They raped every german female from eight to 80 books. It was named after the town of weimar where germanys new. Popular post war germany books goodreads share book. By wibke bruhns 2008 decades after nazi armies began their march of conquest and genocide, the german children of the war. A leading authority on 20thcentury germany combines scholarship and readability in this analysis of year zero, the turning point in the history of the german people. The marshall plan binds the allies together by june 1948 the regions under the care of america, britain and france had been combined. Richard bessel suggests that germans suffering at the end of the war helped lay the groundwork for recovery. For example, in germany for many years all sorts of groups have claimed that two or three million germans were killed in revenge after the war. Germany after the first world war professor of twentieth. In this massive but thorough meditation, stargardt european historymagdalen coll. Germany after ww2 a defeated people documentary on. May 01, 2002 they raped every german female from eight to 80 this article is more than 17 years old antony beevor, author of the acclaimed new book about the fall of berlin, on a massive war crime committed. The best books on the aftermath of world war ii five books. Jan 01, 1993 a social history of germany in the years following the first world war, this book explores germany s defeat and the subsequent demobilization of its armies, events which had devastating social and psychological consequences for the nation.
His books include political violence and the rise of nazism, germany after the first world war and nazism and war. Mar 06, 2015 hundreds of thousands of german women were raped by british, american and french soldiers after the end of the second world war, a german historian has claimed. German surrender the second world war ended in europe on 8 may 1945, with soviet and western troops stationed throughout germany. Planet money to understand why germany is so freaked out by what europes central bank is doing, you need to go back nearly a century. Dr bessel examines the changes brought by the war to germany, and those resulting from the return of the soldiers to civilian. Dr bessel examines the changes brought by the war to germany, by the. The pamela shulman professor in european and holocaust studies at the university of new hampshire, he has looked at the way planning shaped the rebuilding of postconflict societies. I lived in germany for a few years, they really liked americans and were. Trummerfrau literally translated as ruins woman or rubble woman is the germanlanguage name for women who, in the aftermath of world war ii, helped clear and reconstruct the bombed cities of germany and austria. The weimar republic was germanys government from 1919 to 1933, the period after world war i until the rise of nazi germany.
His work through germany s provides detail structural picture rather than immediate political and cultural events that could lead to the fall of a democracy. By wibke bruhns 2008 decades after nazi armies began their march of conquest and genocide, the german children of the war have begun to confront their parents pasts. The book was a fascinating insight into the social history of midtwentiethcentury germany, from the collapse of order following defeat in world war i, to the resurgent nationalism and the tragedy of the third reich, to the rise of the new germany after 1945. Searches by war children of world war ii changing opinions. This book gives an insight to the lives of the german people, and those of german decent who lived in neighboring countries who after the war had been sent to. Melita maschmann, a former nazi, published just such a book. Germany after the first world war by richard bessel. Germany after the first world war is a masterpiece that gives insight into a nations sociopolitical scene and highlights how the working class would get disillusioned with democracy. The german war, by nicholas stargardt the new york times.
The expulsion of the germans after the second world war hardcover. Rebuilding the world after the second world war world news the. Jan 23, 2018 a new book has gathered the memories of kriegskinder, next to portraits of them as they are now. Soon after her release from internment in 1948, maschmann wrote a letter to a. Mar 01, 2016 this powerful documentary from 2005 explores the condition of germany when the fighting stopped in 1945 and the subsequent four years of occupation and reconstruction. However, there were times where it deviated from its focus. What lay ahead for germany after the war was, as time magazine later phrased it, historys most terrifying peace. German historians say in a new book that at least 400,000 children were fathered by troops of the four allied powers that occupied germany after world war two. This book has been cited by the following publications. This book also reports the allied mass murder of the german people after the end of world war ii during which the alliesled by general dwight d. It got sidetracked in austria for a while, and its endless focus on the brutal allied actions in occupied germany in the immediate aftermath of war was a far lengthier account than it needed to be. The black eagle inn by christoph fischer, the reader by bernhard schlink, german boy.
A memoir of hitlers germany before, during and after wwii 20th century memoirs book 1 by bernhard r. Macdonoghs important book is an antidote to the simplistic but enduring propaganda portrait of world war ii as a clash between good and evil, and debunks the widely accepted image of benevolent allied treatment of defeated germany. After wwii, a forgotten refugee crisis in the wake of the war, millions of europeans were left with nowhere to go. Although world war ii was historys most catastrophic and destructive war, this book documents that the death and suffering of germans increased after the end of the war. After a series of mutinies by german sailors and soldiers, kaiser wilhelm ii lost the. The best books on the aftermath of world war ii five books expert. If one can find fault with this book, it is for sticking too closely to the new orthodoxy of the history of world war ii. Bessel examines the changes brought by the war to germany, including those resulting from the return of soldiers to civilian life and a social history of germany in the years following the first world war, this book explores germanys defeat and the subsequent demobilization of its armies, events which had devastating social and psychological consequences for the nation. Jeffrey diefendorf has written several books about the reconstruction of both germany and japan after world war ii. Germany after the first world war doesnt have much of a human dimension, and reads like a series of actuary tables compiled by someone who is wonkish bordering on suffering from aspergers no disrespect intended to actual sufferers of the disease. What are the best books on germany immediately after world war.
Feb 26, 2018 this post on world war ii books is sponsored by libby. German historians say in a new book that at least 400,000 children were fathered by troops of the four allied powers that occupied germany after world war. After the reich had its moments of great interest as it recounted the chaotic, brutal, and bloody aftermath of world war 2 in germany. A network of european war children, born of war international network, was founded in october 2005. With landgericht by ursula krechel, another historical novel has been awarded the german book. Troops fathered 400,000 children in postwar germany dw. An unflinching look at postwar germany culture arts, music and.
Germany after the first world war by richard bessel alibris. Jul 24, 2014 this 1946 british documentary short film depicts the shattered state of germany, both physically and as a society, in the immediate aftermath of world war ii. The history of british operations to transfer personnel hermann goring and the nazi art collection. Allied soldiers raped hundreds of thousands of german women.
This original and scholarly book offers important insights into the sense of dislocation, both personal and national, experienced by germany and germans after the first world war, and the damaging legacy of the war for german democracy. This angle is so important, especially when you consider that the war was largely about the long complex retreat of germany. Germany s defeat and the subsequent demobilization of her armies had devastating social and psychological consequences for the nation, which richard bessel sets out to explore in this book. Was germany doomed in world war i by the schlieffen plan. Nov 15, 2015 if one can find fault with this book, it is for sticking too closely to the new orthodoxy of the history of world war ii. What are some good books to read to understand what was. Germany didnt fare well after world war i, as it was thrown into troubling economic and social disorder. Germany s defeat and the subsequent demobilization of her armies had enormous economic, social, and psychological consequences for the nation, and it is these which richard bessel sets out to explore. List of books and articles about postwar germany online. This is a social history of germany in the years following the first world war.
The reconstruction of germany after world war ii was a long process. The second world war caused unprecedented hardship, but it also accelerated change. Stargardts germans fight their war strictly on an eastwest axis. Sep 06, 2015 nicholas stargardts the german war comes therefore as something of a reality check, a shock to the system or my system at least. Sep 06, 2019 80 years after germany s invasion of poland, a look at world war iis toll on the country 11. Sep 14, 2011 the economic catastrophe that germany cant forget. How the children of nazi germany remember world war two.
Aug 31, 2018 the schlieffen plan, devised a decade before the start of world war i, outlined a strategy for germany to avoid fighting at its eastern and western fronts simultaneously. Run, dont walk, to your nearest bookstore or library and get richard j. By downloading libby to your smartphone, you can access thousands of ebooks and audiobooks from your library for free anytime and anywhere. This 615page volume is much more than a gruesome chronicle of death and human suffering. West germany west germany, 95,742 sq mi 247,973 sq km, consisted of the ten states that had been included in the u. For a description of the events leading up to east germany s reunification with west germany, see subheading reunification of germany. A decade after witnesses of war, his impressive deconstruction. They meet every year in berlin to assist each other, make decisions about searching for parents, and find out new positions.
447 809 193 1249 868 108 1280 994 1202 1081 271 1382 818 1334 136 819 1558 1217 915 177 1392 260 567 1591 1483 1071 145 1192 1522 1079 258 648 939 701 1330 1311 615 951 1263 1446 826