Saving Europe

• Verfasst von: Proctor, Tammy M. [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Saving Europe
• Titelzusatz: First World War relief and American identity
• Verf.angabe: Tammy M. Proctor
• Verlagsort: New York, NY
• Verlag: Oxford University Press
• E-Jahr: 2025
• Jahr: [2025]
• Umfang: 1 online resource
• Illustrationen: illustrations.
• Gesamttitel/Reihe: Oxford scholarship online
• Fussnoten: Includes bibliographical references and index. - Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on December 3, 2024)
• ISBN: 978-0-19-758439-2
• DOI: doi:10.1093/9780197584392.001.0001
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Bibliogr. Hinweis: Erscheint auch als : Druck-Ausgabe
• Sach-SW: Warfare and Defence
• Sach-SW: European history
• K10plus-PPN: 1919525378
• K10plus-PPN:
  Universitätsbibliothek
• Lokale URL UB: Zum Volltext

Abstract

'First we crushed our enemy, then saved him from starvation,' Walter Cronkite intoned in a 1963 episode of the CBS television series The Twentieth Century. Designed to commemorate the upcoming 50th anniversary of US aid to Europe during World War I, the episode explained that the American military had 'crushed' other nations in both world wars, a violence described as a necessary corrective in order to subsequently unleash 'the spirit of the American people'. This humanitarian 'spirit' manifested as material relief not only to friend but also to former foe. With only a small commentary on the ingratitude of some recipients, the documentary emphasised for Americans their unique role in global peacekeeping and prosperity, functioning as a global patriarch. This book offers a transnational history of American aid and intervention in Europe between 1914 and 1924.

Abstract

"Saving Europe offers a transnational and intersectional history of American intervention in Europe between 1914 and 1924, a period when the United States simultaneously tightened its borders and expanded its reach. I argue that in the crucial decade following the outbreak of World War I, Americans saw themselves in a novel role abroad as protectors of European cultural heritage and as rescuers of vulnerable populations. This experience had important long-term implications for later US and United Nations humanitarian aid programs"-- Provided by publisher