Thesis advisor: Franziska Seraphim / This thesis primarily focuses on jazz in Japan and the role it played in the American occupation after World war II. The trajectory jazz took in Japan changed a multitude of times: in the 1920s it was immensely popular with the rise of consumerism and internationalism, and was emblematic of the carefree attitude of that time period. After Pearl Harbor occurred, enemy music, clearly being American jazz, was formally forbidden in Japan but periodically still played for the entertainment of the troops. Thus jazz went from being incredibly popular to practically banned. As the occupation took place, jazz yet again was popular but became more associated with connotations of homogeneity and representative of America. The Japanese reacted in various and differing ways, which I demonstrate in this thesis by examining the work of Japanese director Kurosawa Akira and the widely popular Japanese singer Kasagi Shizuko. Therefore, jazz was not only a form of entertainment but a tool of manipulation by many throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and, most importantly, the American occupation in Japan. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: History.

This thesis explores the taking of Japanese remains as trophies by American servicemen during the Second World War in the Pacific. It examines the historical and contemporary motives for American trophy taking in modern warfare and shows that corporeal trophy taking was both prevalent and multifaceted and how Japanese war materials and bodies were repurposed into trophied objects that were recorded, kept, displayed, exchanged, and even celebrated both in the battlefield and on the home front. This study also recognizes and analyzes relatively new and useful sources of evidence, such as recently published memoirs, artifacts, and digital social media, to expand our understanding of corporeal trophy taking as it occurred during the Pacific War. / 10000-01-01

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / The problem of this thesis is to trace the development of American attitudes toward Russia from the closing phase of World War II to the point at which the fear of the imminent danger of Russian surprise attack was a basic part of this attitude. Although Americans generally had been negatively disposed toward Russia before the Second World War, during the first year of the alliance this attitude underwent a drastic change. Both governmental and public opinion by 1943 were overwhelmingly favorable toward the Soviet Union. Statements by government officials, articles by journalists, and public opinion polls indicated a genuine admiration for Russia and an expectation that future relations between the two countries would be characterized by mutual respect and co-operation. There was a sub-stratum of hostility and distrust in some quarters, but it represented a distinct minority. This optimism on the,part of the American people and their government continued into the closing phases of the war. Americans were willing to concede to Russia the territories she deman4ed and agreed that Russia should have friendly governments in the states of Eastern Europe. Under the terms of the Yalta Conference in early 1945, these "friendly governments" in Russia's western neighbors would be established by the occupying forces, would be representative of all democratic elements in the population, and would hold free elections as soon as possible [TRUNCATED]

The thesis focuses on the response of Venice province population to the rise of Fascism and to the regime’s attempts to fascistise Italian society. This thesis is developed around analysis of popular opinion and the way in which limited local consensus for the Fascist regime contributed to Fascism’s downfall. The thesis begins with a discussion of the Party, and to provides a clear picture of how ‘national’ and ‘local’ interacted alongside the establishment of the structures. The focus then shifts to the working class and the way it came to terms with the Fascist regime. The third chapter deals with two groups that provided a particular challenge to the regime’s totalitarian aspirations: Venetian Youth and the Catholic Church with its attempts to resist and to jeopardize the regime’s intention to monopolise every aspect of social life. The fourth chapter is a case-study of the Venetian Jewish community, of how the Race Laws affected the life of Venetian Jews. Lastly, the fifth chapter, by way of a conclusion, studies the ‘Fascist War’ (1940-1943) as a microcosm that explains for the local Venetian context how the lack of popular consent enhanced the regime’s inability to survive war-induced challenges.

The landscapes and material remains of the Holocaust survive in various forms as physical reminders of the suffering and persecution of this period in European history. However, whilst clearly defined historical narratives exist, many of the archaeological remnants of these sites remain ill-defined, unrecorded and even, in some cases, unlocated. Such a situation has arisen as a result of a number of political, social, ethical and religious factors which, coupled with the scale of the crimes, has often inhibited systematic search. This thesis will outline how a non-invasive archaeological methodology has been implemented at two case study sites, with such issues at its core, thus allowing them to be addressed in terms of their scientific and historical value, whilst acknowledging their commemorative and religious significance. In doing so, this thesis also demonstrates how a study of the physical remains of the Holocaust can reveal as much about the ever-changing cultural memory of these events as it can the surviving remnants of camps, execution sites and other features associated with this period. By demonstrating the diversity and complexity of Holocaust landscapes, a case is presented for a sub-discipline of Holocaust Archaeology.

David DuBois has chronicled the opening days of World War II in the Pacific and the demise of the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Fleet, relying extensively on primary sources such as combat narratives, after action reports, ship's logs, and testimony from congressional hearings. His extensive analysis and historically-substantiated revision of the standard narrative surrounding the initial weeks and months of the Pacific war is a must-read for every World War II historian or enthusiast. - Dr. Stephen G. Fritz, Professor of History, East Tennessee State University / https://dc.etsu.edu/alumni_books/1027/thumbnail.jpg

This thesis examines the linkages between the verbal response to social stress, the ostracism of individuals from a social group, and the subsequent increased cohesion of the remaining members. To write the thesis, I utilized these printed references in the forms of scholarly research, journals, diaries, and interviews primarily from the Texas A&M Sterling Evans Library and the online journal resource JSTOR as well as a video documentary. Previous research into the genres of rumor, identity, and scapegoat accusations are explicated. Then, these approaches are applied to the rumors told by the Japanese-Americans who were removed from their homes and sent to internment camps in the United States during World War II. The internment camps were rife with scapegoat accusations between the internees whose once unified culture group was fissured along lines of loyalty to the United States or to Japan. These scapegoat accusations against fellow internees were an outlet for the stress exerted upon them by the American government that was not directly combatable. Even processes as complicated as changing social dynamics can be observed through the mechanisms of rumors and scapegoat accusations.

This dissertation studies the impact of World War II on the development of the American economy after 1940. Scholars have long-debated the economic consequences of the war, particularly with reference to the macroeconomy and often relying on standard measures of aggregate economic performance. The approach in this dissertation is to study the microeconomic implications of mobilization for World War II. Specifically, the three main chapters address the following questions: What were the human capital costs of the manpower mobilization for young women? Did industrial mobilization promote the growth and diversification of manufacturing in the American South? How much did government spending on supply contracts contribute to migration and the change in the structure of wages between 1940 and 1950? The first chapter provides an overview of America's twentieth century wars and surveys the literature on the impact of World War II. In the second chapter, I find that greater exposure to manpower mobilization decreased young women's educational attainment initially, with important implications for family formation and labor market performance. From the analysis of the third chapter I conclude that the war led to modest reallocation of manufacturing activity toward high value- added sectors, but the war most likely did not create the modern industrial South. In the final chapter I provide evidence that migration induced by World War II played a role in reshaping the structure of wages during the 1940s. Together, the chapters provide important nuance and revisions to our understanding of World War II.

This thesis explores the history of one German family during World War II, using the inspiration and background knowledge gained from historic scholarship and literature to create narrative closely following actual experiences and memories to help understand the peculiarities of war narrative and war memory. The sources are interviews with relatives, existing literature on the subject matter, and the writer’s imagination.

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