Gerhard Besier Livres

The correspondence between Anglican Bishop George Bell and Willem A. Visser't Hooft, spanning two decades, highlights their commitment to ecumenism during a tumultuous era. Their letters reflect efforts to unite Christian churches and address global crises, emphasizing the Church's potential role in alleviating political tensions. Engaging with both religious leaders and political figures, they published influential memoranda and letters, marking a significant period of success for the World Council of Churches in promoting dialogue and peace.

2015 was without any doubt the year of migrations. Over the subsequent two years, we have certainly seen the migration flows reduce, but it was never going to be possible to halt them altogether. From the outset of this phenomenon, numerous academics and researchers have dedicated themselves to the topic. They analyse the causes, the course of the migration flows, parallels and impacts, as well as possible scenarios of the migration movement. A wide-reaching debate has evolved on the topic of migration, to which the authors in this anthology were also keen to contribute conflict regulations attempts. In this publication, historians, political scientists, philosophers, sociologists, geographers, human geographers, economists, literary scientists, legal scholars, theologians and psychiatrists from a range of European and Non-European countries have each contributed from their individual standpoints.

The established churches and religious communities were deeply involved in the transition processes of the twentieth Century. Their behavior did not increase its credibility in Europe yet. Churches and their pastors played an important part in the implementation of the „political religion“ of nationalism. During the National Socialism as well as during the Cold War Christian religious communities were often used as political pawns. In both cases, National Socialism and Communism, the church leadership worked closely with the repressive Systems and tried to win the people over to the dictatorships' ideologies. That's why the history of the religious transition process is - with a few exceptions such as that of Poland - a history of the de-christianizing of Europe. This is just one of many ways in which Europe differs from the United States.

In Ländern, die eine diktatorische Vergangenheit hinter sich haben, besteht häufiger die Versuchung, Geschichte zu instrumentalisieren als in Ländern, die auf lange und festgefügte Freiheitstraditionen zurückblicken können. Allzu oft färbt man in jungen Demokratien die Nationalgeschichte außerordentlich patriotisch ein, um die Taten zu übertünchen, auf die das betreffende Land nicht stolz sein kann. In den vorliegenden Beiträgen gehen die Autorinnen und Autoren auf Geschichtsbilder ein, die in Russland, der Ukraine, im Baltikum, in Spanien, Deutschland, Polen, Ungarn und Rumänien vergangene und gegenwärtige kollektive Wahrnehmungen beeinflussen. In diesen postdiktatorischen Ländern lassen sich hinsichtlich der Geschichtsschreibung zahlreiche Ähnlichkeiten, aber auch Unterschiede feststellen.

The authoritarian and totalitarian systems of individual countries have long been studied independently of each other. The separation of Eastern and Western Europe was used as a parameter by historians. This also applies to the analysis of Communism and Mussolini's Fascism. Only in recent years has the comparative perspective in the regional, chronological and system-oriented sense been applied, thus allowing many phenomena to be correctly understood and assessed. Central and Eastern Europe is tied to Western and Southern Europe by the experience of dictatorship and the ongoing need to evaluate and come to terms with these dictatorships. In the present anthology Mussolini's Fascism, National Socialism and Communism are examined comparatively. Similarities, connections and mutual influences in these dictatorships are sought. Finally, the transition from dictatorship to democracy is examined. With this collection of essays the editors intend to give impulse for inter-European comparative research on dictatorships and democracy.

Band 1. Belgien, Frankreich, Griechenland, Italien, Luxemburg, Niederlande, Portugal und Spanien Gebundenes Buch Seit etwa 150 Jahren gibt es die Religionsgemeinschaft Jehovas Zeugen in Europa. Ihr Weg in den einzelnen Ländern war auch davon abhängig, wie diese missionierende Gemeinschaft von der Mehrheit der Andersgläubigen, der Staatsmacht und den etablierten Kirchen behandelt wurde. Insofern ist die Geschichte von Jehovas Zeugen in Europa auch eine Geschichte über die gesellschaftliche Verfasstheit dieser Länder - deren Bereitschaft, religiöse Minderheiten zu akzeptieren und zu integrieren. Nicht nur in Diktaturen, sondern auch in manchen demokratischen Staaten erlebten Jehovas Zeugen Unterdrückung und Verfolgung, in anderen konnten sie sich relativ frei entfalten. Wie sich die unterschiedlichen Verhältnisse auf die Religionsgemeinschaft in der jeweiligen nationalen Gesellschaft auswirkten und welche Herausforderungen - zum Teil bis in die Gegenwart - Jehovas Zeugen zu bestehen hatten und noch haben, ist das Thema dieser auf drei Bände angelegten Studie.