Mass Violence and Genocide in Eastern Europe and the Balkans

The Second World War and its immediate aftermath represents a pivotal period of violence in the history of Central and South Eastern Europe. Six to seven million people were killed, approximately 15 million were deported and millions more were confined in prisons or concentration camps. This book provides the first detailed survey of this wartime and postwar violence and the ethnic cleansing that took place. Employing a transnational approach, Alexander Korb and Dieter Pohl analyse mass violence committed by all warring parties in the region during the period; the book covers German, Italian and other Axis allied perpetrators, as well as the Soviet forces and indigenous actors during the war. Mass Violence and Genocide in Eastern Europe and the Balkans explores the actions of these perpetrators, their politics and motivations, as well as how they interacted. The book also looks closely at the societies affected by this brutality and how victim groups and individuals experienced and reacted to what was unfolding around them. Accessibly written, this book gives students a more nuanced understanding of the violence and ethnic cleansing that took place in Central and South Eastern Europe during and after the world war.