Podcasts about western poland

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Latest podcast episodes about western poland

Clare FM - Podcasts
Beyond Belief - Sunday 4th June 2023

Clare FM - Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2023 59:49


On this week's programme we chat with Dr. Lydia Mannion from Mary Immaculate College Limerick who has recently completed some interesting research on the relationship between faith and spirituality in adolescents and how it impacts on their emotional and psychological wellbeing. We have an interview with Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo Japan who was recently elected as President of The Catholic Church's Caritas Internationalis - the second largest humanitarian aid agency in the world today. As we begin the Novena in honour of St. Anthony, Colm Flynn brings us a report from Western Poland where St. Anthony appeared to a village weaver in the 17th Century and has become a great place of pilgrimage today.

Quotomania
Quotomania 165: Wislawa Szymborska

Quotomania

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2022 1:31


Subscribe to Quotomania on Simplecast or search for Quotomania on your favorite podcast app!Wislawa Szymborska was born on July 2, 1923, in Bnin, a small town in Western Poland. Her family moved to Krakow in 1931 where she lived most of her life. Szymborska studied Polish literature and sociology at Jagellonian University from 1945 until 1948. While attending the university, she became involved in Krakow's literary scene and first met and was influenced by Czeslaw Milosz. She began work at the literary review magazine Życie Literackie (Literary Life) in 1953, a job she held for nearly thirty years.During her lifetime, Szymborska authored more than fifteen books of poetry. Her collections available in English include Monologue of a Dog (Harcourt, 2005); Miracle Fair: Selected Poems of Wislawa Szymborska (Norton, 2001); Poems, New and Collected, 1957-1997 (Harcourt, 1998); View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems(Harcourt, 1995); People on a Bridge (Forest, 1990); and Sounds, Feelings Thoughts: Seventy Poems(Princeton UP, 1981). She is also the author of Nonrequired Reading (Harcourt, 2002), a collection of prose pieces.While the Polish history from World War II through Stalinism clearly informs her poetry, Szymborska was also a deeply personal poet who explored the large truths that exist in ordinary, everyday things. "Of course, life crosses politics," Szymborska once said "but my poems are strictly not political. They are more about people and life." In 1996, Szymborska won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her other awards include the Polish Pen Club prize, an Honorary Doctorate from Adam Mickiewicz University, the Herder Prize and The Goethe Prize. Wislawa Szymborska died on February 1, 2012, at the age of eighty-eight.From https://poets.org/poet/wislawa-szymborska. For more information about Wisława Szymborska:“Vermeer”: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2010/08/19/vermeer/“The Milkmaid” by Vermeer: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-A-2344“Wisława Szymborska”: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/wisaawa-szymborska

Antropofon
110. Antropologia postsocjalizmu - prof. Michał Buchowski

Antropofon

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2022 14:01


Odcinek, w którym profesor Michał Buchowski wprowadza do zagadnienia antropologii postsocjalizmu. Narracja została zarejestrowana wiosną 2021 roku. Prof. Michał Buchowski jest dyrektorem Instytutu Antropologii i Etnologii UAM w Poznaniu. W centrum jego zainteresowań znajdują się: teoria i historia antropologii, hierarchie wiedzy, world anthropologies; antropologia neoliberalnego postsocjalizmu, klasowa teoria transformacji i procesy wykluczenia społecznego; migracja - w tym imigracja do Polski, procesy imigracyjne w perspektywie europejskiej; wielokulturowość, nacjonalizm, ksenofobia i islamofobia. Jest autorem takich książek jak: Klasa i kultura w okresie transformacji. Antropologiczne studium przypadku społeczności lokalnej w Wielkopolsce (1996), The rational other (1997), Reluctant capitalists. Class and culture in a local community in Western Poland (1997), Rethinking Transformation: an anthropological perspective on post-socialism (2001), Zrozumieć Innego. Antropologia racjonalności (2004), Czyściec. Antropologia neoliberalnego postsocjalizmu (2017).

Casus Belli Podcast
CBP#53 Aquí empezó la Segunda Guerra Mundial : Danzig y el Corredor Polaco - Episodio exclusivo para mecenas

Casus Belli Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2021 129:08


Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! La Ciudad Libre de Danzig, junto al llamado "Corredor Polaco", fue un punto caliente que acabó por estallar y, de paso, iniciar la Segunda Guerra Mundial en Europa. ¿Cómo se decidió el corredor polaco? ¿Qué impulsó a la Sociedad de Naciones a "crear" la ciudad libre de Danzig? ¿Cuáles fueron los principales puntos de fricción? ¿Cómo fue la liberación de Danzig por parte de las tropas alemanas? Todo esto nos lo cuenta Pablo Cuevas en este nuevo programa de Casus Belli. A Pablo cuevas lo podéis encontrar en : Tambores Lejanos https://tamboreslejanos.wordpress.com/ Twitter: @PabloMRCuevas https://twitter.com/PabloMRCuevas Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pablocuevaszelanda/ Bibliografía Artículo del blog de Jesús Hernández . http://es-la-guerra.blogspot.com/2017/11/epilogo-del-viaje-danzig-los.html Epstein, Catherine. 2012. Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland. Reprint edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Levine, Herbert S. 1973. Hitler's Free City: A History of the Nazi Party in Danzig, 1925-39. Chicago: University of Chicago Press Michaelis, Rolf. 2003. SS-Heimwehr Danzig. Varsovia: Militaria. 2008. SS-Heimwehr Danzig in Poland 1939. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. Grass, Gunter: El tambor de hojalata. Ed, DeBolsillo Estamos en: casusbelli.top Facebook, nuestra página es @casusbellipodcast https://www.facebook.com/CasusBelliPodcast Telegram, nuestro canal es @casusbellipodcast https://t.me/casusbellipodcast Y nuestro nuevo chat de aviones es @aviones10 Twitter, como @casusbellipod https://twitter.com/CasusBelliPod Pinterest, como @casusbellipod, https://es.pinterest.com/casusbellipod ¿Queréis contarnos algo? También puedes escribirnos a casus.belli.pod@gmail.com Si te ha gustado, y crees que nos lo merecemos, nos sirve mucho que nos des un like, que es el corazoncito que sale en el episodio en el móvil arriba a la derecha, si nos escuchas desde la app de ivoox, sea android o IOS. La música que acompaña al podcast es Ready From The War de Marc Coromines Pujadó, bajo licencia Creative Commons. Muchas gracias por escucharnos, y hasta la próxima. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

The Debrief
UNESCO Geopark opens in Holy Cross mountains

The Debrief

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2021 16:27


A geological landscape park, with rock formations dating back 400 million years, has been awarded a UNESCO Geopark Label following a four year campaign to have its status recognised. The Holy Cross Mountains Geopark is the second Geopark in Poland to receive the UNESCO label, the first being Muskau Bend Landscape Park in Western Poland, which received the distinction in 2011. Host John Beauchamp talks to Michał Poros and Witold Wesołowski from the Holy Cross Geopark. In this week's review: PM to press EU for more vaccines Poland among China's main EU investment sites Polish tennis player claims Masters 1000 title in Miami Why not drop me a line? You can get in touch with the show by writing to podcasts@thefirstnews.com, and please remember to share, like and subscribe to The Debrief!

That International Life
What's In A Border? - German Flight and Expulsion From Western Poland After World War II

That International Life

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2016 39:24


I am thankful for a good FaceTime connection last week so I could discuss with Steffi Krull the research she is doing on the expulsion of Germans from Poland after World War II when the borders were redrawn. Steffi is a PhD Candidate in European History at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and currently conducting research in Berlin, Germany. She shares just a fraction of what she has been studying, but I believe you will, as I did, learn something you didn't know before!

New Books in Polish Studies
Catherine Epstein, “Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland” (Oxford UP, 2010)

New Books in Polish Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2011 62:11


The term “totalitarian” is useful as it well describes the aspirations of polities such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (at least under Stalin). Yet it can also be misleading, for it suggests that totalitarian ambitions were in fact achieved. But they were not, as we can see in Catherine Epstein's remarkably detailed, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland (Oxford UP, 2010). Greiser was a totalitarian if ever there were one. He believed in the Nazi cause with his heart and soul. He wanted to create a new Germany, and indeed a new Europe dominated by Germans. As the Gauleiter of Wartheland (an area of Western Poland annexed to the Reich), he was given the opportunity to help realize the Nazi nightmare in the conquered Eastern territories. But, as Epstein shows, he was often hindered both by his own personality and the chaos that characterized Nazi occupation of the East. Grieser emerges from Epstein's book as someone who wanted to be a “model Nazi,” but couldn't really manage it because he was a crooked timber working in a crooked system. His personal life was an embarrassing tangle of marriages, affairs, and break-ups that at points threatened his career. His professional life was marked by ambition, ego-mania, and fawning, none of which endeared him to most of his colleagues and superiors. And his murderous attempts to “work toward the Fuhrer” in the Wartheland–by displacing Poles, murdering Jews and other “undesirables,” and populating the East with Germans–were stymied by the cross-cutting jurisdictions, conflicting agendas, and professional jealousies that were one of the hallmarks of Nazi rule. Grieser did his best (or his worst, depending on how you look at it) to Germanize the Wartheland. He improvised, maneuvered, and “worked the system” such as it was in pursuit of the Nazi totalitarian project. Thankfully, he failed, demonstrating again that totalitarian dreams, though they can be horribly distructive, are a far reach from totalitarian realities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

europe germany german east jews nazis soviet union epstein joseph stalin reich nazi germany occupation poles fuhrer oxford up grieser gauleiter western poland greiser germanize catherine epstein model nazi arthur greiser wartheland
New Books in Genocide Studies
Catherine Epstein, “Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland” (Oxford UP, 2010)

New Books in Genocide Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2011 62:11


The term “totalitarian” is useful as it well describes the aspirations of polities such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (at least under Stalin). Yet it can also be misleading, for it suggests that totalitarian ambitions were in fact achieved. But they were not, as we can see in Catherine Epstein’s remarkably detailed, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland (Oxford UP, 2010). Greiser was a totalitarian if ever there were one. He believed in the Nazi cause with his heart and soul. He wanted to create a new Germany, and indeed a new Europe dominated by Germans. As the Gauleiter of Wartheland (an area of Western Poland annexed to the Reich), he was given the opportunity to help realize the Nazi nightmare in the conquered Eastern territories. But, as Epstein shows, he was often hindered both by his own personality and the chaos that characterized Nazi occupation of the East. Grieser emerges from Epstein’s book as someone who wanted to be a “model Nazi,” but couldn’t really manage it because he was a crooked timber working in a crooked system. His personal life was an embarrassing tangle of marriages, affairs, and break-ups that at points threatened his career. His professional life was marked by ambition, ego-mania, and fawning, none of which endeared him to most of his colleagues and superiors. And his murderous attempts to “work toward the Fuhrer” in the Wartheland–by displacing Poles, murdering Jews and other “undesirables,” and populating the East with Germans–were stymied by the cross-cutting jurisdictions, conflicting agendas, and professional jealousies that were one of the hallmarks of Nazi rule. Grieser did his best (or his worst, depending on how you look at it) to Germanize the Wartheland. He improvised, maneuvered, and “worked the system” such as it was in pursuit of the Nazi totalitarian project. Thankfully, he failed, demonstrating again that totalitarian dreams, though they can be horribly distructive, are a far reach from totalitarian realities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

europe germany german east jews nazis soviet union epstein joseph stalin reich nazi germany occupation poles fuhrer oxford up grieser gauleiter western poland greiser germanize catherine epstein model nazi arthur greiser wartheland
New Books in History
Catherine Epstein, “Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland” (Oxford UP, 2010)

New Books in History

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2011 62:11


The term “totalitarian” is useful as it well describes the aspirations of polities such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (at least under Stalin). Yet it can also be misleading, for it suggests that totalitarian ambitions were in fact achieved. But they were not, as we can see in Catherine Epstein’s remarkably detailed, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland (Oxford UP, 2010). Greiser was a totalitarian if ever there were one. He believed in the Nazi cause with his heart and soul. He wanted to create a new Germany, and indeed a new Europe dominated by Germans. As the Gauleiter of Wartheland (an area of Western Poland annexed to the Reich), he was given the opportunity to help realize the Nazi nightmare in the conquered Eastern territories. But, as Epstein shows, he was often hindered both by his own personality and the chaos that characterized Nazi occupation of the East. Grieser emerges from Epstein’s book as someone who wanted to be a “model Nazi,” but couldn’t really manage it because he was a crooked timber working in a crooked system. His personal life was an embarrassing tangle of marriages, affairs, and break-ups that at points threatened his career. His professional life was marked by ambition, ego-mania, and fawning, none of which endeared him to most of his colleagues and superiors. And his murderous attempts to “work toward the Fuhrer” in the Wartheland–by displacing Poles, murdering Jews and other “undesirables,” and populating the East with Germans–were stymied by the cross-cutting jurisdictions, conflicting agendas, and professional jealousies that were one of the hallmarks of Nazi rule. Grieser did his best (or his worst, depending on how you look at it) to Germanize the Wartheland. He improvised, maneuvered, and “worked the system” such as it was in pursuit of the Nazi totalitarian project. Thankfully, he failed, demonstrating again that totalitarian dreams, though they can be horribly distructive, are a far reach from totalitarian realities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

europe germany german east jews nazis soviet union epstein joseph stalin reich nazi germany occupation poles fuhrer oxford up grieser gauleiter western poland greiser germanize catherine epstein model nazi arthur greiser wartheland
New Books in German Studies
Catherine Epstein, “Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland” (Oxford UP, 2010)

New Books in German Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2011 62:11


The term “totalitarian” is useful as it well describes the aspirations of polities such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (at least under Stalin). Yet it can also be misleading, for it suggests that totalitarian ambitions were in fact achieved. But they were not, as we can see in Catherine Epstein’s remarkably detailed, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland (Oxford UP, 2010). Greiser was a totalitarian if ever there were one. He believed in the Nazi cause with his heart and soul. He wanted to create a new Germany, and indeed a new Europe dominated by Germans. As the Gauleiter of Wartheland (an area of Western Poland annexed to the Reich), he was given the opportunity to help realize the Nazi nightmare in the conquered Eastern territories. But, as Epstein shows, he was often hindered both by his own personality and the chaos that characterized Nazi occupation of the East. Grieser emerges from Epstein’s book as someone who wanted to be a “model Nazi,” but couldn’t really manage it because he was a crooked timber working in a crooked system. His personal life was an embarrassing tangle of marriages, affairs, and break-ups that at points threatened his career. His professional life was marked by ambition, ego-mania, and fawning, none of which endeared him to most of his colleagues and superiors. And his murderous attempts to “work toward the Fuhrer” in the Wartheland–by displacing Poles, murdering Jews and other “undesirables,” and populating the East with Germans–were stymied by the cross-cutting jurisdictions, conflicting agendas, and professional jealousies that were one of the hallmarks of Nazi rule. Grieser did his best (or his worst, depending on how you look at it) to Germanize the Wartheland. He improvised, maneuvered, and “worked the system” such as it was in pursuit of the Nazi totalitarian project. Thankfully, he failed, demonstrating again that totalitarian dreams, though they can be horribly distructive, are a far reach from totalitarian realities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

europe germany german east jews nazis soviet union epstein joseph stalin reich nazi germany occupation poles fuhrer oxford up grieser gauleiter western poland greiser germanize catherine epstein model nazi arthur greiser wartheland
New Books in European Studies
Catherine Epstein, “Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland” (Oxford UP, 2010)

New Books in European Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2011 62:11


The term “totalitarian” is useful as it well describes the aspirations of polities such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (at least under Stalin). Yet it can also be misleading, for it suggests that totalitarian ambitions were in fact achieved. But they were not, as we can see in Catherine Epstein’s remarkably detailed, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland (Oxford UP, 2010). Greiser was a totalitarian if ever there were one. He believed in the Nazi cause with his heart and soul. He wanted to create a new Germany, and indeed a new Europe dominated by Germans. As the Gauleiter of Wartheland (an area of Western Poland annexed to the Reich), he was given the opportunity to help realize the Nazi nightmare in the conquered Eastern territories. But, as Epstein shows, he was often hindered both by his own personality and the chaos that characterized Nazi occupation of the East. Grieser emerges from Epstein’s book as someone who wanted to be a “model Nazi,” but couldn’t really manage it because he was a crooked timber working in a crooked system. His personal life was an embarrassing tangle of marriages, affairs, and break-ups that at points threatened his career. His professional life was marked by ambition, ego-mania, and fawning, none of which endeared him to most of his colleagues and superiors. And his murderous attempts to “work toward the Fuhrer” in the Wartheland–by displacing Poles, murdering Jews and other “undesirables,” and populating the East with Germans–were stymied by the cross-cutting jurisdictions, conflicting agendas, and professional jealousies that were one of the hallmarks of Nazi rule. Grieser did his best (or his worst, depending on how you look at it) to Germanize the Wartheland. He improvised, maneuvered, and “worked the system” such as it was in pursuit of the Nazi totalitarian project. Thankfully, he failed, demonstrating again that totalitarian dreams, though they can be horribly distructive, are a far reach from totalitarian realities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

europe germany german east jews nazis soviet union epstein joseph stalin reich nazi germany occupation poles fuhrer oxford up grieser gauleiter western poland greiser germanize catherine epstein model nazi arthur greiser wartheland
New Books in Biography
Catherine Epstein, “Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland” (Oxford UP, 2010)

New Books in Biography

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2011 62:36


The term “totalitarian” is useful as it well describes the aspirations of polities such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (at least under Stalin). Yet it can also be misleading, for it suggests that totalitarian ambitions were in fact achieved. But they were not, as we can see in Catherine Epstein’s remarkably detailed, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland (Oxford UP, 2010). Greiser was a totalitarian if ever there were one. He believed in the Nazi cause with his heart and soul. He wanted to create a new Germany, and indeed a new Europe dominated by Germans. As the Gauleiter of Wartheland (an area of Western Poland annexed to the Reich), he was given the opportunity to help realize the Nazi nightmare in the conquered Eastern territories. But, as Epstein shows, he was often hindered both by his own personality and the chaos that characterized Nazi occupation of the East. Grieser emerges from Epstein’s book as someone who wanted to be a “model Nazi,” but couldn’t really manage it because he was a crooked timber working in a crooked system. His personal life was an embarrassing tangle of marriages, affairs, and break-ups that at points threatened his career. His professional life was marked by ambition, ego-mania, and fawning, none of which endeared him to most of his colleagues and superiors. And his murderous attempts to “work toward the Fuhrer” in the Wartheland–by displacing Poles, murdering Jews and other “undesirables,” and populating the East with Germans–were stymied by the cross-cutting jurisdictions, conflicting agendas, and professional jealousies that were one of the hallmarks of Nazi rule. Grieser did his best (or his worst, depending on how you look at it) to Germanize the Wartheland. He improvised, maneuvered, and “worked the system” such as it was in pursuit of the Nazi totalitarian project. Thankfully, he failed, demonstrating again that totalitarian dreams, though they can be horribly distructive, are a far reach from totalitarian realities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

europe germany german east jews nazis soviet union epstein joseph stalin reich nazi germany occupation poles fuhrer oxford up grieser gauleiter western poland greiser germanize catherine epstein model nazi arthur greiser wartheland
New Books Network
Catherine Epstein, “Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland” (Oxford UP, 2010)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2011 62:11


The term “totalitarian” is useful as it well describes the aspirations of polities such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (at least under Stalin). Yet it can also be misleading, for it suggests that totalitarian ambitions were in fact achieved. But they were not, as we can see in Catherine Epstein’s remarkably detailed, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland (Oxford UP, 2010). Greiser was a totalitarian if ever there were one. He believed in the Nazi cause with his heart and soul. He wanted to create a new Germany, and indeed a new Europe dominated by Germans. As the Gauleiter of Wartheland (an area of Western Poland annexed to the Reich), he was given the opportunity to help realize the Nazi nightmare in the conquered Eastern territories. But, as Epstein shows, he was often hindered both by his own personality and the chaos that characterized Nazi occupation of the East. Grieser emerges from Epstein’s book as someone who wanted to be a “model Nazi,” but couldn’t really manage it because he was a crooked timber working in a crooked system. His personal life was an embarrassing tangle of marriages, affairs, and break-ups that at points threatened his career. His professional life was marked by ambition, ego-mania, and fawning, none of which endeared him to most of his colleagues and superiors. And his murderous attempts to “work toward the Fuhrer” in the Wartheland–by displacing Poles, murdering Jews and other “undesirables,” and populating the East with Germans–were stymied by the cross-cutting jurisdictions, conflicting agendas, and professional jealousies that were one of the hallmarks of Nazi rule. Grieser did his best (or his worst, depending on how you look at it) to Germanize the Wartheland. He improvised, maneuvered, and “worked the system” such as it was in pursuit of the Nazi totalitarian project. Thankfully, he failed, demonstrating again that totalitarian dreams, though they can be horribly distructive, are a far reach from totalitarian realities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

europe germany german east jews nazis soviet union epstein joseph stalin reich nazi germany occupation poles fuhrer oxford up grieser gauleiter western poland greiser germanize catherine epstein model nazi arthur greiser wartheland
In Conversation: An OUP Podcast
Catherine Epstein, “Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland” (Oxford UP, 2010)

In Conversation: An OUP Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2011 62:11


The term “totalitarian” is useful as it well describes the aspirations of polities such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (at least under Stalin). Yet it can also be misleading, for it suggests that totalitarian ambitions were in fact achieved. But they were not, as we can see in Catherine Epstein's remarkably detailed, thoroughly researched, and clearly presented Model Nazi: Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland (Oxford UP, 2010). Greiser was a totalitarian if ever there were one. He believed in the Nazi cause with his heart and soul. He wanted to create a new Germany, and indeed a new Europe dominated by Germans. As the Gauleiter of Wartheland (an area of Western Poland annexed to the Reich), he was given the opportunity to help realize the Nazi nightmare in the conquered Eastern territories. But, as Epstein shows, he was often hindered both by his own personality and the chaos that characterized Nazi occupation of the East. Grieser emerges from Epstein's book as someone who wanted to be a “model Nazi,” but couldn't really manage it because he was a crooked timber working in a crooked system. His personal life was an embarrassing tangle of marriages, affairs, and break-ups that at points threatened his career. His professional life was marked by ambition, ego-mania, and fawning, none of which endeared him to most of his colleagues and superiors. And his murderous attempts to “work toward the Fuhrer” in the Wartheland–by displacing Poles, murdering Jews and other “undesirables,” and populating the East with Germans–were stymied by the cross-cutting jurisdictions, conflicting agendas, and professional jealousies that were one of the hallmarks of Nazi rule. Grieser did his best (or his worst, depending on how you look at it) to Germanize the Wartheland. He improvised, maneuvered, and “worked the system” such as it was in pursuit of the Nazi totalitarian project. Thankfully, he failed, demonstrating again that totalitarian dreams, though they can be horribly distructive, are a far reach from totalitarian realities.

europe germany german east jews nazis soviet union epstein joseph stalin reich nazi germany occupation poles fuhrer oxford up grieser gauleiter western poland greiser germanize catherine epstein model nazi arthur greiser wartheland