Christian Ingrao explores how Europe, the Maghreb, and the Middle East navigated 20th-century crises through shared hopes and promises of the future.
Christian Ingrao's new research focus
Christian Ingrao, a historian specializing in the history of Nazism and the Holocaust, has broadened his research to include a large area spanning Europe, the Maghreb, and the Middle East during much of the 20th century. His work explores how these regions coped with major wartime disasters and the subsequent wars of decolonization by embracing shared hopes for the future.Ingrao's previous work on Nazi promises
Ingrao’s earlier book, The Promise of the East (2016), examined how the Nazi plan to repopulate parts of Poland—through the deportation and extermination of its inhabitants—was seen by 27,000 young Germans as an opportunity for a better life. This book highlighted how such promises, even those tied to extreme violence, could shape individual and collective aspirations.New book's concept of "promises"
In his current work, Ingrao shifts focus, arguing that the "promises" referenced in the title are not primarily tools of war but rather ways for densely populated, industrialized, and modernized societies to give meaning to conflicts. He suggests these promises helped people make sense of the chaos and destruction they faced.Ingrao on post-war meaning-making
According to Ingrao, after the devastation of total war and wars of liberation, it was crucial to create futures that could provide meaning to the immense bloodshed and suffering. He views these shared hopes as essential in helping societies rebuild and move forward after such profound loss.
