... And Peace

A cosmopolitan, a lover, a passionate critic of his time - this is the definitive biography of Remarque. In his...

A cosmopolitan, a lover, a passionate critic of his time - this is the definitive biography of Remarque. In his novels, like Emile Zola before him, Erich Maria Remarque created a powerful moral portrait of his time - an era dominated by war, terror, expulsion, violence and lies, in which humane values and qualities, such as love and friendship, were constantly under threat. Remarque's life was shaped by political circumstances, but also by his wealth and countless affairs - for example, with Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Elisabeth Bergner - and his relationship with alcohol. Renowned journalist and author Wilhelm von Sternburg has written the first comprehensive biography of this author, whose books sold in their millions and were made into numerous films, and whose dazzling life - glamorous yet difficult, committed yet torn - has never been described with such precision and depth of knowledge. Sternburg's brilliant and vivid biography links Remarque's life with the history of his works and time, and draws on extensive materials that have not been widely accessible until now, such as letters and diaries.

This novel depicts Remarque's years in exile on Lake Maggiore. The night before Hitler's appointment as Reich Chancellor, Erich Maria...

This novel depicts Remarque's years in exile on Lake Maggiore. The night before Hitler's appointment as Reich Chancellor, Erich Maria Remarque flees Berlin and goes into exile on Lake Maggiore in Switzerland. Shortly afterwards, his novels are burning on Nazi pyres. Remarque is plunged into a deep state of helplessness by these political events; artistically, he has also been struggling for years with a new novel. He numbs his depression with cigarettes, alcohol and erotic escapades, into which he throws himself with ex-wife Jutta. She has also fled from the Nazis, whose rabble-rousing leads the exile community in Ascona to grow with every passing day.

What is 'enlightenment'? And how has this concept and its star power been carried over to the present day? The...

What is 'enlightenment'? And how has this concept and its star power been carried over to the present day? The Enlightenment is linked to the 18th century and considered a major achievement of European history. To this day, its ideas and associated metaphors are used to enforce or combat certain concepts and practices. As a result, the question of what 'enlightenment' actually is has become more topical than ever before. 

The essays in this volume examine the Enlightenment from the perspective of literary and cultural studies, theology, history and media theory, focusing on the historical epoch and its reception, as well as problematic processes of appropriation and dispossession bound up with the latter. The book thus thematises the history and impact of the concept of enlightenment while simultaneously building a vital bridge to contemporary debates.

Nuns, grandmothers, priests and postal workers break into military bases to protest against the nuclear bombs stationed there, demanding changes...

Nuns, grandmothers, priests and postal workers break into military bases to protest against the nuclear bombs stationed there, demanding changes to global infrastructures of violence. The Plowshares movement has became a symbol of radical Christian and non-violent practice, for example in Büchel, Germany, where American atomic weapons are stored, or in Kings Bay in America, a base for submarines with nuclear warheads. In both cases, break-ins were staged in 2018, using civil disobedience to resist the violence and authority of the state. The consequences were trials and year-long prison sentences. This book reproduces the remarkable closing statements of the accused activists, and gathers contributions 'from below' on the issue of disarmament, on the history of Christian anti-militarist resistance, and on the blind spots of the political Left. In a time of arms escalation, this book provides fresh impetus for a new peace movement far removed from bourgeois religiosity. Contains a foreword by David Steindl-Rast.

The critical examination of the legitimacy of monarchical rule began with this question: why do people accept their own subjugation?...

The critical examination of the legitimacy of monarchical rule began with this question: why do people accept their own subjugation? It marks the beginning of the history of democracy. The 16th century, a time of profound cultural and economic change in Europe, saw the emergence of a radical new critique of rulers. The latter remains relevant today, because it addressed a new kind of audience: the ruled masses. Machiavelli, unjustly criticised for his role as a princely advisor, and Étienne de La Boétie both questioned the rationale for ruling over others by adopting the perspective of the people. What develops is not simply a different view of how monarchical rule functions. The peculiar ambivalence of emancipation movements fighting violent oppression, whose breakthroughs came via democratic revolutions, is also revealed.

Afghan grassroots and feminist activists have clearly voiced their opposition to external peacebuilding - but are not heard. Their analyses...

Afghan grassroots and feminist activists have clearly voiced their opposition to external peacebuilding - but are not heard. Their analyses and ideas are largely excluded from the political and academic spheres. Mechthild Exo shows how this exclusion reflects a colonial, epistemic violence in world politics. In a clear and lively way, she outlines the 'unwanted knowledge' of four Afghan organisations that are active in the areas of artistic human rights work; feminist women's organising (since the 1970s with RAWA); the fight against impunity for war criminals; and the construction of non-occupation led democratic structures. This study is a pioneering piece of decolonial peace research.

The authors of this volume provide an introductory overview of critical cultures of remembrance in relation to colonialism in Germany...

The authors of this volume provide an introductory overview of critical cultures of remembrance in relation to colonialism in Germany and beyond. In the process, they link to existing debates on decolonisation and postcolonialism in Germany and ask: which voices are (still) not being heard in the reappraisal of German colonialism? What do these voices have to say? How does colonial history continue to be experienced today in bodies, places and movements within civil society? What connections exist between places of remembrance and practices of resistance in both the past and present?

In 1980s West Germany, a new type of memorial emerged as part of the peace movement's confrontation with an outdated...

In 1980s West Germany, a new type of memorial emerged as part of the peace movement's confrontation with an outdated culture of war remembrance: memorials for deserters. In East Germany, a few monuments of this kind for 'war-weary soldiers' had already been erected just after the Second World War.

This book outlines the contradictory discourses on desertion up until the 2002 rehabilitation of Wehrmacht deserters. More than 41 monuments and memorial sites for deserters are examined, each with their own complex origin stories and impacts. Sites where deserters were killed are also included, many of which are memorials today.

This short story collection is about the fates of those who escaped the hell of the trenches and are now...

This short story collection is about the fates of those who escaped the hell of the trenches and are now trying to find their way amid the normality of everyday post-war life.

1923: a society in moral freefall, filled with gamblers, racketeers, war invalids, the destitute, losers and profiteers. People have learned...

1923: a society in moral freefall, filled with gamblers, racketeers, war invalids, the destitute, losers and profiteers. People have learned how to survive but not how to live fully - like Ludwig, who lost his youth to war and has no idea where he belongs. Then he meets the beautiful, schizophrenic Isabelle...

An entire town seems to make its living from the local arms company - including Julika's parents. She increasingly begins...

An entire town seems to make its living from the local arms company - including Julika's parents. She increasingly begins to question the arms trade and, more or less by chance, joins forces with Bobi, Amal, Manuel and Natalie, who are researching the sector for a school project. But soon that isn't enough for them. They want to shake up the town's inhabitants. And that requires radical action.

At the end of 1918, a handful of soldiers return from the Western Front, only to find that society's earlier...

At the end of 1918, a handful of soldiers return from the Western Front, only to find that society's earlier enthusiasm for war has been replaced by pure contempt... The sequel to the global bestseller All Quiet on the Western Front.

Between 1884 and 1914, Germany ruled over a colonial empire that stretched from Togo in West Africa to the islands...

Between 1884 and 1914, Germany ruled over a colonial empire that stretched from Togo in West Africa to the islands of Samoa in the Pacific. This book offers a knowledgeable and accessible overview of the short-lived German colonial adventure. It outlines its political and economic preconditions and consequences, but focuses above all on 'everyday colonial life' and the coexistence of Germans and indigenous people, which was by no means solely defined by resistance and violence. Among other things, the book explores the work of administrators, the judiciary and the military; the Christian missions; the role of women; the issue of race; hopes and dreams following the loss of the colonial empire - but also how this part of German history is remembered today.

This textbook provides an up-to-date introduction to the study of today's multicentric world. It provides an overview of the most...

This textbook provides an up-to-date introduction to the study of today's multicentric world. It provides an overview of the most significant globalisation trends, as well as insights into individual world regions. There is a focus on socio-cultural configurations in different regions, and on their genesis and global contexts. A comparative perspective enables core debates on globalisation, which have reached a point of consensus in many areas, to be more strongly differentiated and contextualised. The study is based on the interpretation of empirical literature and individual field research in all of the regions covered. The book's interdisciplinary approach allows it to be applicable in numerous fields and contexts.

All around the world, inequality and poverty are on the rise, and human rights are being trampled underfoot. But does...

All around the world, inequality and poverty are on the rise, and human rights are being trampled underfoot. But does this mean that they no longer hold any meaning? Or do they simply need to be reconceptualised and refreshed to unlock their transformative potential? In addition to being Edward Snowden's lawyer, Wolfgang Kaleck has taken part in many criminal cases, among others against Donald Rumsfeld and Argentinian military dictators. A participant in international legal battles, at times against transnational corporations, Kaleck has now designed a concrete new utopia. He criticises the currently accepted formulation of human rights, which is too narrow, and broadens the terms of the debate by examining history and relevant struggles worldwide. So that things don't always stay the same; so that something really changes. The international human rights revolution starts here!

What is diplomacy? An art, a craft, or something in-between? And what makes a good diplomat? Strategy, style, even the...

What is diplomacy? An art, a craft, or something in-between? And what makes a good diplomat? Strategy, style, even the odd trick or two? Experienced practitioners report on their most astonishing successes and failures on the diplomatic stage, and outline their ideas for dealing diplomatically with hitherto unsolved challenges. A book for anyone wanting to better understand what really counts when negotiating war and peace. Why diplomacy is an art like no other. With contributions from presidents and prime ministers, plus heads of NATO, the EU, the OSCE and the European Central Bank. Includes contributions from Javier Solana, Jens Stoltenberg, Timothy Garton Ash, Wolfgang Ischinger, Carl Bildt, Josep Borrell, Nikolaus von Bomhard, Karl Kaiser and David Wright Miliband. Edited by Benedikt Franke and Tobias Bunde, the two directors of the Munich Security Conference.

On 16 December 1943, dressmaker Elfriede Scholz was beheaded at Berlin's Plötzensee Prison after a friend denounced her for allegedly...

On 16 December 1943, dressmaker Elfriede Scholz was beheaded at Berlin's Plötzensee Prison after a friend denounced her for allegedly 'subverting the war effort', but also because of her famous brother: Erich Maria Remarque. The author of the anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front, who had been ostracised in Nazi Germany, settled in America during the Second World War, socialising with émigrés and film stars like Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo - wealthy but rootless. He only learned of his sister's death in 1946.

Heinrich Thies vividly recounts the story of two very different siblings caught up in the maelstrom of history. He also draws on a wide range of documents, some previously unpublished, such as diary entries, letters and court records.

For over a year, the authors travelled as a caravan through Mesoamerica, and exchanged ideas with 17 mostly indigenous communities...

For over a year, the authors travelled as a caravan through Mesoamerica, and exchanged ideas with 17 mostly indigenous communities defending their shared assets against monoculture, hydropower, wind power and mining projects. They documented these conflicts, along with the communities' resistance and ways of life, and shared practical expertise in the fields of communitarian media, technology, critical cartography, natural medicine and organic agriculture. The book combines interviews, research, reflections on the part of the authors, infographics, detailed illustrations and practical guides, thereby creating a lively and rich anthology of practices.

In 16 reportages, Lukas Geisler describes countless civil initiatives, projects and individuals who are working for a different, open society....

In 16 reportages, Lukas Geisler describes countless civil initiatives, projects and individuals who are working for a different, open society. The book illuminates new areas of potential and action that reformulate questions relating to open and closed borders, and shows ways in which a humane and social migration policy can be successfully implemented in future. The Welcoming Society is both a call to become involved with it and to actively shape it.