School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses

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    The unseen victors: the Royal Australian Engineers in the forgotten New Guinea campaigns
    Stewart, Francis ( 2018)
    This thesis argues that the road, bridge and overall infrastructure creation undertaken by the Royal Australian Engineers during World War Two were crucial to the success of the New Guinea campaigns, particularly the Lae-Salamaua (22nd April 1943 - 16th September 1943) and Huon Peninsula campaigns (22nd September 1943-15th January 1944). The roads and bridges built by the Royal Australian Engineers were vital to the movement of supplies and troops through the jungles and mountains of New Guinea and this infrastructure also enabled the successful deployment of both tanks and artillery in the jungle. The thesis further argues that, despite the importance of these engineering efforts, army engineering and the ingenuity it involved, has been ignored in Australia's military history which instead focuses on narratives of sacrifice and glory.
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    Broadening Perspectives on Jewish Resistance in Nazi-occupied Poland: A Comparative Study of Jewish Agency in the Lodz and Warsaw Ghettos
    Mangelsdorf, Andrew ( 2016-05-17)
    This thesis discusses Yehuda Bauer's nuanced approach to Jewish resistance in Eastern Europe during World War Two. It applies his reinterpretation of the Hebrew term 'amidah', and the idea of 'sanctification of life' as resistance, to the Nazi-occupied ghettos of Eastern Europe. It takes specific focus upon the largest two ghettos, that of Warsaw and Lodz. In addition to the application of Bauer's concept of resistance to these ghettos, a comparative analysis is made. This study considers what forms of resistance were displayed in each ghetto and why this was the case. By so doing, it offers a new and more nuanced approach to Jewish resistance within the ghettos.
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    The beginning of the end: British evacuation plans in Egypt in World War Two
    Smale, Alexandra ( 2014)
    In 1942 the Axis were pushing their way into Egypt. They made it 60 miles from Alexandria and were on their way to occupying the country. The situation got so desperate that the British had to plan their evacuation out of the country. They also drew up evacuation plans for King Farouk of Egypt and other prominent Egyptians. This thesis is about these evacuation plans. It uses the Robinson-Gallagher theory of informal empire to examine how the British operated in the country. They, however, only applied their work to the Victorian era which was a time of expansion. This thesis looks at the idea of informal empire during a time of decline. The thesis describes how the British depended on collaboration with local actors in Egypt based on seemingly friendly relations. In reality, however, when relations broke down the British would use force to assert their power. This occurred during the evacuation planning. The British were intending to take Farouk out of the country against his will if necessary and intern their enemies in the government. This was despite the fact that Egypt had been an independent country for 20 years. Edward Said's theory of Orientalism is also used in this thesis to explain how the British justified acting so autocratically in an independent country.
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    This is total War: re-exploring Australia's Second World War through the lens of total war
    Duan, Trent Jay ( 2014)
    This thesis explores Australia's Second World War through the lens of total war. Using "ideal type" methodology, it aims to explore how total war was articulated, understood and implemented in a belligerent country that has previously been neglected by total war scholars.
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    Combatting the pink enlisted: the prosecution of homosexual servicemen in the German Wehrmacht by the Reich Supreme Military Court
    Linardi, Anna Mireya ( 2014)
    The issue of male homosexuality was a core aspect of Nazi ideology. In order to achieve military success, the Nazis believed that Germany required masculine and aggressive men who were willing to sacrifice their lives for the Fatherland. How, then, did the Nazis cope with the realization that there were homosexuals amongst their troops? This thesis discusses the way in which homosexual servicemen were prosecuted under Nazi law, specifically Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code. It examines the role of the military justice system in the handling of homosexual cases within the Wehrmacht, the German military. It undertakes a close analysis of a small sample of military court trial records of accused homosexual servicemen from 1942 and 1944. These trials were conducted before the Reichskriegsgericht, the Reich Supreme Military Court. This study will show that the Reich Supreme Military Court played a fundamental role in the implementation of Nazi law against homosexuality in the military sphere. (From Introduction).
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    Mobilising the Third Reich: the final phase: an analysis of Joseph Goebbels' role as Reich Plenipotentiary for the total war effort, July 1944 - March 1945
    Fitzmaurice, Camielle Jean ( 2014)
    The final ten months of the Second World War have been characterised as a time of bureaucratic and military chaos. However, this thesis demonstrates than in his role as Reich Plenipotentiary for the Total War Effort, from July 1944 until March 1945 Joseph Goebbels was able to implement a program for the total mobilisation of all human and material resources towards the war effort to some success. Combining his continuing role as Propaganda Minister with his new role as Plenipotentiary his approach to the program for total war can be characterised as one that maintained a primary emphasis on ‘propaganda and the ‘spoken word as the most powerful weapons’. However, not without an element of realism in the acknowledgement that ‘soldiers, weapons and raw materials’ now determined the outcome of warfare in the twentieth century.