After wwii, europe was a savage continent of devastation in his book, which has just won the hesselltiltman prize for history, keith lowe describes a. Keith lowes excellent book paints a littleknown and frightening picture of a continent in. The kriegsmarines converted fishing trawler kuj12 survived wwii and was disarmed and used by the german minesweeping administration, or gmsa. The devastation of hamburg, 1943 and savage continent, which was a sunday times top ten bestseller and won the pen hesselltiltman prize. Many villages, cities and towns in every part of europe were destroyed by heavy artillery and aerial bombing, which led to the displacement of people from their homes. Postwar europe was a scene of both physical and moral destruction. The need to produce war supplies had given rise to a huge militaryindustrial complex a term coined by dwight d.
The nation of germany made an amazing recovery after world war ii. With some remarkable footage and moving testimony, this film is an important addition to the history of postwar europe. Net investment rates in 19501970 were nearly twice as high as in 192040. Readers might think that this was a description of the crisis in the soviet union and its successor states in the 1990s. Food production per capita in 1947 was only 51 percent of its level in 1938, and the official food ration set by the occupying powers varied between 1,040 and 1,550 calories. He is widely recognized as an authority on the second world war, and has often spoken on tv and radio, both in britain and the united states. The hardships of the previous fifteen years of war and depression were replaced by rising living standards, increased opportunities, and a newly emerging american culture confident of its future and place in the world. For survivors, the prospect of rebuilding their lives after the holocaust was daunting. As soon as victory was assured in europe, before japan had surrendered, men and women serving in the armed forces started to return for work. London suffered widespread damage during world war ii as a result of aerial bombardment, which devastated the docks and many industrial, residential, and commercial districts, including the historic heart of the city.
The popular perception of ww2 in europe is a picture painted by the allies after the war. Victory in europe was declared on may 8th, 1945, after nearly six years of bloody conflict. The death tolls were enormous, economies were ravaged, and entire cities were destroyed. Many of the countries in the west returned to the same governments and borders they had prior to the war. Europes postwar recovery edited by barry eichengreen december 1995. London reconstruction after world war ii britannica. Europe, which had relied on extensive growth in the 1950s and 1960s, had no choice but. The best books on the aftermath of world war ii five books expert. These novel findings also revealed that the falling behind of eastern europe in the postwar. Austria after the wars of unification, the united states after its civil war, and france again in the wake of 1870, spain after 1898, and russia after 1905. Much of what had been germanys major cities had been utterly destroyed from massive bombing and fires during the war, the marshall plan was an american program designed to aid in recovery of the european region that suffered so much devastation and loss of life.
Soldiers also found thousands of jewish and nonjewish. Located in the center of europe, it borders the netherlands, belgium, luxembourg, and france on the west. Germany had suffered heavy losses during the war, both in lives and industrial power. Keith lowe is widely recognized as a leading authority on the second world war. It is impossible to know how many women in europe were raped by the red army soldiers, who saw them. The marshall plan, also known as the european recovery program, was a u. We can heal the economy after coronavirus like germany did. The two postwar eras and the conditions for stability in. The restoration of western europe after ww2 essay 550 words.
After wwii, europe was a savage continent of devastation. Lost world war ii bomber crew found after 69 years more than 69 years after they crashed in germany, the remains of five british airmen have been recovered and will receive a. Judts book is a comprehensive history of the whole of europe from 1945 almost up. It was also known as the european recovery programme, a plan for american aid and economic support to rebuild europe after the second world war asked in world war 2, history of europe, economics. Only thirty years had passed between the start of the first world war and the end of the second world war. The plan aimed at aiding american military disengagement from europe, yet. Europe in the aftermath of world war ii, and the critically acclaimed history inferno. In august 1991, the communist hardliners imprisoned gorbachev and deposed him as president of the soviet union. Recovery strategies in the soviet union and eastern europe. Europe in the aftermath of world war ii by keith lowe. The popular perception of ww2 in europe is a picture painted by the allies after the war, to both justify their actions during the war and to further their political aims. Europes postwar success and subsequent problems to understand what reforms should be made in europe and why they are needed it is important to understand both europes huge success after the end of world war ii and why this success then faltered. The decade following world war ii is fondly remembered as a period of economic growth and cultural stability.
The eastern part was controlled by the ussr russia and the western part by the allies. Many governments were in debt or out of money because they had used all their resources in fighting the war. Hence the coordinated capitalism of this books title. There is a printable worksheet available for download here so you can take the quiz with pen and paper. The war, along with hitlers scorchedearth policy, had destroyed 20 percent of all housing. It is not to be confused with european economic recovery plan. Consider, first, the comparable political developments. Mainsprings of economic recovery in postwar europe. The best books on the aftermath of world war ii five. The year 1945 marked the end of the worst military conflict in history, which brought unprecedented destruction and loss of life. Marshall, the secretary of state announced a plan to give massive amounts of aid to war torn countries for reconstruction, and buy materials and food. The book is organized by country, from most friendly to jews to least friendly after the war. After the war, the european countries decided to finally end their centuries of warring and form new alliances and.
War and economic instability devastated europe for most of the first half of the 20th century. After wwii, the western allies in europe, and the usa in occupied japan, enlisted their former enemies in clearing these minefields to lessen the danger to their own sailors. This is an outstanding book, that should be mandatory reading for anyone who claims to know what happened during ww2. One of the primary reasons of how western europe recovered from the world war 2 can be attributed to the marshall plan the marshall plan officially the european recovery program, erp was an american initiative to aid western europe, in which the. The us, also terrified that communist groups would gain further powerthe cold war was emerging and soviet domination of europe seemed a real dangerand wishing to secure european markets, opted for a program of financial aid. The european economy since 1945 the new york times. The author of savage continent, winner of the hesselltiltman history prize, recommends essential reading for understanding the sheer scale of suffering, dislocation and fighting after the war was over.
These previously unseen photos bear witness to the carnage. Historians have become particularly interested in the question of how europe, which emerged from the war as a physical and moral wasteland, could rebuild itself so dramatically and successfully. In fact it could as easily be a portrait of western europe in the aftermath of world war ii. In europe most of the borders that had been established at the end of the first world war were restored. Deutschland, officially federal republic of germany, republic 2015 est. The bundesbank was europes strongest bank and the deutschmark the currency against which all other european currencies were measured. Reconstruction and recovery getting back to normal after world war ii. The economic recovery of germany and japan after 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. It boasted one of the worlds highest living standards. The soviet union seized back some bits of territory such as bessarabia, which it had lost. However, germany was divided up into eastern and western germany.
The countrys cities were severely damaged from heavy bombing in the closing chapters of the war and agricultural. Europe germany had occupied much of europe during world war ii. Europe, which had relied on extensive growth in the 1950s and 1960s, had no choice but to switch to intensive growth from the 1970s on. One of the pleasures of this rich and immensely detailed book is its portrayal of europes recovery from the. The postwar reconstruction of europe, 19451955 since the end of the cold war, the decade following the second world war has gained new significance. At the end of world war ii, huge swaths of europe and asia had been reduced to ruins. America had won the war and defeated the forces of evil in the world. About 30,000 londoners died because of enemy action in the skies above the capital, and a further 50,000 were injured. Both wars were triggered by conflicts between european states and had plunged the nations of the world into war. After world war ii the german economy lay in shambles.
Allies during world war ii, the us and the ussr became competitors on the world stage and engaged in the cold war, so called because it never resulted in overt, declared hot war. With extensive bibliography and a list of works not yet recovered. In 1945, when allied troops entered the concentration camps, they discovered piles of corpses, bones, and human ashestestimony to nazi mass murder. As world war ii fades from living memory, we are seeing the reanimation and rehabilitation of some of the philosophies and attitudes that. In 1947, two years after the cessation of hostilities, europes recovery was in doubt. The aftermath of world war ii was the beginning of a new era, defined by the decline of all european colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers. Lessons from germanys rapid recovery after wwii news.
Judts massive, learned, brilliantly detailed account of europes recovery from the. After erhards reform, germany had europes strongest currency, and one of the worlds strongest currencies, until the establishment of the euro. Jeffrey diefendorf has written several books about the reconstruction of both germany and japan after world war ii. History website argunners has published a series of previously unseen photos recently uncovered from the archives of an american fourstar general who served in europe during the second world war. The marshall plan rebuilding western europe after ww2. The contributors expose the role of international institutions and contrast the very different national experiences. While some of the main european cities such as paris, rome, and brussels were not scarred badly by the war, london and especially eastern europe and germany were in a terrible state. Announced on june 5th, 1947 by george marshall, the european recovery program, erp, called for a system of aid and loans, at first to all nations affected by the war. Rebuilding the world after the second world war world news the. Lost world war ii bomber crew found after 69 years history. After all, most people have seen photos and know well what the devastation of postwwii europe was like. He has spoken often on television and radio, both in britain and the united states, and his books have been translated into 20 languages.
The marshall plan, as it became known, closely involved the states that received aid. The reconstruction of germany after world war ii was a long process. Search help in finding europe after ww2 map quiz online quiz version. Keith lowe is the awardwinning author of savage continent. This is an online quiz called europe after ww2 map quiz. This will provide us with a context in which we can understand soviet. Armies from both sides had bombed roads, bridges, supplies, and communication facilities throughout europe. The periods after the two world wars likewise reveal certain parallels. Rebuilding the world after the second world war world.
Tells of the recovery of thousands of works of european art stolen during wwii, meant to provide the basis of the great museum that hitler planned to be built in linz after the war. After reading this book, i am left with greater awareness. United nations relief and rehabilitation administration. World war ii was devastating for all nations involved in the conflict. This book reassesses western europes miraculous economic recovery from world war ii and the crisis of 1947. Mainsprings of economic recovery in postwar europe chapter 1. Europe was helped with economic recovery after world war 2.
The aftermath of the holocaust the holocaust encyclopedia. List of books and articles about postwar germany online. In cooperation with the american government, the organization for european. Europe in the aftermath of world war ii lowe, keith on. Institutions and economic growth in postwar europe. Borders were redrawn and homecomings, expulsions, and burials were under way. The flip of the switch that happened in the united states where refugees and especially jews where suddenly welcomed never happened in europe, save for perhaps france and belgium to an extent. The restoration of western europe after ww2 world war ii was much bloodier and more brutal than world war i as it caused the death of about 60 million soldiers as well as civilians.