Nadia Wheatley, *Strange New World: Belsen's First Year of Freedom*. Melbourne, Australia: Monash University Press, 2026.

Kate Garrett, Andrew McNamara and Seumas Spark, eds., *Voices of the Dumera: Ernst Kitzinger, Exile and Essays on Internment*. London: Berghahn Books, 2026.

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553426/fan_mail/new] Ernst Kitzinger, a notable art historian of the twentieth century, was also a refugee who found himself detained in Hay, New South Wales during World War II. He sought asylum in Britain in 1935 as a German Jew, but in 1940, he became one of 2,500 men classified as 'enemy aliens' and was deported to Australia on the HMT Dunera. Kitzinger inspired his fellow internees to articulate their distinct experiences. Through impactful and often profoundly emotional prose and poetry, they reflected on their journeys and the difficulties faced by refugees. Their previously unpublished works continue to resonate strongly in contemporary times.

Laura Hobson Faure, *Who Will Rescue Us? The Story of the Jewish Children Who Fled to France and America During the Holocaust*. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2025.

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553426/fan_mail/new] As the Second World War loomed, it is estimated that 1.6 million Jewish children resided in Nazi-occupied Europe. While 10,000 of these children managed to escape to Britain through the Kindertransport, only around 500 found sanctuary in France. There, they endeavored to reconstruct their lives—but their refuge would soon become a trap. For the first time, this book unveils the experiences of these children, along with the Jewish and non-Jewish organizations that provided assistance. Utilizing survivor testimonies, children's diaries, letters, drawings, songs, and poems, this monograph reconstructs their complex journeys, including how some ultimately reached safety in America. Hobson Faure offers a poignant depiction of these children and their escapes, emphasizing their agency in the fight against Nazism—and interweaving the network of numerous supporters who aided them throughout their ordeal.

Caroline Sharples, *The Long Death of Adolf Hitler: An Investigative History*. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2025.

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553426/fan_mail/new] Even though the gun Adolf Hitler employed on himself in April 1945 was highly effective, the circumstances of his death took an unexpectedly lengthy course. The world was eager for information, but there were no witnesses to his suicide, and his body was never shown. This void allowed myths and survival tales to flourish, while rival intelligence agencies and propaganda muddled the investigations of historians who followed. In her investigation of the aftermath at the Führerbunker, Caroline Sharples offers the first cultural narrative of this pivotal yet elusive moment. The anticipation surrounding Hitler's death stirred a variety of emotions, leading governments and secret services to rush to confirm the news. This search for validation resulted in a wave of conspiratorial thought, and the final moments of Hitler's life have been reimagined ever since. This captivating and unsettling story challenges our understanding of a historical event we think we know—and provides a nuanced look at how history is recorded.

Dariusz Jeziorny, *British Diplomacy and the Concept of the Eastern Pact (1933-1935): Analyses, Projects, Activities*. Stuttgart: Ibidem-Verlag, 2017

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553426/fan_mail/new] In this monograph, Dariusz Jeziorny explores British diplomatic relations from 1933 to 1935, shedding light on London's viewpoint regarding the Eastern Pact and highlighting the reasoning and actions of British diplomacy within the framework of both European and global matters. Was His Majesty's Government truly invested in the success of the initiative promoted by Moscow and Paris? Did it grasp the motivations of its advocates? How did it react to the resistance from countries that were reluctant to accept such a matter? Who were London's primary negotiating partners? Can the Foreign Office be regarded as capable of tackling European challenges, especially those related to Eastern Europe? Were the earlier conclusions in academic literature correct in assessing the roles of certain powers in the failure of the Eastern Pact concept? Jeziorny tackles these inquiries through an in-depth analysis of governmental documents located in the National Archives in London, particularly the general correspondence of the British Foreign Office. He offers a captivating glimpse into the inner workings of British diplomacy and its perspectives on the French initiative.

Marius Turda, *In Search of the Perfect Romanian: National Specificity, Racial Degeneration, and Social Selection in Modern Romania*. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2026

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553426/fan_mail/new] This study investigates the discourse on the Romanian national identity and race spanning from the 1880s to the 1950s. It asserts that in the early 1940s, anti-Semitism and anti-Roma racism were significant elements in the ethnic purification campaigns of the Ion Antonescu regime. The doctrines of racism and eugenics not only legitimized the deportation and extermination of Jews but also targeted the Roma. Consequently, the Holocaust in Romania should be interpreted as a result of both anti-Semitism and biopolitical nationalism. Finally, the book reveals that the eugenic ideal of the 'perfect' Romanian continued to exist after 1945, becoming part of the socialist vision of the 'new man' and the 'ideal' society that developed during the communist era.