Jacksonville Public Library

Aftermath, life in the fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955, Harald Jähner ; translated by Shaun Whiteside

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages [361]-370) and index

index present

non fiction

Aftermath

bibliography

1246140921

Harald Jähner ; translated by Shaun Whiteside

life in the fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955

The years 1945 to 1955 were a raw, wild decade that found many Germans politically, economically, and morally bankrupt. Victorious Allied forces occupied the four zones that make up present-day Germany. More than half the population was displaced; 10 million newly released forced laborers and several million prisoners of war returned to an uncertain existence. Cities lay in ruins: no mail, no trains, no traffic. Bodies were still being found beneath the rubble. Using major global political developments as a backdrop, Jähner weaves a series of life stories into a nuanced panorama of a nation undergoing monumental change. Poised between two eras, this decade is portrayed as a period that proved decisive for Germany's future-- and one starkly different from how most of us imagine it today. -- adapted from jacket

Preface -- Zero hour? -- In ruins -- The great migration -- Dancing frenzy -- Love amidst the rubble -- Robbing, rationing, black-market trading -- lessons for the market economy -- The economic miracle and the fear of immorality -- The re-educators -- The cold war of art and the design of democracy -- Afterword: Happiness

adult

Life in the fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955