Nazism in Syria and Lebanon

Description

The increasingly vibrant political culture emerging in Lebanon and Syria in the 1930s and early 1940s is key to the understanding of local approaches towards the Nazi German regime. For many contemporary observers in Beirut and Damascus, Nazism not only posed a risk to Europe, but threatened to take root in Arab societies as well.

In the first publication to reconstruct Lebanese and Syrian encounters with Nazism in the context of an evolving local political culture and to base its analysis on a comprehensive review of Arab, French and German sources, Götz Nordbruch examines the reactions to the rise of Nazism in the countries under French mandate, spanning from fascination and endorsement to the creation of antifascist networks.

Against a background of public discourses, local politics and the shifting regional and international settings, this book interprets public assessments of and contact with the Nazi regime as part of an intellectual quest for orientation in the years between the break-up of the Ottoman Empire and national independence.

Reviews

'Goetz Nordbruch's work presents a most valuable contribution to our knowledge about the Nazi option in the Greater Syrian parts of the Middle East. With this contribution we can understand why there remains some attraction for that evil regime which brought so much misery to so many people in this world, especially to the Jews of Europe and of the Middle East. Ridding oneself of any illusions about the Nazis' nature is obviously a never-ending task, even a necessary self-immunization against all kinds of old and new dictatorships. If one sees the anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli threats of the Iranian regime and their offspring in Hizbullah and Hamas, one can easily recognize the importance of Goetz Nordbruch's book.' - Institute for Global Jewish Affairs, 2010

Contents

Introduction i. Nazism and the Mandates: Approaches to the Subject and Research Questions ii. Parties, Public, and the Civic Order: The Historical Context of Lebanon and Syria during the Interwar Years 1. Struggles for a New Order: The Rise of the Nazi Regime and the Levantine Mandates (1933-1936) 1.1 Nazism in the Local Press: Crisis, Challenge, and the Longing for a ‘New Dawn’ 1.2 Approaching Nazism: Local Politics between Beirut, Damascus, Paris and Berlin 2. Nazism and the Levant – Nazism in the Levant: Between Treaty Negotiations and World War II (1936-1939) 2.1 Mobilizing the Youth and the Fascist Experiment 2.2 Nationalist Struggles and the German Option: Nazi Germany as Friend and Foe 2.3 Echoes of Nazism in Intellectual Discourses: Community, Revival, and the Enemies of the Nation 3. Repercussions of World War II: Facing the Axis in the Levant (1939-1941) 3.1 On the Eve of War: Echoes of German Aggressions in the Mandates 3.2 Local Politics between Britain, Free France, and the Axis: Resistance, Accommodation and Collaboration 4. Nazism in Retreat: The Fading of an Option and the Battle for Independence (1941-1945) 4.1 Collaboration in Exile, New Allies, and the Struggles for Power 4.2 The Search for a Post-Colonial Order: The Rise of Ideology-Guided Politics and the German Defeat 4.3 The International Arena: Arab Unity, the Atlantic Charter and the Struggle against Zionism 5. The Levant in May 1945: The Defeat of Nazism and Hopes for Independence Conclusion

Author Bio

Götz Nordbruch is research associate at the IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence, France. His research interests include the history of Arab-European relations and the development of modern Arab political culture. He is currently working on Arab students in interwar Europe.

Related Subjects

1. Middle East Studies
2. Middle East Politics
3. Modern History 1750-1945
4. Political History
5. Imperial & Colonial History
6. Middle East History