Description

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.

Publisher Review

Immensely readable … Cowling expertly navigates his narrative through a post-war Europe of conflicting ideas, difficult decisions, brilliant minds and flawed people — Katja Hoyer * Daily Telegraph * Candid and illuminating — Richard Overy * Literary Review * Very readable … The real strength of the book is in the tiny details that Cowling’s painstaking research uncovers — Glenda Cooper * Mail on Sunday * A gripping account of the post-war period detailing life in the British Zone. The Allies may have won the war but with Germany in ruins and millions homeless, hopeless and starving, would they win the peace? * Julia Boyd, author of A Village in the Third Reich * An endlessly wonderful evocation of the post-War years when we tried, despite the chaos of the times, understandably bitter feelings, and ruinous expense, to create a new, democratic Germany, even as our Empire crumbled around us. It may not have been our finest hour – yet, to the infinite benefit of Europe, we really did win the peace. A clear, grand idea mixed with unforgettable new details make this unputdownable. * James Hawes, author of The Shortest History of Germany * An excellent, vivid, readable social history of the British and their Zone in Post-War Germany. * Giles MacDonogh * The British occupation of Germany after 1945 was sometimes shameful, sometimes heroic, but often just chaotic. Cowling’s brilliantly researched book reveals it all, and must surely become the standard work on the subject. * Keith Lowe * Meticulously researched and skilfully written, Daniel Cowling’s narrative evokes a shattered post-war world in which British men and women were given the herculean task of rebuilding a democratic Germany. As they sought to round-up ex-Nazis, racketeers and corrupt officials, some found themselves drawn to an underworld rife with crime, drunkenness and sex. A ground-breaking account of a little-known period. * Giles Milton, author of Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare *