror defined life in Nazi Germany by demonstrating vastly different outcomes depending on the nature of criticism as well as the suspect's personal and political background. By exposing who experienced terror and who remained immune, the conclusions support recent scholarship that argues Hitler established and maintained power through consent and compromise rather than coercion of the social majority.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: FSU_2017SP_Stackhouse_fsu_0071E_13928
Format: Thesis

Title: Europa and the Bull: Gendering Europe and the Process of European Integration, 1919-1939.
Creator: Shriver, Rebecca Rae, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Souva, Mark A., Sinke, Suzanne M., Hanley, Will, Upchurch, Charles, Kurlander, Eric, Florida State University, College of Arts and...
Show moreShriver, Rebecca Rae, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Souva, Mark A., Sinke, Suzanne M., Hanley, Will, Upchurch, Charles, Kurlander, Eric, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
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Abstract/Description: This study examines the role of women and gender in German and British sections of three antiwar organizations that advocated for a European polity during the 1920s and 1930s: the Pan-European Union (PEU), the New Europe Group (NEG), and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). This project relies on extensive archival research using collections located throughout Europe, the United States, and Canada, some of which were only very recently cataloged. My findings...
Show moreThis study examines the role of women and gender in German and British sections of three antiwar organizations that advocated for a European polity during the 1920s and 1930s: the Pan-European Union (PEU), the New Europe Group (NEG), and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). This project relies on extensive archival research using collections located throughout Europe, the United States, and Canada, some of which were only very recently cataloged. My findings fundamentally change our understanding of interwar integration advocates, who historians previously characterized as a small group of intellectual men. An analysis of the PEU and NEG reveals that women were a significant proportion of their members and leaders. Further complicating the traditional narrative that these were “male” driven groups, this study finds they stressed the “feminine” qualities their proposed system of governance required. Integration advocates blamed the perception of crisis between the wars on the belief that the political system was man-made. Many of these individuals believed women offered new ideas and an alternative source of leadership; thus, the role of women in developing a European polity was a popular topic among important segments of unification advocates. This argument resonated with many members and national sections of WILPF, which led them to collaborate with both the NEG and PEU. Although well known for its feminist pacifist activism, Europa and the Bull is the first study to examine the ways in which WILPF contributed to movements aimed at creating a European polity. By addressing all three of these organizations, this study challenges our understanding of the interwar movement for a federal European government, as well as the social and cultural forces that motivated them.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: 2018_Sp_Shriver_fsu_0071E_14311
Format: Thesis

Title: Now I Am in Distant Germany, It Could Be That I Will Die: Colonial Precedent, Wartime Contingency, and Crisis Mentality in the Transition from Subjugation to Decimation of Foreign Workers in the Nazi Ruhr.
Creator: Osmar, Christopher Michael, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Maier-Katkin, Daniel, Williamson, George S., Hanley, Will, Grant, Jonathan A., Florida State University, College of Arts and...
Show moreOsmar, Christopher Michael, Stoltzfus, Nathan, Maier-Katkin, Daniel, Williamson, George S., Hanley, Will, Grant, Jonathan A., Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
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Abstract/Description: By the end of the Second World War over half a million foreign civilians were living within the confines of a system of forced labor in and around the Ruhr region of Germany. While the use of some degree of coercion had characterized this foreign labor deployment scheme since its institution in 1939, mass execution was not introduced as a tool for controlling foreign workers until September 1944. What prompted this resort to extreme violence? The conventional explanation for so-called crimes...
Show moreBy the end of the Second World War over half a million foreign civilians were living within the confines of a system of forced labor in and around the Ruhr region of Germany. While the use of some degree of coercion had characterized this foreign labor deployment scheme since its institution in 1939, mass execution was not introduced as a tool for controlling foreign workers until September 1944. What prompted this resort to extreme violence? The conventional explanation for so-called crimes of the end phase of this sort has been that the collapse of German society at the end of the war removed constraints on ideologically committed perpetrators who had become increasingly radicalized and brutalized by the war, creating a vacuum of authority where they could act on violent impulses. This dissertation seeks to correct the prevailing view, arguing instead that moments of crisis activated longstanding institutional and cultural norms that endorsed specific kinds of violence within specific contexts, and that a series of these crises in western Germany prompted the resort to executions as a temporary measure to prevent societal collapse within a restructured but still functioning system of authority. This dissertation traces the genealogy of end phase violence and the wider system for controlling forced labor back to the German colonial experience. Colonial notions of extracting labor within the tight controls of an apartheid regime persisted into the Third Reich, as did patterns of thinking that criminalized resistance to domination and justified the utilization of extreme violence when resistance occurred within a climate of crisis. Still, there was not a straight line from Africa to the mass execution of foreign workers in the Ruhr, and norms established in the colonies were malleable and subject to change when confronted by historical contingency. Nazi conception of race and community elaborated on the colonial foundation, while the subsequent conquest and subjugation of people in the East, along with the experience of the partisan war in the Soviet Union, further refined ideas about managing coerced labor and resistance to it. The Second World War also introduced problems that had not been encountered in the colonies. With the weaponization of morale, Allied and National Socialist propaganda organizations vied for control of both attitudes about foreign workers and the attitudes of the foreigners themselves. The strategic bombing campaign was an important component of this morale war in which foreign workers would play a role. In considering the protection to afford to foreigners threatened by bombs, German captors were confronted with questions about how to balance economic and ideological needs, and often determined that the lives of foreigners were expendable. In the end, Germany won the morale war, and the will of the people to continue to resist did not break. The Allies were victorious, however, in the propaganda battle over perceptions of foreigners, succeeding in instilling a deep fear of an impending foreigner uprising the minds of German security forces. When the war front finally reached the German border it brought with it a crisis that would prompt a shift in the Gestapo's frame of reference from that of domestic policing to that of rear-area security. This shift activated norms for combating recalcitrant forced laborers developed in the colonies and filtered through the experience of the anti-partisan war. Even in the end phase, however, crisis was not a perpetual state. The Gestapo's reliance on violence fluctuated as the intensity of the emergency ebbed and flowed with the local contingencies of the war. Amidst these crises Berlin reorganized the Gestapo in the Ruhr and relinquished some of its authority over them, but it remained intact and continued to engage with local, regional, and national authorities in negotiating its execution policy.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: 2018_Fall_Osmar_fsu_0071E_14915
Format: Thesis

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