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Cosner, Shaaron and Victoria Cosner. Women under the Third Reich: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998.

ISBN 0-313-30315-0
203 pages

Preface; Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; photos; Bibliography; Index

Appendices: Roles; Country of Origin

   Of the many WWII-related biographical dictionaries, few devote themselves -- as this one does -- exclusively to female notables. "This work provides biographical and bibliographical portraits of approximately 100 women whose lives were affected by the Nazi regime."
   Although a plurality of the subjects are German, more than a dozen other nations are represented by women in such diverse roles as partisans, spies, authors, performers, scientists, and athletes. A few familiar names emerge from the study (Anne Frank, Eva Braun, and Leni Riefenstahl among them), but for the most part these are women whose unfamiliar names belie their interesting and sometimes heroic stories.

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Sakamoto, Pamela Rotner. Japanese Diplomats and Jewish Refugees: A World War II Dilemma. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998.

ISBN 0-275-96199-0
188 pages

Preface; Acknowledgments; photos; Bibliography; Index

   Until the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, a small but noticeable number of European Jews managed to escape via Russia and Siberia to the Far East, during that time a relatively peaceful sanctuary. At the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania -- a nation independent until it "joined" the Soviet Union in 1940 and the consulates in Kaunas were closed -- vice-counsel Sugihara Chiune from 1939 until September 1940 issued 2,132 visas permitting Jewish refugees to escape Europe with their lives; of those refugees, many had only the flimsiest scraps of official travel documents nominally required of foreigners seeking Japanese transit visas.
   Sakamoto examines the story of the Jewish refugees and Japanese policy as a whole as well as the actions and motivations of vice-counsel Sugihara in particular. The Japanese government, it is clear, did not approve or expect the influx of Jewish refugees and constantly tightened restrictions on issuance of visas. Sugihara constantly dodged the restrictions. His motivations, even after Sakamoto's scrutiny, remain murky. Was he bribed? Was he conniving with a Polish spy network? Was it simple altruism? These questions remain unanswered, but thousands of Jewish refugees owed to Sugihara their lives.

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Evleth, Donna. (Compiler) The Authorized Press in Vichy and German-Occupied France, 1940-1944. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.

ISBN 0-313-30784-9
234 pages

Preface; Sources; Index

   Only a specialist could love this list of wartime periodicals. "The purpose of this bibliography is to be a guide to the authorized press of the occupation period."
   Organized according to the political subdivision in which it was published, Evleth lists the name of the periodical, the place in which it was published, the frequency (daily, weekly, etc) at which it was published, the years during which it was published, political sympathies, typical subject matter (ranging from daily newspapers to sports magazines to agricultural bulletins), and the names of the archives currently holding the periodicals.

*LA TRIBUNE DES CHEMINOTS. Twice monthly. 1929-December 1940. Published by the National Federation of Railway Workers. Authorized in both zones [occupied and unoccupied]. A clandestine edition was published during the occupation period. (BN)

   A tool for anyone planning to conduct research in wartime French publications; not highly recommended for too many other readers.

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Lee, Loyd E. (Editor) World War II in Asia and the Pacific and the War's Aftermath, with General Themes: A Handbook of Literature and Research. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998.

ISBN 0-313-29326-0
511 pages

Foreword; Introduction; Author Index; Subject Index; About the Editor and Contributors

Appendices: Roles; Country of Origin

   The first of this two-volume set was published in 1997 and covered World War II in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This one covers all facets of the war not included in the first book. "This volume presents a reevaluation of basic aspects of the war in Asia and the Pacific, as well as themes relating to societies at war, culture, the arts, science, and technology as well as international relations and the postwar period."
   Lee's contributors divide his subject matter into multiple topics (here there are twenty-nine of them), each with its own author; each offers a brief overview of the historical issues and debates related to the topic, an appreciation of the most important books covering that topic, and a bibliographic listing. Topics run from purely military matters (such as "Japanese Strategy and Campaigns in the Pacific War, 1941-1945") to wider issues (such as "European Reconquest and Neocolonialism in Southeast Asia"). Because this volume also includes "General Themes", approximately half the sections delve into seldom explored topics such as "Anglophone Poetry in the Second World War" and "American Christianity on the Home Front during the Second World War."
   The authors are for the most part academic historians, many with significant books of their own. Despite these multiple contributors, the presentation proves relentlessly monochromatic, but much can be discovered here by researchers seeking new leads for important material on these topics.

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   All four titles available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from Greenwood Press.
   Thanks to Greenwood for providing these review copies.

Reviewed 28 February 1999
Copyright © 1999 by Bill Stone
May not be reproduced in any form without written permission of Stone & Stone