Don't Let's Be Beastly to the Germans - The British Occupation of Germany, 1945-49

The untold history of the British occupation of Germany, told through the eyes of the people who were there. In the spring of 1945, a British civilian and military force arrived in northwestern Germany, the former industrial heartland of a defeated nation. They were tasked with building democracy from the ruins of Hitler's Reich, and 'winning the peace' by eradicating Nazism from German hearts and minds. Using a battery of source materials - from newspaper reports to feature films, and from declassified Foreign Office documents to interviews with veterans - Daniel Cowling presents a vivid narrative of the four years of the British occupation. He explores the day-to-day experiences of the Britons who worked for the Control Commission for Germany between 1945 and 1949 and who soon found themselves on the front line of the Cold War, as irreconcilable tensions divided Europe between East and West.

About the author

Daniel Cowling is a Historian at the National Army Museum, London, where he specialises in modern British and European history. Originally from Manchester, he completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge where he wrote a thesis on the British occupation of Germany. Don’t Let’s Be Beastly to the Germans is his first book.

Summary

The history of the British occupation of Germany, told through the eyes of the people who were there.

Foreword

The history of the British occupation of Germany, told through the eyes of the people who were there.

Product details

• Authors: Daniel Cowling
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.08.2024
• EAN: 9781800243514
• ISBN: 978-1-80024-351-4
• No. of pages: 480
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 196 mm x 32 mm
• Weight: 391 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > 20th century (up to 1945); Germany, military history, Social & cultural history, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / 20th Century, Social and cultural history, c 1940 to c 1949, The Cold War, c 1945 to c 1990 (the Cold War period), Cold wars and proxy conflicts, Invasion, conquest and occupation, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / Cold War