Max Weber and the First World War: Protestant and Catholic living standards in Germany, 1914-1919

We assess informal institutions of Protestants and Catholics by investigating their economic resilience in a natural experiment. The First World War constitutes an exogenous shock to living standards since the duration and intensity of the war exceeded all expectations. We assess the ability of Protestant and Catholic communities to cope with increasing food prices and wartime black markets. Literature based on Weber (1904, 1905) suggests that Protestants must be more resilient than their Catholic peers. Using individual height data on some 2,800 Germans to assess levels of malnutrition during the war, we find that living standards for both Protestants and Catholics declined; however, the decrease of Catholics’ height was disproportionately large. Our empirical analysis finds a large statistically significant difference between Protestants and Catholics for the 1915–19 birth cohort, and we argue that this height gap cannot be attributed to socioeconomic background and fertility alone.

Max Weber and the First World War: Protestant and Catholic living standards in Germany, 1915-1919

We assess informal institutions of Protestants and Catholics by investigating their economic
resilience in a natural experiment. The First World War constitutes an exogenous shock to living standards since the duration and intensity of the war exceeded all expectations. We assess the ability of Protestant and Catholic communities to cope with increasing food prices and wartime black markets. Literature based on Weber (1904, 1905) suggests that Protestants must be more resilient than their Catholic peers. Using individual height data on some 2,800 Germans to assess levels of malnutrition during the war, we find that living standards for both Protestants and Catholics declined; however, the decrease of Catholics’ height was disproportionately large. Our empirical analysis finds a large statistically significant difference between Protestants and Catholics for the 1914-19 birth cohort, and we argue that this height gap cannot be attributed to socioeconomic background and fertility alone.

George Arthur Chapman in World War I uniform, 1918

Portrait of George Arthur Chapman in his World War I uniform, 1918.

Rick Bell Family fonds, 1874-1875, 1879, 1884, 1886, 1888-1889, 1896, 1898, 1909-1910, 1939, 1945, n.d.

Lewis Tyrell married Jane Gains on August 31, 1849 in Culpeper Court House, Virginia. Jane Gains was a spinster. Lewis Tyrell died September 25, 1908 at his late residence, Vine St. and Welland Ave., St. Catharines, Ont. at the age of 81 years, 5 months. Jane Tyrell died March 1, 1886, age 64 years. Their son? William C. Tyrell died January 15, 1898, by accident in Albany, NY, age 33 years, 3 months. John William Taylor married Susan Jones were married in St. Catharines, Ont. on August 10, 1851 by William Wilkinson, a Baptist minister. On August 9, 1894 Charles Henry Bell (1871-1916), son of Stephen (1835?-1876) and Susan Bell, married Mary E. Tyrell (b. 1869?) daughter of Lewis and Alice Tyrell, in St. Catharines Ontario. By 1895 the Bell’s were living in Erie, Pennsylvania where children Delbert Otto (b. 1895) and Edna Beatrice (b. 1897) were born. By 1897 the family was back in St. Catharines where children Lewis Tyrell (b. 1899), Gertrude Cora (b. 1901), Bessie Jane (b. 1902), Charles Henry (b. 1906), Richard Nelson (b. 1911) and William Willoughby (b. 1912) were born. Charles Henry Bell operated a coal and ice business on Geneva Street. In the 1901 Census for St. Catharines, the Bell family includes the lodger Charles Henry Hall. Charles Henry Hall was born ca. 1824 in Maryland, he died in St. Catharines on November 11, 1916 at the age of 92. On October 24, 1889 Charles Hall married Susan Bell (1829-1898). The 1911 Census of Canada records Charles Henry Hall residing in the same household as Charles Henry and Mary Bell. The relationship to the householder is step-father. It is likely that after Stephen Bell’s death in 1876, his widow, Susan Bell married Hall. In 1939, Richard Nelson Bell, son of Charles Henry and Mary Tyrell Bell, married Iris Sloman. Iris (b. 22 May 1912 in Biddulph Township, Middlesex, Ontario) was the daughter of Albert (son of Joseph b. 1870 and Elizabeth Sloman, b. 1872) and Josie (Josephine Ellen) Butler Sloman of London, Ont. Josie (b. 1891) was the daughter of Everett Richard and Elizabeth McCarthy (or McCarty) Butler, of Lucan Village, Middlesex North. According to the 1911 Census of Canada, Albert, a Methodist, was a porter on the railroad. His wife, Josephine, was a Roman Catholic. Residing with Albert and Josie were Sanford and Sadie Butler and Sidney Sloman, likely siblings of Albert and Josephine. The Butler family is descended from Peter Butler, a former slave, who had settled in the Wilberforce Colony in the 1830s. Rick Bell b. 1949 in Niagara Falls, Ont. is the son of Richard Nelson Bell. In 1979, after working seven years as an orderly at the St. Catharines General Hospital while also attending night school at Niagara College, Rick Bell was hired by the Thorold Fire Dept. He became the first Black professional firefighter in Niagara. He is a founding member of the St. Catharines Junior Symphony; attended the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1966 and also performed with the Lincoln & Welland Regimental Band and several other popular local groups. Upon the discovery of this rich archive in his mothers’ attic he became passionate about sharing his Black ancestry and the contributions of fugitive slaves to the heritage Niagara with local school children. He currently resides in London, Ont.

Photograph of Robert Bell, Airborne Regiment, World War II [n.d.]

A photograph of Robert Bell (kneeling, front row, third left) with his airborne regiment in the Second World War. The date and location of the photo is unknown. This photograph was among those recovered from the attic of Iris Sloman Bell, of St. Catharines, in the 1980s and kept in the possession of her son, Rick Bell. The Bell- Sloman family is descended from former Black slaves from the United States.

World War I Memorial Plaque

World War I Memorial Plaque (17 ½ cm in diameter). This is a bronze plate encased in a 26 ½ cm x 24 cm wooden frame. The inscription on the plate is “He died for freedom and honour, Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff”. [In 1916 the British Government decided to issue a memorial plaque to be given to the relatives of those who died in the Great War. On the plaque is a figure of Britannia who is facing left and holding a laurel wreath over the box where the serviceman’s name is placed. In her right hand she holds a trident which represents Britain’s sea power. There are 2 dolphins facing her on her left and right hand sides. A lion stands in front of her. He faces left with a menacing growl. A very small lion that faces right is located below the larger lion’s feet. He is biting into a winged creature which represents the German Imperial eagle. Near the lion’s right paw there are the initials E CR P which stand for Mr. E. Carter Preston who designed the plate. Some of the plaques include a stamped batch number in front of the lion’s rear left paw. This plaque was produced in batch 17].

L'educaci?? femenina a la Mallorca de postguerra, 1939-1945. 'La educaci??n femenina en la Mallorca de la postguerra'

El trabajo trata de hacer un an??lisis de los rasgos m??s significativos que caracterizaron la educaci??n femenina durante los primeros a??os de postguerra. Las hip??tesis iniciales parten del hecho de que la educaci??n femenina adquiere un importante papel de cara a la consolidaci??n del r??gimen en sus inicios, as?? como del hecho de que presenta un modelo r??gido y estereotipado que se va reproduciendo con el objetivo de contribuir al mantenimiento de unas estructuras sociales y econ??micas tradicionales. El trabajo se centra en la isla de Mallorca y abarca el periodo 1939-1945, e intenta poner de manifiesto la educaci??n femenina en la postguerra. En la primera parte se hace un an??lisis del aparato general de la educaci??n femenina en la postguerra, a un triple nivel: a) ideol??gico, b) legislativo y c) funcional. La segunda parte se refiere al caso concreto de Mallorca y consta, a la vez, de dos grandes apartados. En el primero, se analiza la educaci??n femenina desde la perspectiva institucional, describiendo los cambios que se producen en este terreno. Se incluye, tambi??n, el estudio de algunos rasgos caracter??sticos del tipo de formaci??n proporcionada por uno de los colegios femeninos religiosos m??s representativos: La Pureza. El segundo apartado est?? dedicado al estudio de la labor realizada en Mallorca por la Secci??n Femenina de FET y las JONS y mujeres de Acci??n Cat??lica. Propios de la investigaci??n hist??rica:. La documentaci??n utilizada comprende el material del Archivo de la Delegaci??n Provincial de la Secci??n Femenina de Baleares, a excepci??n del comprendido dentro del cap??tulo de correspondencia. Las publicaciones peri??dicas, as?? como los manuales y libros de texto para ni??as, han sido tambi??n piezas fundamentales. An??lisis de documentos. En la postguerra se produce un decidido y claro intento por parte del poder y de las clases dominantes de apoderarse de los instrumentos educativos, institucionales y no institucionales, con la finalidad expresa de consolidar el nuevo r??gimen. El concepto de la Educaci??n al servicio del Estado totalitario impera en las Leyes educativas promulgadas a partir de 1938. Los planteamientos educativos del r??gimen no se limitan a realizaciones a nivel institucional normal sino que, al mismo tiempo, se crea un aparato educativo paralelo al escolar que supone un claro intento de educaci??n ideol??gica y, evidentemente, pol??tica. Cabe destacar, en este sentido, todo el montaje de los campamentos juveniles y otras actividades recreativas, la implantaci??n de escuelas especiales tales como las 'Escuelas de Formaci??n', las 'C??tedras Ambulantes' o las 'Escuelas de Hogar'. En cuanto a la educaci??n femenina, se da un claro intento de desligarla de lo que se entiende como educaci??n institucional normal, haciendo de ella una educaci??n 'especial'.

El dilema de la política exterior de la España nacionalista hacia la Alemania nazi: una estrategia de cooperación militar y de diplomacia secreta (1936 - 1945)

RESUMEN El interés de este estudio de caso es explicar de qué manera la España de Francisco Franco logra articular en su Política Exterior dos importantes estrategias, la cooperación militar y la diplomacia secreta, hacia la Alemania de Adolf Hitler desde el estallido de la Guerra Civil española en 1936 hasta el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial en 1945. Se identifican las características de esta Política Exterior en la medida que se conocen los aspectos más importantes de la relación bilateral hispano-alemán, para así explicar cómo la articulación de estas posturas estratégicas le permitieron al Caudillo lograr sus objetivos políticos y, al mismo tiempo, salir indemne de esta Guerra. De esta forma, la perspectiva teórica del Realismo de las Relaciones Internacionales permite identificar las variables más importantes de la Política Exterior de España hacia Alemania a medida que Franco va definiendo su Interés Nacional.

La educación en Teruel en la época de la postguerra (1939-1945).

Averiguar la transformación que en materia educativa realiza el franquismo en la provincia de Teruel, con la adecuación del nuevo sistema educativo al momento político. La educación en Teruel en la época de postguerra. Síntesis histórica de la Guerra Civil y especialmente de las actuaciones educativas realizadas en ambos bandos. Estudio del contexto histórico nacional e internacional y sus repercusiones sobre la política educativa. Análisis de la política educativa: leyes, decretos y reglamentos. Análisis de Teruel y su población, instituciones de gobierno y órganos de comunicación social. Estudio de las instituciones y estamentos educativos turolenses. Bibliografía. Textos legales. Diario Lucha. Análisis histórico-descriptivo. El desmantelamiento de la labor educativa e ideológica de la república en Teruel, supone la perdida del 21'94 por ciento del personal docente. A partir de la depuración, el personal docente se compondrá por excombatientes, alfereces provisionales, mutilados, falangistas, religiosos, y algún profesional de la enseñanza. El favoritismo es aplicado de forma institucional. En la Secundaria se implanta una enseñanza eminentemente humanística, con diferenciación entre función docente y examinadora. Los órganos de gobierno de Teruel presentan un definido carácter sucursalista. En este período sólo funciona un diario del movimiento: Lucha. La coeducación está mal vista, y las enseñanzas del hogar serán clave para la formación femenina. Toda la enseñanza en Teruel, adolece, pues, de pauperismo, inculcación ideológica, sectorismo, y parcialidad.