John George Stoessinger (October 14, 1927 - November 20, 2017), was an American author who wrote ten leading books on world

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

, including ''The Might of Nations'', which received the distinguished

Bancroft Prize The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948, with a bequest from Frederic Bancroft, in his memory and that of his brother, ...

for History. Stoessinger was also the Acting Director for the Political Affairs Division at the

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Life and career

On the eve of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Stoessinger fled from Nazi Austria to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. His family was saved by a Japanese diplomat,

Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania. During the Second World War, Sugihara helped thousands of Jews flee Europe by issuing transit visas to them so that they could travel through ...

, who issued three visas to transit Russia, allowing them to escape to

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via

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

and Kobe. Stoessinger was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, lecturing extensively throughout the world, and served as Distinguished Professor of Global Diplomacy at the University of San Diego. Stoessinger's work is notable for his individualistic analyses of war, contrasted with the systemic views more commonly studied by political scientists after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. An example of this is his work in ''Why Nations Go to War''. In that book's first chapter, "The Iron Dice," Stoessinger offers an alternative explanation of the causes of World War I, one that includes human reactions and feelings. Stoessinger was an officer of the

International Refugee Organization The International Refugee Organization (IRO) was an intergovernmental organization founded on 20 April 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by World War II. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. ...

in the

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George Ginsburgs
Book Review The Refugee and the World Community. By John George Stoessinger. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1956
''American Journal of International Law'', Vol. 52, Issue 3, July 1958, pp. 564-565. and later a professor at Hunter College, City University of New York.A Former U.N. Aide Sentenced to Teach U.S. Prison Inmates
''New York Times'' (January 19, 1977). From 1967 to 1974, he was acting director of the Political Affairs Division of the

. In September 1976, Stoessinger pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to concealing fraud totaling at least $260,000 committed by Anne Lament, a former lover who used letters of recommendation from him which she addressed to overseas banks and governments. Lament was convicted of fraud, and Stoessinger was convicted for failing to report it. In 1977, Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. sentenced the professor to probation and ordered him to spend an average of two hours a week for 18 months teaching inmates at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. He subsequently received a full

presidential pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

from President Ronald Reagan.

Partial bibliography

* ''The Refugee and the World Community'' (

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its boo ...

, 1956) * ''The Might of Nations: World Politics in Our Time'' (1962) * ''Financing the United Nations System'' (1964) * ''Power and Order: 6 Cases in World Politics'' (1964) (with Alan F. Westin) * ''The United Nations and the Superpowers'' (1965) * ''Nations in Darkness: China, Russia, and America'' (1971) (Note: The sixth and most recent edition (1994) was retitled ''Nations at Dawn: China, Russia, and America'') * ''Why Nations Go to War'' (1974, 11th ed. 2011) * ''Henry Kissinger: The Anguish of Power'' (1976) * ''Night Journey: A Story of Survival and Deliverance'' (

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, 1978)NIGHT JOURNEY: A Story of Survival and Deliverance
'' Kirkus Reviews'' (September 1, 1978 review). * ''Crusaders and Pragmatists: Movers of Modern American Foreign Policy'' (1979) * ''From Holocaust to Harvard : a story of escape, forgiveness, and freedom'' (2014)

Footnotes

External links

''Memorial Lecture by John G. Stoessinger'' (Japanese)
at the Holocaust Education Center in Hiroshima, Japan
"Decline and Fall of the Communist Empire"
— video of 1991 lecture at the City Club of Portland {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoessinger, John G. Austrian Jews 2017 deaths Harvard University alumni University of San Diego faculty University of California, San Diego faculty 1927 births Sugihara's Jews Bancroft Prize winners