Schlachtfelder

Ernst Langthaler’s new book Schlachtfelder is a detailed micro study of the ‘everyday economy in Nazi agrarian society between 1938 and 1945’ (as the subtitle of the book puts it). With its focus on the agrarian regions of the Niederdonau province in Niederöstereich, the study adds a new layer to our understanding of how rural actors responded to Nazi rule, and what this looked like in areas outside the ‘Altreich’—in this case Austria after the Anschluss. Langthaler uses an extensive amount of sources and his careful analysis of the data allows for an astonishing insight into everyday farm life and work. The almost 1000-page book is the ‘shortened’ version of his habilitation thesis that Langthaler had submitted to the University of Vienna in 2010. But, it is not the length and the sheer amount of information that makes this book a unique contribution to the literature on agriculture during the Nazi era—and one that historians will refer to for years to come. Langthaler aggregates, slices and finally presents his data in 148 tables plus 16 pages or coloured illustrations and he tells a story that is convincing and eye opening. He succeeds in bringing the many facets of rural life and work together and contextualizes the micro story with larger developments. Despite the use of social scientific jargon and the painstaking explanations of his methods, the book remains readable until the very last page.

Agrarian society · Agriculture · Art · Everyday life · Habilitation · Humanities · Jargon · Linguistics · Media studies · Nazism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Subtitle · Classics · Ecology, Conservation, and Geographical Studies · European history and politics · German Social Sciences and History · History · Law · Philosophy