We learned of a call for papers
for a conference in Prague on local administrations during the two world wars.
Here the call:
Local administration has always
played a key role in securing, implementing and stabilizing the authority of
the modern state. After the outbreak of the First World War, the warring
countries were confronted with a difficult supply situation, including famine,
disease, refugees and labor shortages. The clerks of the local administration
were responsible for implementing new policies and solving problems. They were
the ones in direct contact with local populations which were often multi-ethnic
and presented a broad variety of needs.
In many cases, local
administrations were reorganized to deal with vast and unprecedented tasks and
problems. In other cases, the German Empire and Austria-Hungary established
military occupation administrations which depended on existing local
administration, for example in Belgium, Serbia and Ukraine.
Not only military defeat but also the failure of overtaxed local
administrations to solve substantial problems such as obtaining sufficient food
supplies for the population led to revolts in the German Empire and the
Habsburg Monarchy.
This drastic experience prompted
Nazi Germany in particular to undertake a reorganization of local
administration shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. Even after
large parts of Europe were under German occupation, local administrations
remained largely responsible for the daily life needs of local populations,
such as organizing production, distribution and rationing of food and other
basic goods, such as heating fuel and clothing. Since state food allotments
were often insufficient to meet basic needs, local populations reacted with the
development of a variety of illegal practices. Farmers evaded compulsory levies
of food and sold undocumented, illegally butchered meat. Hidden stores of
products, food and ration stamps were traded for other goods as part of a
comprehensive black market. Although nominally supervised by German occupiers,
the actual prosecution of these new economic crimes generally fell in the
responsibility of local administrations and courts. Local courts continued to
hear non-political cases and disputes within local populations as well.
Recent research in Holocaust Studies have showed that local administrations not
only played an important role in making the mass murder of the European Jews
possible, but that it was often local administrations that took the initiative.
This conference aims to bring
together scholars who work on specific aspects of local administration in the
First World War and the Second World War and analyze and compare a diversity of
methodologies, findings and approaches.
We are particularly interested in
papers that are dealing with the following historical focuses:
- The relationship between the
occupying power and local administration.
- Local administration and the war economy
- Local courts under occupation
- Continuity and change in staffing aspects of local administration under
occupation
- Questions of local administration and local interpretation of collaboration
Prof. Jonathan Gumz will give a
keynote address on local administration and the First World War.
Prof. Dieter Pohl will give a
keynote address on local administration and the Second World War.
At the moment we are able to
cover accommodation and parts of the travel costs, we are still looking for
funds for travel costs.
The conference language is
English.
Please send your abstracts of
approximately 500 words by 17 March 2020 to:
