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Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II [Paperback]

Keith Lowe (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 2 May 2013

Keith Lowe's Savage Continent is an awe-inspiring portrait of how Europe emerged from the ashes of WWII.

The end of the Second World War saw a terrible explosion of violence across Europe. Prisoners murdered jailers. Soldiers visited atrocities on civilians. Resistance fighters killed and pilloried collaborators. Ethnic cleansing, civil war, rape and murder were rife in the days, months and years after hostilities ended. Exploring a Europe consumed by vengeance, Savage Continent is a shocking portrait of an until-now unacknowledged time of lawlessness and terror.

Praise for Savage Continent:

'Deeply harrowing, distinctly troubling. Moving, measured and provocative. A compelling and plausible picture of a continent physically and morally brutalized by slaughter' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times

'Excellent', Independent

'Unbearable but essential. A serious account of things we never knew and our fathers would rather forget. Lowe's transparent prose makes it difficult to look away from a whole catalogue of horrors...you won't sleep afterwards. Such good history it keeps all the questions boiling in your mind', Scotsman

Keith Lowe 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. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Inferno: The Devastation of Hamburg, 1943 (Penguin). He lives in north London with his wife and two children.

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Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II + The Spanish Holocaust: Inquisition and Extermination in Twentieth-Century Spain
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Product details

  • Paperback: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (2 May 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141034513
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141034515
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Grimly absorbing, conveys the pity of war and its sorry aftermath with integrity and proper sympathy (Ian Thomson Sunday Telegraph )

Moving, measured and provocative (Dominic Sandbrook Sunday Times )

Extraordinary...exceptional...reveals a continent where moral values were often missing and basically lawlessness prevailed for several years (Trevor James The Historian )

Savage Continent is a powerful and disturbing book, painstakingly researched and written with both authority and an impressive historical sweep (James Holland )

A major new historical talent has arrived... a brilliantly organised and scrupulously objective survey of a continent on the floor (BBC History Magazine )

An excellent account...Lowe's vivid descriptions of Europeans scrambling for scraps of food, rampant theft and 'destruction of morals' are a timely reminder that a certain humility is in order when we look at less fortunate continents today. (Brendan Simms The Independent )

Impressive and heart-rendering study...Lowe marshals all the elements of the story with cool even-handedness, especially where statistics are concerned, and explains how subsequent generations have manipulated the historical record to suit their own purposes, either to diminish their guilt or demonise others. (Christopher Silvester Daily Express )

Extraordinary, disturbing and powerful ... it is to Lowe's great credit that he resists the temptation to sit in moral judgment ... it is time we acknowledged the hidden realities of perhaps the darkest chapter in all human history (Daily Mail )

Graphic and chilling. This excellent book paints a little-known and frightening picture of a continent in the embrace of lawlessness and chaos (Ian Kershaw )

About the Author

Keith Lowe 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. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Inferno: The Devastation of Hamburg, 1943 (Penguin). He lives in north London with his wife and two children.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Book of the year so far. 12 May 2012
By Bobby Smith TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a quality work of art from the pen of Keith Lowe. Taking a little documented period of history, the fragmented and vengeful end of the war and the spill over into the years 1945-1950 - and beyond in some cases - the dispute between Lithuania and Russia for example, he manages to show that genocide, anti-Semitism and hatred in general did not end when the war ceased. Looking back nowadays it is almost beyond belief that such hate continued, given the events of 1939-45. But they did. I cannot speak too highly of this book as it looks in detail at issues normally skirted around by the academic world - such as the vengence of slave workers and concentration camp inmates and of population expulsions - be they ethnic Germans, Poles or Ukrainians. I learnt so much from this book; the political fall-out from WW2, the Greek civil war but also how the human spirit can rise above the most hurtful and damaging of situations. Ultimately, amid the tales of destruction and sorrow, this is the message that emerges. Superb.
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75 of 77 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An overlooked period of history revealed 12 April 2012
By Mr. A. J. P. Brouard VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A truly jaw-dropping read. As Keith Lowe explains right from the very start the Second World War was so much more than the allies versus the axis and the fight of good against evil. If you wish to get a better understanding of what this struggle perpetuated beyond the usual military texts, then you must read this book. The majority of people would associate the term ethnic cleansing with the Holocaust;full stop. However, events throughout the European continent AFTER May 1945 will leave readers absolutely stunned. In Czechoslavkia, Italy, Poland, Western Ukkraine and Yugoslavia ethnic and religious cleansing was conducted on a truly horrifying scale. Centuries of hatred and mistrust within individual countries and communities within those countries rose to the surface. The undercurrent was undoubtedly right versus left, capitalist versus communist, but the specifics are much more shocking.

The machinations of political parties to achieve their objectives and the ineptitude of the 'Superpowers' to deal with these events lead directly to the Cold War and during the period 1945 to 1950, thousands upon thousands of innocent civilian deaths. Revenge for atrocities carried out during the war lit the flame, but much more sinister plans were at work.

I will not quote specific examples from the text as I would hope that by reading this outstanding account of a period of history that formed the basis of European life for the next 50 years, the reader will be as appalled and enlightened as much as I was.

For anyone interested in this period of history this is an essential read. I cannot recommend this strongly enough.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential to an understanding of Europe today 6 May 2012
By Derek Tunnicliffe
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
An important book, that should be on the history syllabus of high schools across Europe. This is a balanced account of a history that has never been written about in such depth, across such a wide spectrum of action, and on a Europe-wide basis. Having said that, as the author makes clear, many of the statistics and accounts of this after-war period are still hotly disputed - for all the reasons he lays out. There are always more than two sides to every tale, and the author tries to put forward as many as possible. His list of sources alone (originals in 38 different languages) is extensive; and his notes show the extent to which he drew on them.

The horrors of physical and moral destruction are set aside a litany of vengeance, ethnic cleansing, political violence and civil war, that lasted until the 1950's and still has repercussions today. It is a compelling, at times gripping account - very readable.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Savage Continent
Very interesting in telling the stories of the ragged end of WW2. Would have liked an insight into GB at the end of the war to complete the picture.
Published 4 days ago by Leutgeb
5.0 out of 5 stars High Time
Is it possible to "enjoy" a book such as this one, bearing in mind its subject matter? Extremely well-researched and well-written, this is a horribly compelling book, and... Read more
Published 19 days ago by Heathcliff
5.0 out of 5 stars A dispassionate and authoritative Analysis
This is a brilliant book. The subject is not always easy to read about but it is mesmerising and important. Read more
Published 1 month ago by P. J. Connolly
4.0 out of 5 stars Shocking and Thought Provoking
An eye-opening account of what happened to Europe in the immediate aftermath of World War 2, the years from 1945 to 1948. Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Mcgregor
5.0 out of 5 stars A great untold history
This was a present for my husband and he adored it. The author threw a strong light on unknown stories.
Published 2 months ago by Christine Lewis
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
I like to read War history books and it compliments my collection. The book arrived speedily and in excellent condition
Published 2 months ago by Magpie
5.0 out of 5 stars an eye opener
Very well written and extremely interesting - albeit harrowing. I had no idea of the scale of the aftermath of WW2. Read more
Published 3 months ago by smith
5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT INSIGHT
This book starts where most books on world war two finish. As mentioned by other reviewers the continuation of 'ethnic cleansing , through deportation , execution and just plain... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dave
4.0 out of 5 stars Savage Continent by Keith Lowe is essential reading for anyone wanting...
A well written and thoroughly researched book that dispenses with the political agendas often associated with histories of this period. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Bob Corwin
3.0 out of 5 stars Slightly disappointed
I had just read Antony Beevor's Second World War and I was interested to discover what happened to the Continent after the end of that conflict. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. N. J. Morse
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