Nordic Narratives of the Second World War

Written by leading Nordic historians, this analysis discusses postwar memory and war historiographies from the perspectives of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden vis-à-vis the Second World War. Focusing on the relationship between scholarly and public understandings of the war, this book presents the overarching themes that set apart the Nordic experience while remaining attentive to the distinctive characteristics of war time in each of the five different countries. A major contribution to the international debate on postwar memory, this fascinating account speaks to all those who have an interest in the modern European history.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• 1. Nordic Narratives of the Second World War
  • An Introduction
• 2. Swords, Shields or Collaborators?
  • Danish Historians and the Debate over the German Occupation of Denmark
• 3. A Separate Story?
  • Interpretations of Finland in the Second World War
• 4. ‘The Beloved War’
  • The Second World War and the Icelandic National Narrative
• 5. The Solidity of a National Narrative
  • The German Occupation in Norwegian History Culture
• 6. The Rise and Fall of Small-State Realism
  • Sweden and the Second World War
• 7. Nordic Foundation Myths after 1945
  • A European Context
• Contributors