Life after Death Approaches to a Cultural and Social History of Europe During the 1940s and 1950s

• Main Authors: Bessel, Richard, Schumann, Dirk
• Format: eBook Book
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, U.K German Historical Institute 05.05.2003; Washington, D.C Cambridge University Press
• Edition: 1
• Series: Publications of the German Historical Institute
• Subjects: 20th century; Europe; Europe > Ethnic relations; Europe > Social conditions > 20th century; Germany (West) > Ethnic relations; Germany > Social conditions > 20th century; History; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945); Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) > Psychological aspects; Reconstruction (1939-1951); Reconstruction (1939-1951) > Europe; Reconstruction (1939-1951) > Germany (West); Social change; Social change > Europe > History > 20th century; Social change > Germany (West) > History > 20th century; Social conflict; Social conflict > Europe > History > 20th century
• ISBN: 0521804132; 9780521009225; 0521009227; 9780521804134
• DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139052344

This collection of essays offers a novel approach to the cultural and social history of Europe after the Second World War. In a shift of perspective, it does not conceive of the impressive economic and political stability of the postwar era as a quasi-natural return to previous patterns of societal development but approaches it as an attempt to establish 'normality' upon the lingering memories of experiencing violence on a hitherto unprecedented scale. It views the relationship of the violence of the 1940s to the apparent 'normality' and stability of the 1950s as a key to understanding the history of post-war Europe. While the history of post-war Germany naturally looms large in this collection, the essays deal with countries across Western and Central Europe, offer comparative perspectives on their subjects, and draw upon a wide range of primary and secondary source material.