Using the alternative history method in the study of World War II

Abstract

The article discusses the scientific experience of using the „alternative history” method in the study of the history of the Second World War. The authors revealed the peculiarities of the methodology for applying this method in world historical science until the middle of the twentieth century, showed its research capabilities and shortcomings. The features of the use of the method of alternative history in the modern historiography of the Second World War are revealed. The purpose of this article is to compare the main methodological approaches to the application of the method of „alternative history” in the historiography of World War II, to determine the degree of their appropriateness and correctness. To achieve this goal, the following tasks are set: to consider the genesis of the method of „alternative history”, to establish and reveal its key provisions, the algorithm of use, application and features of use in British and Russian historiography. At the present stage, the method of alternative history makes it possible to significantly expand the cognitive possibilities in the study of the history of the Second World War. Its use was pioneered by representatives of Anglo-American historiography. In the post-Soviet space, this method was established much later.