European Football During the Second World War

«A pathbreaking collection of original historical research that destroys convenient myths about the ‹beautiful game› in Europe during a period of war and genocide. This book shows convincingly how football, even when abused by dictatorial regimes to provide the illusion of normalcy, continued to inhabit a a politically relatively neutral sphere of its own.» (Kay Schiller, University of Durham, Editor Sport in History)

«When the canons roar the muse of sport is not silent: A neglected aspect of the history of sports and of World War II is systematically but vividly dealt within this volume. It is about myth and reality of war-time football around the globe from the perspective of historians, artists and filmmakers.» (Moshe Zimmermann, Richard Koebner Professor of German History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

«A healthy exercise in calmly investigating European football’s cherished war-time myths. Rather than simply refer to ‹war minus the shooting›, this well-researched edited volume by Herzog and Brändle provides new insight into the game’s many roles during the shooting, despite the shooting, and as escape from the shooting.» (Albrecht Sonntag, Professor at ESSCA School of Management)

«Not just the world’s favourite game but the most frequently studied subject in sports history, football is everywhere. Yet many of its earlier phases await detailed exploration. This is no more so the case than for the Second World War. This excellently conceived, wide-reaching, multi-national volume delivers important insights into a period of massive upheaval that came at the point when the game had reached its first maturity and become a globally popular pastime. It is vital reading for all students of the game. (Professor Christopher Young, Head of the School of Arts and Humanities, University of Cambridge)