The Fifth Column in World War II: Suspected Subversives in the Pacific War and Australia

ISBN-13: 9781137506665 / Angielski / Twarda / 2015 / 219 str.

Robert Loeffel

Opis

Any Australian who lived through World War II would remember the frightening posters warning that 'Enemy Agents are Listening' and 'Loose Lips Sink Ships.' The Fifth Column was the name given to the Axis agents believed to be lurking in Allied countries. Their mission was to carry out acts of sabotage, cause fear and confusion and spread rumours on the home front. The Fifth Column was attributed with being responsible for the Allies defeat of 1940 and also for the Japanese victories at the start of the Pacific War. Yet, for all this hype, the Fifth Column never truly existed as it was imagined. In Australia the Fifth Column panic began in 1940, was sustained into 1941, before being fiercely reignited at the beginning of the Pacific War. It affected the home front and the troops fighting on the frontline and was characterised by widespread fears, accusations and rumours concerning an array of individuals and groups that reveal much about existing prejudices in Australian society.

Recenzje

"The author explains how the public in Australia developed their concepts of Fifth Columns to explain why the Australians had to retreat from their thrust into Greece or the failure of a northwards push into Malaya or their defeat in Singapore. ... This thorough study of public response to war scares makes for interesting history and it is a valuable contribution to the burgeoning studies of the impact of war on Australian society." (Frank Cain, Australian Journal of Politics and History, Vol. 62 (3), September, 2016)

"Loeffel has broken new ground. It is important for those who follow to examine more closely some of the interesting areas that he could only open. The book is a good read, gripping at times, and one that should appeal beyond academic readership as a timely theme in the 21st century." (Pam Oliver, The Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 51, March, 2016)

Spis treści

Introduction
1. The Shape of Fear: Background to the Fifth Column Scare
2. The Beginning of the Scare: Fifth Column and Norway
3. June 1940: The Fifth Column Triumphant
4. The War and the Fifth Column Arrive in Australia
5. Australia Under Attack: The Fifth Column and the Pacific War
6. The Myth Continues: Lingering Fears and Prejudices
Conclusion

O autorze

Robert Loeffel is Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Languages at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He has published on German and Australian contemporary history. His previous book, Family Punishment in Nazi Germany: Sippenhaft, Terror and Fear, was released in 2012.