Nazism Across Borders

Nazism across Borders argues that Nazi social policies were part of transnational exchanges and processes. Beyond territorial conquest, the Nazis planned to export and internationalize their version of welfare, and promoted a new kind of internationalism, pitched as a superior alternative to its liberal and Communist contenders.

Since the late nineteenth century, the 'German social model' had established itself as a powerful route for escaping from the precarious conditions associated with wage work. The Nazis capitalized on this reputation, continuing some elements, but also added new measures, mainly to pursue their antisemitic, racist, and highly aggressive goals.

The contributions in this collection shed new light on the complex ways in which German and Nazi ideas were received and negotiated by non-German actors and groups around the world before the Second World War. Why were they interested in what was going on in Germany? To what extent did Nazi policies emulate programmes elsewhere (for example, in Fascist Italy), and where did they serve as role models? Nazi social policies, we argue, were a benchmark that societies as diverse as Japan, Norway, and the United States considered in making their own choices.

Nazism across Borders breaks new ground for the history of the Second World War and 'Hitler's empire' in Europe. How did the Nazis export their ideas when they finally occupied large swaths of the continent and what was the role of non-German actors? What were the links to the better-known stories of exploitation of lands, resources, and peoples?

Sandrine Kott, Professor of Modern European History, University of Geneva

Sandrine Kott has been a full Professor of Modern European History at the University of Geneva since 2004. She studied history in Paris, at the University of Bielefeld (FRG), and at Columbia University (New York). She previously held a tenured assistant professorship at the University of Poitiers (France) and was a laureate of the Institut Universitaire de France. Her main fields of expertise are the history of social welfare and labour in Europe since the end of the nineteenth century, and labour (and power) relations in the countries of real socialism, in particular in the German Democratic Republic. She has developed the transnational and global dimensions of each of her fields of expertise by working with the archives and resources of international organizations.

Kiran Klaus Patel is Professor and Chair of European and Global History at Maastricht University where he also serves as head of department. Before joining Maastricht University, he held a professorship at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy (2007-2011), and an assistant professorship at Humboldt University in Berlin (2002-2007). He has been (inter alia) a visiting fellow/professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales in Paris, the Free University of Berlin, Freiburg University, Harvard University, the London School of Economics, Sciences Po in Paris, and the University of Oxford.