A Matter of Intelligence - MI5 and the surveillance of anti-Nazi refugees 1933–50
by Charmian Brinson and Richard Dove, Manchester University Press.
This is an unusual book, telling a story which has hitherto remained hidden from history: the surveillance by the British security service MI5 of anti-Nazi refugees who came to Britain fleeing political persecution in Germany and Austria. Based on the personal and organisational files that MI5 kept on political refugees during the 1930s and 1940s – which have only recently been released into the public domain – this study also fills a considerable gap in historical research. Telling a story of absorbing interest, which at times reads more like spy fiction, it is both a study of MI5 and of the political refugees themselves. The book will interest academics in the fields of history, politics, intelligence studies, Jewish studies, German studies and migration studies; but it is also accessible to the general reader interested in Britain before, during and after the Second World War.
Mussolini's Greek Island - Fascism and the Italian Occupation of Syros in World War II
by Sheila Lecoeur, published by IB Taurus. Also published in Greek.
A powerful and unique study of the realities and long-term impact of occupation, 'Mussolini's Greek Island' reveals the Italian dictator's imperial vision, the mechanisms of Italian occupation and its tragic consequences. The small island of Syros is a vital entry-point illuminating Italian imperialism - its ethos, fascist connection, pretension and administrative achievements, marred by famine. Here Lecoeur examines the devastating effects of war and occupation on the local community - starvation, corruption and survival - and, drawing on local archives and interviews with survivors, offers new insight into this crucial but little known episode. Enriching our understanding of Mussolini's hegemonic visions and the mechanisms of occupation, a key issue of our times, this path-breaking book will appeal to scholars of fascism, World War II and military occupation in general.
The author has also made a documentary film on the subject of the famine in Greece in World War II. A Basket of Food. Greece in the 1940s which is currently being submitted for distribution on main networks.
Emigrés - The Transformation of Art Publishing in Britain
by Anna Nyburg, published by Phaidon.
A comprehensive and fascinating analysis of the illustrated publishing industry in Britain between the two World Wars and in the years following World War II, Anna Nyburg’s Émigrés explores the detailed histories of Phaidon Press, Thames & Hudson and other British publishers. The book is illustrated with early book covers and never-before-published archive photographs of the founders of the great illustrated publishing houses. Examining the unique role of refugee typographers, illustrators and book designers, Émigrés is a contribution not only to the history of wartime publishing, but also to German and Austrian exile studies.