Germany 1945: From War to Peace

Richard Bessel, Professor of Twentieth-Century History at the University of York, analyzes how Germany’s defeat transformed the nation from a militaristic and nationalistic society into a pacifistic society. In early 1945, Germany experienced an enormous loss of civilians and soldiers as the Allied armies pushed into German territory. Bessel argues that this exposure to extreme violence and brutality transformed Germans into self-regarding victims of the Nazi regime; despite the fact that German civilians had not been innocent bystanders of the years of conquest and genocide. A combination of brutalities by the invading Allied troops, millions of Germans fleeing from eastern conquered territories, and the brutalities the Nazi regime committed against its own people contributed to a change in the German psyche that became focused solely on day-to-day survival. This change made it possible for the German people to concentrate on looking forward without immediately confronting the horrors committed during the Third Reich. Germany 1945: From War to Peace is a superbly written book that will appeal to anyone interested in World War II. Be sure to also checkout Bessel’s other titles available at the library: Nazism and War and Germany After the First World War.

-- Jared, Main Library