Journals
2026 EN
Laffin Stefan
This article analyses personal choices and shifts in power relations with a particular focus on the role of women in Italy during the last two years of the Second World War. In doing so, it investigates how power relations within Italian society were affected by the absence of many Italian men, who were fighting abroad or had been imprisoned or wounded in war. Through participation in food protests directed either towards the Italian government or towards the German or Allied occupiers, women acquired a new agency which transcended the distinction between private and public spheres. As social actors, Italian women thus became increasingly more visible after 1943. The article also sheds light on the return of Italian men to their local societies, illuminating how they reacted to the new societal roles of their wives, mothers, and daughters. By focusing on the shifting role of women, the paper thus looks at how societal roles were contested, negotiated, and also reaffirmed in Second World War Italy.
Journals
2026 EN
Brocades Zaalberg Thijs
The so-called ‘forbidden metaphor’ – or ‘the inevitable comparison with the Nazis’ – has played a crucial role in the Dutch debate on atrocities committed during the Indonesian War of Independence. The suggestion of a role reversal from occupied to occupier and from victim to perpetrator often met with angry opposition in retrospective discussions on the war, particularly after a veteran exposed Dutch war crimes in 1969. But to what extent, and in what ways, did soldiers on the ground during the war in Indonesia actually compare themselves to the Germans? Drawing on extensive collections of ego-documents in two databases, this article explores the mental worlds of those Dutchmen who experienced this role reversal during what has been called ‘the long Second World War’ (1940–1949) for the Netherlands. A broader analysis of diaries suggests that Dutch troops were often well aware of acts such as torture, executions, and collective punishment in Indonesia. In addition, the soldiers’ comparisons with the German occupation of the Netherlands were more frequent than later public opposition to the analogy would suggest. However, the parallels they saw with the Nazis were not uniformly condemnatory. Rather than outright denouncing such methods, diarists often navigated a complex mix of condemnation and justification, as moral and practical considerations frequently clashed and benevolently formulated war aims remained misaligned with the violent methods used.
Journals
2026 EN
Erlichman Camilo · Streicher Félix
This special issue on The Age of Metamorphosis explores the global phenomenon of role reversals under various forms of foreign rule during the Second World War and its immediate aftermath. At its core is an examination of how individuals and communities across the globe navigated the profound socio-political transformations brought about by war, occupation, and empire. Bringing together historians of Asia, Australia, as well as Eastern and Western Europe, the issue investigates an array of cases of role reversals and power shifts during this period. In doing so, it aims to move beyond spatially-bounded historiographies by foregrounding a shared socio-political dynamic that shaped the lives of millions and left parallel legacies across geographically distant regions. This Introduction provides a new conceptual framework that rethinks the protracted endings and upheavals of the global Second World War as an Age of Metamorphosis , characterized by radical changes in power relations, difficult personal choices, learning processes, and distinct legacies. A focus on this shared experience of metamorphosis across the ‘long 1940s’ highlights the drawn-out transitions and transformations undergone by ‘post-occupation’ societies worldwide, and offers a novel approach to globalising our understanding of post-war transitions and the wider legacies of the Second World War.
Journals
2026 EN
Erlichman Camilo · Streicher Félix
How can we make sense of the cumulative experience of role reversal during and after the Second World War? This concluding article weaves together the insights from the contributions of this special issue and identifies four overarching themes: the reshaping of power relations; the interconnectedness of experiences of foreign rule; the interrelations and blurred boundaries between occupation and imperial rule; and the multiple, protracted endings of the global Second World War. In engaging with these themes, the article reframes the mid-twentieth century as an Age of Metamorphosis , emphasizing the paradoxical nature of the transformations triggered by the Second World War and its aftermath. These upheavals exposed the fragility of social hierarchies and allowed people to imagine a different future. Yet they also coexisted with a widespread yearning for normality and a cessation of the transformations of the recent past. By conceptualizing these developments as metamorphosis, the article questions timelines that treat 1945 as a definitive endpoint. Instead, it highlights the drawn-out ‘sorties de guerre’ (‘exits from war’) as well as the hybrid legacies of the experience of mutability that characterised the long 1940s.
Journals
2026 EN
Palma Patricia · Maubert Lucas · Strabucchi María Montt
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) mobilised Chinese communities overseas, even in countries located thousands of kilometres from Asia. This article explores the actions of the Chinese community in Chile in their efforts to support China, collect donations, and influence public opinion in favour of their cause and against Japan. Focusing on the city of Iquique during 1938, the most intense year of solidarity activities, we argue that the Sino-Japanese War allowed the Chinese community to unite and garner sympathy in a local context previously marked by nationalism and hostility toward Asian immigrants. Therefore, we estimate that the Chinese overcame the Japanese in the ‘local war’ between these two Asian migrant communities, shifting public opinion in their favour.
Journals
2026 EN
Probert Thomas
When the Far Eastern Prisoners of War were liberated, there was initial optimism concerning their psychological state. In the months and years following the euphoria of release, however, a significant portion of the FEPOWs did develop psychoneurosis due to their time in captivity. While some effort was made to mediate their adjustment to civilian life, there was a reluctance to award a pension for psychoneurosis.
Journals
2026 EN
Estévez Pérez Daniel
This article examines similarities and differences in the military aid provided by the Soviet Union to Spain (Operation X) and China (Operation Z) in their respective wars against imperialism and fascism which, until now, have been studied independently. The aid had two main dimensions: material aid (military supplies) and manpower (advisors and volunteers). The results obtained indicate that the cost of the material part was practically the same in both operations. The differences, however, lie in the type of supplies and the numbers of manpower.
Journals
2026 EN
Zhou Weiwen
This article examines the phenomenon of gambling and the composition of the gambling population in wartime Shanghai, with a focus on how war-induced social turmoil reshaped gambling behaviour and the demographics of its participants. Drawing on police reports, newspaper articles, and quantitative data, the study analyses the basic demographic characteristics of gamblers and, through an examination of these dynamics, provides a deeper insight into the broader social impact of war on urban crime.
Journals
2026 EN
Gladovic Cedomir
This conceptual paper examines how lived experience of war trauma and forced migration can enhance pedagogy and practice in higher education. Using autoethnographic methodology, the paper analyses a personal journey from the Croatian War of Independence through migration to Australia and subsequent transition to academia. This trajectory reveals three key contributions: (i) displacement-informed pedagogical approaches that recognise trauma responses in educational environments; (ii) authentic curriculum development integrating war experiences into technical disciplines; and (iii) responsive institutional practices that value refugee perspectives. Challenges such as personal vulnerability, the need for objectivity, potential re-traumatisation, and complex power dynamics are acknowledged. In response, the paper puts forward a three-part framework encompassing (i) pedagogical, (ii) curriculum, and (iii) institutional elements. This framework balances experiential knowledge with scholarly rigour and provides guidance for educators, researchers, and institutions to ethically harness lived experience while maintaining academic integrity and psychological safety.
Resource
2026 EN
Shama Firas Abu
This essay will address the issue of psychotherapy from the point of view of psychoanalysis in this difficult period. It is an attempt to shed light on the Palestinian fear of breakdown, since this fear has not been explored and clarified in a serious and deep way. The first part will describe the experience of war psychoanalytic perspective. In the second part, I will share some free associations concerning the war. The last part will consist of several illustrative vignettes.