Global dimensions van de Tweede Wereldoorlog: Een totale oorlog in een vernieuwend historisch kader

The current debate on globalisation has increased the interest in global history. This interdisciplinary approach to study the past offers an integrated analysis of various supranational processes. Despite a regular focus on long-term developments, it seems suitable for a new way of analysing the global interactions during World War II. By doing so, it will enlarge our understanding of the transnational nature of this period, and of the tensions and parallels between local, national, regional and global developments. In order to establish the extent to which this total war can be regarded as history of globalisation, differentiation between four areas is suggested: economic, political, military and socio-cultural globalisation – each covering a complex mixture of developments with differences in (geographical and social) range, pace and intensity. This article furthermore explores the changing historical culture in which the memories and representations of World War II have obtained a more global and multicultural character. Although this may, at first sight, result in a more uniform collective memory, it does pose new questions concerning the variety in interpretation, contextualisation and transnational dissemination of war-related memories.