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Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 Paperback – Illustrated, September 5, 2006

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,215 ratings

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Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize • Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award • One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

“Impressive . . . Mr. Judt writes with enormous authority.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Magisterial . . . It is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive, authoritative, and yes, readable postwar history.”
—The Boston Globe

Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world's most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through thirty-four nations and sixty years of political and cultural change-all in one integrated, enthralling narrative. Both intellectually ambitious and compelling to read, thrilling in its scope and delightful in its small details, Postwar is a rare joy.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Judt's massive, learned, brilliantly detailed account of Europe's recovery from the wreckage of World War II presents a whole continent in panorama even as it sets off detonations on almost every page.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Remarkable . . . The writing is vivid; the coverage-of little countries as well as of great ones-is virtually superhuman; and above all, the book is smart. Every page contains unexpected data, or a fresh observation, or a familar observation freshly turned.” —
Louis Menand, The New Yorker

“Impressive . . . Mr. Judt writes with enormous authority.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Magisterial . . . It is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive, authoritative, and yes, readable postwar history.” —The Boston Globe

“Brave and remakable.” —The Washington Post

“Brilliant . . . A book that has the pace of a thriller and the scope of an encyclopedia . . . A very considerable achievement.” —The New York Review of Books

“Not likely to be surpassed for many years. . . . This is history writing at its best.” —
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

About the Author

Tony Judt was the Erich Maria Remarque Professor of European Studies at New York University, as well as the founder and director of the Remarque Institute, dedicated to creating an ongoing conversation between Europe and the United States. He was educated at King’s College, Cambridge, and the École Normale Supérieure, Paris, and also taught at Cambridge, Oxford, and Berkeley. Professor Judt was a frequent contributor to The New York Review of BooksThe Times Literary Supplement, The New RepublicThe New York Times, and many journals across Europe and the United States. He is the author or editor of fifteen books, including Thinking the Twentieth CenturyThe Memory ChaletIll Fares the LandReappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century, and Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945, which was one of The New York Times Book Review’s Ten Best Books of 2005, the winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He died in August 2010 at the age of sixty-two.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (September 5, 2006)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 960 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143037757
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143037750
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.15 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1.62 x 6.03 x 9.06 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,215 ratings

About the author

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Tony Judt
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Tony Judt was born in London in 1948. He was educated at King's College, Cambridge and the École Normale Supérieure, Paris, and has taught at Cambridge, Oxford, Berkeley and New York University, where he is currently the Erich Maria Remarque Professor of European Studies and Director of the Remarque Institute, which is dedicated to the study of Europe and which he founded in 1995. The author or editor of twelve books, he is a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, The New Republic, The New York Times and many other journals in Europe and the US. Professor Judt is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a Permanent Fellow of the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (Vienna). He is the author of "Reappraisals: Reflections On The Forgotten Twentieth Century"" and Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945," which was one of the New York Times Book Review's Ten Best Books of 2005, the winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
1,215 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the writing style very well written and superior, tracing themes of the various eras from East and West Europe. They also say the content yields many insights about current situation and trends, and is convincing. Readers describe the history as brilliant, but say the pace is not fast.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

79 customers mention "Content"72 positive7 negative

Customers find the book's content superb, revealing insights into the current situation and trends. They also say it covers an impressive amount of history without getting lost in the details. Readers also appreciate the academic excellence and vivid account of the complex. They say the author has done an incredible job treating state affairs of each European country during the time.

"...relevant to read and own in today's context, as it offered multiple invaluable lessons in how to study, understand, and analyze postwar Europe...." Read more

"...encyclopedic rendering of postwar Europe, along with his pristine historical credentials, is convincing...." Read more

"...questions, and Judt's book provides the reader with an excellent exposition of the political, social and economic circumstances surrounding them." Read more

"Great writing and detailed and interesting history. A good buy. Lots of information." Read more

75 customers mention "Writing style"68 positive7 negative

Customers find the writing style very well written, vivid, and gifted. They also say the book is clear, well organized, and ambitious. Readers mention that the book brings back memories and refreshes some of their life in Belgium.

"...To say this is a generic and easy read would be a massive disservice to the author, because it's written like an academic text, the stuff you'd..." Read more

"...an epilogue, and most importantly 831 pages, there are many themes to explore...." Read more

"...Having lived the first 18 years of my life in Belgium, this book brought back memories, refreshed some of the stories my father had told me in the..." Read more

"Great writing and detailed and interesting history. A good buy. Lots of information." Read more

9 customers mention "History"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book brilliant and great coverage on French intellectuals.

"...There's great coverage on french intellectuals (one of Judt's areas of expertise) and a lot of movies references across the book...." Read more

"...A brilliant work of European History since 1945. It should be mandatory reading for all members or candidates for the U.S. Congress...." Read more

"This is a good study book for History and it will help in your study of Europe." Read more

"...It should be required in schools. Extensive history of after war Europe. I enjoyed reading it." Read more

7 customers mention "Pace"0 positive7 negative

Customers find the pace of the book tedious and slow. They say it takes 4 months to finish.

"...Despite devoting one and a half hours everyday, it still took me 4 months to finish it..." Read more

"This is a work of academic excellence. At times the reading is slow and heavy. At times it reminds me of a college textbook...." Read more

"...A lot of information and takes a while to work through. You may want to take this one in stages and break every hundred pages or so...." Read more

"...This is not a fast read. It stimulates so many refletions." Read more

Tony Judt's timeless contribution to the understanding and analysis of postwar European history.
5 out of 5 stars
Tony Judt's timeless contribution to the understanding and analysis of postwar European history.
Magnificent one-volume work on the history of postwar Europe, as starters.To say this is a generic and easy read would be a massive disservice to the author, because it's written like an academic text, the stuff you'd expect to find in college textbooks. The sheer volume of information laid out in Postwar are simply amazing, and at times overwhelming and confusing to understand - much more comprehend. This is not something you can simply finish within a week, or even a month. To the faint of heart this is a scary and intimidating book… but this is what gives it so much power and authority, actually.The truth is, Tony Judt made a compelling case on the need for Europe to reexamine and reevaluate her own past, especially in her complicity in the Holocaust, and in the bloody Yugoslavian civil war of the 1990s. Both her highs - from the economic miracles of the 1950s, to the political dynamics behind the creation of the EU; to her lows - the indifference in the Yugoslavian crisis, her (in this case Western Europe) stalling of the applications of the Eastern European states, were all exposed and laid bare. Even the messy aftermath and the end of the colonial eras (UK, France, Belgium, the Netherland to name a few), and the actual reasons behind the formation of the EU (a mostly French political project to restrain Germany) were discussed in-depth, and in detail. If one were to look for an authoritative reference on postwar European history, this would be my recommendation.The author even dedicated a few chapters into the European culture, especially of the 1960s-1970s where the generations became more "liberal" in the sense that secularism and feminism began making waves in the various European states. Judt also adeptly discussed the culture surrounding the European sentiments into the Holocaust (the book's Epilogue) - which I found both surprising and noteworthy. Surprising since I did not expect an entire chapter to be discussed on the culture and the implications of the Holocaust (the Shoah), but noteworthy because how he connected it to the issue of Europe's identity, that Europe needs to confront its own past for it to understand and chart her future - as he said it: "...the recovered memory of Europe's dead Jews has become the very definition and guarantee of the continent's restored humanity." (p.804)More than that, Judt did a good job on explaining various key events in the continent's postwar history, notably the immediate postwar reconstruction, the Nuremberg trials and subsequent de-Nazification, the creation of NATO...the birth of (the future) European Union, the beginnings of the Cold War, even the fall of Communism and the bloody Yugoslavian civil war. Almost every important event in postwar Europe (of course, up until the early 2000s only), was covered in detail (at times even a bit of overload). Even the culture and the arts (from movies up to the music movements) were also discussed.However, noteworthy and comprehensive as the book was, there were a few shortcomings by the author - of which I do not find him at fault. Some notable absences (or glossed over in minor details) were the bloody Greek civil war (the focus was on the Greek economic reconstruction and subsequent slide to dictatorship), the obscure Cod Wars between Iceland and the UK (of which Iceland somehow won the conflict), the policy of Finlandization (the political balancing act of postwar Finland to maintain her independence), the 1983 NATO Able Archer joint military exercise (that almost brought the world to the brink of nuclear war again since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis), the 1994 Budapest Memorandum (in which Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan [not a European country] relinquished their nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from the West), and the 1999 bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade (in the height of the Kosovo War)...to name a few. I am sure there are more important events that were not mentioned by the author, these are the only notable ones I can remember. Another (though at the time minor given the year of its publication) noteworthy mistake was the Russification of Ukrainian identity, notably in the maps provided (Kyiv is spelled as Kiev, Kharkiv as Kharkov)… Again I do not blame the author for this, as it was still interchangeable (plus nobody expected that the region would descend into war...until 2014 and 2022 happened). Nevertheless, these should not take away the book's magnificent discussion and presentation of postwar European history. At least the review's fairly balanced - as it also had its own shortcomings.Overall, this is an astounding and magnificent piece of literature - a must-read and must-own for every history enthusiast out there. Despite being published in 2005, it is highly relevant to read and own in today's context, as it offered multiple invaluable lessons in how to study, understand, and analyze postwar Europe. While so much has happened since then, it's still worth reading. I'd say Ian Kershaw's The Global Age: Europe 1950-2017 (the 9th installment of The Penguin History of Europe series) is the 'lighter' and more updated version of Judt's book (as the content was similar in so many chapters, yet the coverage is until 2017 - which means the 2008 Global Recession, the EU crisis, and Brexit were all mentioned) - though Kershaw's version is as bit of a heavy and comprehensive reading as Judt's (I'd suggest you need to own both books to fully appreciate European history).I said to myself that the book would take me months to finish and absorb - and it's true. Despite devoting one and a half hours everyday, it still took me 4 months to finish it (as evidenced by the sheer number of self-adhesive notes I placed next to key information and statistics throughout the book). Though it's well worth the time, and the journey. Highly recommend, and I'd like to end this by offering my everlasting gratitude and thanks to my dear officemate who recommended the book to me - without her, I'd never discover and appreciate this literary and historical masterpiece! To her, thank you for opening my horizons and knowledge on this topic - I simply could not find words that could express how much I am grateful for you. I hope this simple message will be more than enough for you!Again, highly recommend - but be warned: it's not for the faint-of-heart, or for the causal reader. If you're considering buying this - better be prepared to invest your time into it, but well-worth it at the end.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2023
Magnificent one-volume work on the history of postwar Europe, as starters.

To say this is a generic and easy read would be a massive disservice to the author, because it's written like an academic text, the stuff you'd expect to find in college textbooks. The sheer volume of information laid out in Postwar are simply amazing, and at times overwhelming and confusing to understand - much more comprehend. This is not something you can simply finish within a week, or even a month. To the faint of heart this is a scary and intimidating book… but this is what gives it so much power and authority, actually.

The truth is, Tony Judt made a compelling case on the need for Europe to reexamine and reevaluate her own past, especially in her complicity in the Holocaust, and in the bloody Yugoslavian civil war of the 1990s. Both her highs - from the economic miracles of the 1950s, to the political dynamics behind the creation of the EU; to her lows - the indifference in the Yugoslavian crisis, her (in this case Western Europe) stalling of the applications of the Eastern European states, were all exposed and laid bare. Even the messy aftermath and the end of the colonial eras (UK, France, Belgium, the Netherland to name a few), and the actual reasons behind the formation of the EU (a mostly French political project to restrain Germany) were discussed in-depth, and in detail. If one were to look for an authoritative reference on postwar European history, this would be my recommendation.

The author even dedicated a few chapters into the European culture, especially of the 1960s-1970s where the generations became more "liberal" in the sense that secularism and feminism began making waves in the various European states. Judt also adeptly discussed the culture surrounding the European sentiments into the Holocaust (the book's Epilogue) - which I found both surprising and noteworthy. Surprising since I did not expect an entire chapter to be discussed on the culture and the implications of the Holocaust (the Shoah), but noteworthy because how he connected it to the issue of Europe's identity, that Europe needs to confront its own past for it to understand and chart her future - as he said it: "...the recovered memory of Europe's dead Jews has become the very definition and guarantee of the continent's restored humanity." (p.804)

More than that, Judt did a good job on explaining various key events in the continent's postwar history, notably the immediate postwar reconstruction, the Nuremberg trials and subsequent de-Nazification, the creation of NATO...the birth of (the future) European Union, the beginnings of the Cold War, even the fall of Communism and the bloody Yugoslavian civil war. Almost every important event in postwar Europe (of course, up until the early 2000s only), was covered in detail (at times even a bit of overload). Even the culture and the arts (from movies up to the music movements) were also discussed.

However, noteworthy and comprehensive as the book was, there were a few shortcomings by the author - of which I do not find him at fault. Some notable absences (or glossed over in minor details) were the bloody Greek civil war (the focus was on the Greek economic reconstruction and subsequent slide to dictatorship), the obscure Cod Wars between Iceland and the UK (of which Iceland somehow won the conflict), the policy of Finlandization (the political balancing act of postwar Finland to maintain her independence), the 1983 NATO Able Archer joint military exercise (that almost brought the world to the brink of nuclear war again since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis), the 1994 Budapest Memorandum (in which Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan [not a European country] relinquished their nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from the West), and the 1999 bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade (in the height of the Kosovo War)...to name a few. I am sure there are more important events that were not mentioned by the author, these are the only notable ones I can remember. Another (though at the time minor given the year of its publication) noteworthy mistake was the Russification of Ukrainian identity, notably in the maps provided (Kyiv is spelled as Kiev, Kharkiv as Kharkov)… Again I do not blame the author for this, as it was still interchangeable (plus nobody expected that the region would descend into war...until 2014 and 2022 happened). Nevertheless, these should not take away the book's magnificent discussion and presentation of postwar European history. At least the review's fairly balanced - as it also had its own shortcomings.

Overall, this is an astounding and magnificent piece of literature - a must-read and must-own for every history enthusiast out there. Despite being published in 2005, it is highly relevant to read and own in today's context, as it offered multiple invaluable lessons in how to study, understand, and analyze postwar Europe. While so much has happened since then, it's still worth reading. I'd say Ian Kershaw's The Global Age: Europe 1950-2017 (the 9th installment of The Penguin History of Europe series) is the 'lighter' and more updated version of Judt's book (as the content was similar in so many chapters, yet the coverage is until 2017 - which means the 2008 Global Recession, the EU crisis, and Brexit were all mentioned) - though Kershaw's version is as bit of a heavy and comprehensive reading as Judt's (I'd suggest you need to own both books to fully appreciate European history).

I said to myself that the book would take me months to finish and absorb - and it's true. Despite devoting one and a half hours everyday, it still took me 4 months to finish it (as evidenced by the sheer number of self-adhesive notes I placed next to key information and statistics throughout the book). Though it's well worth the time, and the journey. Highly recommend, and I'd like to end this by offering my everlasting gratitude and thanks to my dear officemate who recommended the book to me - without her, I'd never discover and appreciate this literary and historical masterpiece! To her, thank you for opening my horizons and knowledge on this topic - I simply could not find words that could express how much I am grateful for you. I hope this simple message will be more than enough for you!

Again, highly recommend - but be warned: it's not for the faint-of-heart, or for the causal reader. If you're considering buying this - better be prepared to invest your time into it, but well-worth it at the end.
Customer image
5.0 out of 5 stars Tony Judt's timeless contribution to the understanding and analysis of postwar European history.
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2023
Magnificent one-volume work on the history of postwar Europe, as starters.

To say this is a generic and easy read would be a massive disservice to the author, because it's written like an academic text, the stuff you'd expect to find in college textbooks. The sheer volume of information laid out in Postwar are simply amazing, and at times overwhelming and confusing to understand - much more comprehend. This is not something you can simply finish within a week, or even a month. To the faint of heart this is a scary and intimidating book… but this is what gives it so much power and authority, actually.

The truth is, Tony Judt made a compelling case on the need for Europe to reexamine and reevaluate her own past, especially in her complicity in the Holocaust, and in the bloody Yugoslavian civil war of the 1990s. Both her highs - from the economic miracles of the 1950s, to the political dynamics behind the creation of the EU; to her lows - the indifference in the Yugoslavian crisis, her (in this case Western Europe) stalling of the applications of the Eastern European states, were all exposed and laid bare. Even the messy aftermath and the end of the colonial eras (UK, France, Belgium, the Netherland to name a few), and the actual reasons behind the formation of the EU (a mostly French political project to restrain Germany) were discussed in-depth, and in detail. If one were to look for an authoritative reference on postwar European history, this would be my recommendation.

The author even dedicated a few chapters into the European culture, especially of the 1960s-1970s where the generations became more "liberal" in the sense that secularism and feminism began making waves in the various European states. Judt also adeptly discussed the culture surrounding the European sentiments into the Holocaust (the book's Epilogue) - which I found both surprising and noteworthy. Surprising since I did not expect an entire chapter to be discussed on the culture and the implications of the Holocaust (the Shoah), but noteworthy because how he connected it to the issue of Europe's identity, that Europe needs to confront its own past for it to understand and chart her future - as he said it: "...the recovered memory of Europe's dead Jews has become the very definition and guarantee of the continent's restored humanity." (p.804)

More than that, Judt did a good job on explaining various key events in the continent's postwar history, notably the immediate postwar reconstruction, the Nuremberg trials and subsequent de-Nazification, the creation of NATO...the birth of (the future) European Union, the beginnings of the Cold War, even the fall of Communism and the bloody Yugoslavian civil war. Almost every important event in postwar Europe (of course, up until the early 2000s only), was covered in detail (at times even a bit of overload). Even the culture and the arts (from movies up to the music movements) were also discussed.

However, noteworthy and comprehensive as the book was, there were a few shortcomings by the author - of which I do not find him at fault. Some notable absences (or glossed over in minor details) were the bloody Greek civil war (the focus was on the Greek economic reconstruction and subsequent slide to dictatorship), the obscure Cod Wars between Iceland and the UK (of which Iceland somehow won the conflict), the policy of Finlandization (the political balancing act of postwar Finland to maintain her independence), the 1983 NATO Able Archer joint military exercise (that almost brought the world to the brink of nuclear war again since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis), the 1994 Budapest Memorandum (in which Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan [not a European country] relinquished their nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from the West), and the 1999 bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade (in the height of the Kosovo War)...to name a few. I am sure there are more important events that were not mentioned by the author, these are the only notable ones I can remember. Another (though at the time minor given the year of its publication) noteworthy mistake was the Russification of Ukrainian identity, notably in the maps provided (Kyiv is spelled as Kiev, Kharkiv as Kharkov)… Again I do not blame the author for this, as it was still interchangeable (plus nobody expected that the region would descend into war...until 2014 and 2022 happened). Nevertheless, these should not take away the book's magnificent discussion and presentation of postwar European history. At least the review's fairly balanced - as it also had its own shortcomings.

Overall, this is an astounding and magnificent piece of literature - a must-read and must-own for every history enthusiast out there. Despite being published in 2005, it is highly relevant to read and own in today's context, as it offered multiple invaluable lessons in how to study, understand, and analyze postwar Europe. While so much has happened since then, it's still worth reading. I'd say Ian Kershaw's The Global Age: Europe 1950-2017 (the 9th installment of The Penguin History of Europe series) is the 'lighter' and more updated version of Judt's book (as the content was similar in so many chapters, yet the coverage is until 2017 - which means the 2008 Global Recession, the EU crisis, and Brexit were all mentioned) - though Kershaw's version is as bit of a heavy and comprehensive reading as Judt's (I'd suggest you need to own both books to fully appreciate European history).

I said to myself that the book would take me months to finish and absorb - and it's true. Despite devoting one and a half hours everyday, it still took me 4 months to finish it (as evidenced by the sheer number of self-adhesive notes I placed next to key information and statistics throughout the book). Though it's well worth the time, and the journey. Highly recommend, and I'd like to end this by offering my everlasting gratitude and thanks to my dear officemate who recommended the book to me - without her, I'd never discover and appreciate this literary and historical masterpiece! To her, thank you for opening my horizons and knowledge on this topic - I simply could not find words that could express how much I am grateful for you. I hope this simple message will be more than enough for you!

Again, highly recommend - but be warned: it's not for the faint-of-heart, or for the causal reader. If you're considering buying this - better be prepared to invest your time into it, but well-worth it at the end.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2012
"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" The twentieth century as I thought I knew it ended in 1989 after President Reagan proclaimed an end to the Cold War, an order which ultimately marked the unraveling and eventual downfall of Communism across Eastern Europe.

Many Americans remember where they were on 9/11. I was nineteen lounging in front of my parents' living room television when I witnessed east and West German youths using chisels and sledge hammers to gouge the iron flesh of the "Wall of Shame," a physical barrier that had separated them for thirty years. It was a monumental occasion but also surprising, considering that my generation had grown up accepting the unending conflict between Democracy and Communism, the "good guys" verses the "evil empire." How was one to explain such a transformative event?

To answer this question, I turned to Professor Judt's Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945. It was on page 659 that I found an answer to my question: "Washington did not `bring down' Communism--Communism imploded of its own accord." The history that I had received in school had not meshed with what I had just read. Was it not American muscle that had brought the Soviets to their proverbial knees? My questioning of everything I had known about the twentieth century but especially Europe became a standard fixture as I worked my way through this text.

Standing at a prodigious four sections, 24 chapters, an epilogue, and most importantly 831 pages, there are many themes to explore. So many, in fact, that I would need a different writing venue in order to examine them properly. One of the most important themes, however, is the one that I discovered after finding an answer to my question about the fall of Communism: the ease of collective forgetting and the obtuseness of remembering. Europeans, according to Judt, have belatedly endorsed official history following World War II as having been well intentioned and readily available to the public, but ultimately it was more fiction than fact. Through this declaration, Judt does not suggest that his interpretation is the definitive retrospective; in fact, he contends that future scholarship will likely prove some of his details inaccurate.

However, the evidence he provides, combined with an encyclopedic rendering of postwar Europe, along with his pristine historical credentials, is convincing. His attacks are controversial bordering on scathing, but Judt is a fair arbiter when dishing out blame. For example, in chapter three he likely enraged the left when he praised the United States for saving much of impoverished Europe through the Marshall Plan. By the same token, conservatives may flummox to hear that Marshall dollars found their way to communist countries, notably to Tito's Yugoslavia.

In many chapters, Judt also painstakingly shreds any romantic notions of Communism felt by Communists living in the West, especially France. By the time I finished reading how the Soviet politburo used Eastern European Communist parties to infiltrate, intimidate, torture, and murder as a means of effectively colonizing the eastern bloc, I became nauseous; sickness pulsed through my body when I read that west Europeans--especially Germans--readily accepted Stalin's iron walls because they were happily preoccupied chasing wealth.

What we thought we knew about twentieth century political icons also falls under Judt's microscope. For example, there is Judt's analysis of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who, while certainly making Britain's economy more efficient and productive, was responsible for doing "serious harm to the fabric of British public life." Though Socialist, Francois Mitterrand followed Thatcher's lead in privatizing services and turning rapidly towards free market capitalism via the European Union. Even Greece joined the bandwagon when implementing austerity measures to reform its budget woes, only to be undercut by Germany which refused to abide by the E.U. economic charter right afer reunification. What appears did not really appear, and what was never said actually happened were the two thoughts that ruminated throughout my brain.

Finally, in his epilogue, there is the heart wrenching unpacking of Europe's malfeasant treatment of Jews who somehow survived concentration camps, only to face a country whose citizens refused to acknowledge what had happened and who would foster the heroic myth that they had resisted when in fact they were willing accomplices without German provocation. If one reads Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands, this feat of Jewish survival is astounding considering that 90 percent of the Jews killed in the Holocaust were not even sent to a camp: they were simply shot or gassed.

Remembering what is wrong, forgetting what is correct, and refusing to entertain either. This is what Judt's Postwar contributes most not only to an understanding of postwar Europe but to the twentieth century in general. The twentieth century indeed was a time of immeasurable economic prosperity, but it also was a temporary elixir for the brutal and discomforting memories of the past. As Judt suggests, in the last few decades, Europeans have openly accepted their crimes of the past as an admission ticket to the E.U. That may serve many of my generation well, but it can never replace history itself. Just ask the frustrated younger generation searching for gainful employment. If the next generation is to find its way, it must be equipped with an unvarnished past, an idea which is readily promoted in this text.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2024
With a book this size it help to be able to switch between reading and listening. Having lived the first 18 years of my life in Belgium, this book brought back memories, refreshed some of the stories my father had told me in the last years of his life. Up to then he never mentioned the war years. It also showed me that as a young adult how little I was aware of what was going on in the world. If you're interested in facts I can highly recommend this book.
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S. Silvestre
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book about post WWII Europe history
Reviewed in the Netherlands on January 30, 2024
This book gives you an in deepth understanding of the dramatic transformation of Europe after the WWII, at the country by country level and all the implications of this transformation, detailed explanation of the plan Marshall, the creation of the UN, European Union and many other organisms, and it covers a number of variables political, cultural, economic situation at the time, etc, etc.

The book covers from 1945 to the late 80s, including cold war.

Anybody interested in understanding the dynamics of Europe should read this book.
Eva Nowotny
5.0 out of 5 stars Buchbestellung
Reviewed in Germany on October 15, 2022
Das Buch war in Ordnung und entsprach meinen Erwartungen. Schwierig war die Zustellung durch DPD - ich musste eine Suchaktion nach meinem Paket starten.
Cliente do Kindle
5.0 out of 5 stars Para entender a evolução sócio Cultural da Europa do Pós Guerra
Reviewed in Brazil on August 5, 2019
Excelente texto, muito detalhado, permite ver a história de uma forma diferente da vista nos livros escolares.
Um dos livros mais importantes para o entendimento dos movimentos sociais e políticos da Europa do pós guerra.
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Boba
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting reading
Reviewed in Canada on December 3, 2018
As much thought, effort, knowledge, research, etc. was invested in the subject of East Europe, that much and less was NOT invested in the subject of Yugoslavia. It is disappointing how badly was case of Yugoslavia presented. As it was written by an amateur writer.
In the chapters and paragraphs that are explaining Yugoslavia, there was not even an attempt to investigate, explore, analyze and synthesize the data, facts and resource texts, the way it was done for the rest of the East.
For example, it is stated that Yugoslavia's republic of Slovenia with 7% of population was contributing with about 25% of Yugoslavia's exports.
There is no attempt to investigate and explain, how or why was that? The way it is put in the book, it suggests that Slovenians are, taller, prettier, handsomer, smarter, cleverer ( at the end, this may be so... cynically I add), than the rest of Yugoslavs.
There is no attempt even to try to state the fact that Yugoslav economy was also the case of planned economy. The same as in the East bloc. Like in the case of East Germany, which was delegated to make computers for eastern bloc, or Czechoslovakia that was making steel.
Yugoslavia was, if you look it from that perspective, small East Bloc for itself.
It also does not mention anything about favorite East Bloc economy planning tool, Five Year Plan and planed transfer of industries. In case of Yugoslavia,there was a transfer of industrial companies, machines, people, knowledge and everything else associated, before 1948. from Vojvodina (north of Serbia) to Slovenia and Albania. Also It does not say that many Slovenians were exiled by Nazis to Serbia, and that they survived the war because of the help of Serbians.
What I want to say is that, there was no effort by the author to explain that it was not only the enterprise spirit that made Slovenia exporter. It was delegated to them too, by politburo of SKJ. In Yugoslavia, factories, companies, mines, etc. were established per order of The Party, not only by economic wisdom, or common sense.
Also, statements about Serbia are very much as if the author gave this chapter to one of his students to write, and he or she just copied Madeleine Albright (who also survived the war because of the help of Serbians), or William G. Walker opinions and statements.
I have to add that, the introductory statement that Yugoslavia didn't die, but was killed, is really good summary of what was going on over there.
For the rest of the book, I think that is really very well written. As far as I know. Great book by the author... as always...
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Debjit Sengupta
5.0 out of 5 stars Wealth of information beautifully packaged
Reviewed in India on November 28, 2017
When you think of Europe, nature’s paradise , picturesque sights, romantic evenings, vibrant people, effervescent life and soccer league immediately comes into mind. Apart from these, there are products whose quality itself makes you identify it with an European nation. Perfection is the tag that goes with Swiss watches, German cars, Italian designer clothes, Belgian chocolates , French kitchenware and Danish furniture. There are more positive aspects that have been missed out but there is no point in discussing it here because the book is about something else. Behind the facade of aforementioned goodness and virtues, there is buried a very diabolic and virulent past, which is etched in surviving generation who have gone through the nightmares. For others, unfortunate past will be kept alive in the form of books, media and memoirs. The protracted World War-II which began with Hitler’s invasion of Poland in Sep’1939 and ended with it’s unconditional surrender in May’1945, was a total war which involved both military and civilians,and resulted in utter misery and desolation. Post World war offered a ray of hope but it was too feeble under prevailing circumstances. It presented conundrum issues in multitude.

There may be only few cities or towns which were not sucked into the war. The human losses was uncountable and even if the number of casualties are recorded, it’s questionable. The scale of destruction, once threatened to lead the world to apocalypse. People vanished in large numbers. This includes extermination in death camps or killing field, diseases, starvation , shooting and burning. The war was not restricted to battles and movement but people had to endure horrific times where everybody have lost something and many lost everything. It was an anarchic situation where political parties were banned and elections rigged. People were hounded by the series of events and horrified by contemplating unforeseeable future. The race which suffered inexplicable ordeals and pain were Jews. The history has been unkind to them. Not only German driven Holocaust, but Polish, Swish , French and Dutch contributed no less to their suffering. They were identified, arrested , deported and subjected to death. The war if persisted for few more years would have completely obliterated Jews from this world. Post war , the myriad number of displaced and battered civilians presented a complicated problem to Europe and that was hitherto refugee crisis. The problem was that of feeding , housing , clothing and caring people in still not unified Europe. The economy of most nation was in doldrums but the situation has called for public investment . The moot question before government was where to channelize the investments when the resource was scarce.

The war was a blizzard and once it passed through, it hardly provided the required relief to European colonial powers. The war left nations like Britain and France in economic shambles. To add to their woes, there were increasing demand from Asian and African colonies which compelled this powers to relinquish their traditional claims. During the war , Britain had lost some territories to Japan. Their surrender to Japanese forces in Singapore was a humiliation from which Britain could never recover. France too suffered humiliating defeats in Indo-China, which along with Syria, Lebanon and North African nations like Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia were its key colonies. The colonial power were following the lower trajectory and were in steady decline . Moreover, military defeats , domestic instability and economic deterioration compounded their problem. So it did not make much sense to hold on to colonies and soon these nations began to retreat from their colonies. It was an economically, politically and militarily predicament for these powers. For few centuries, they have kept the colonial subjects under servitude. Now the myth of European might and invincibility was broken.

Post World War-II, there was a shift in power equation. Traditional power like Germany was defeated while France and England, albeit victorious were completely drained out . Two new superpowers emerged - USA and Soviet Union. Then entire Europe was polarized. The Western Europe was under the influence of USA while Eastern Europe became satellite states of Soviet Union and headed by Communist government. There was a distrust and there was a geopolitical tension between Western and Eastern blocs, which came to be known as Cold War. This continued for more than four decades. Due to the intensifying Cold War, there was no peace treaty. The Europeans lived under the shadow of World War and there was always a scary anticipation of a third . What troubled American blocs were the possibility of German revival again and expansion of Soviet Union. These were the rationales that gave birth to NATO , which was inter-government military alliances between USA and most of the Western European nations, with the key objective was to strengthen western allies against possible attack of Soviet Union on Western Europe. On similar lines, Eastern European formed a similar alliance known as Warsaw Pact. Both USA and Soviet Union started flexing muscles on their sphere of influence. After Suez Canal was nationalized by Egypt, France and Britain had secretly planned to attack Egypt but the plan was shot down by the USA. The objective of Sovietization of Eastern Europe was to draw it steadily away from Western Europe. They were in a position to eliminate anyone, it wished in the Soviet blocs through staged administrative procedures and false testimonies and confessions. Their military tanks also entered Hungary and erst while Czechoslovakia, when they felt Communism was threatened . These Soviet satellite states exercised authority at home and at the same time maintained modus vivendi with the Soviet Union. The single parties and its rulers in their respective boundaries were suffering from megalomania. Staying in power was such an obsession.

The immediate aftermath of the World War-II left most cities shattered and the male workforce out of the scene. It was a revival time to atone what have been lost after staggering times. During the first five years , nations began to put their economies on the track. Then begin an era of exultant and prosperity, an unprecedented one in the next two decade in Western Europe. Germany, whose infrastructure like roads, railways, shipyards, factories and mines had survived the war, were in the forefront surprisingly. The Nazis in the 30’s had invested in communications, vehicle manufacturing, optics, light engineering industries. The objective was war but it began to pay divided post World War economic revival. Companies like Mercedes Benz and BMW went on to established reputation for engineering quality and manufacturing reliability. After three decades of economies, growth in Western Europe followed inflation and declining growth rates, resulting in unemployment and social discontentment. Post Yom Kippur War in 1973, where Syria and Egypt attacked Israel, Arab nation doubled the price of oil in frustration with Western support for Israel, leading to rising oil import bills. This coupled with inflation and declining exports led to budget deficit and payment crisis. There was recession in every traditional industries like coal, iron and steel. From 1980 onwards, economy was again on track. First, governments accelerated development in technology and financial market . Secondly , they offloaded non performing public assets and the money helped them to balance the budget, albeit in short term. On the other side, communist economies were in doldrums and in a wobblier state from the beginning. They barely managed to provide citizen with sufficient food. Mass productions of redundant industrial goods were produced. On the contrary, there were demand for consumer goods but supply was never sufficient and was of mediocre quality. Distribution and sale of goods was badly managed . There was skimming and rampant corruption , which lead to artificial induced scarcity.

Amidst the progress, there was also a discontentment in certain section and region, regarding unfulfilled expectations and loss of pride. This gave way to spurt of terrorism across the prosperous region of Western Europe. There have been frustrated call for Basque independence, comprising of regions of France and Spain. This lead to armed struggle with the authority. When Ireland was finally relinquished, The United Kingdom still retained Northern Ireland, which they felt had a sizeable Protestant majority. However , this abandonment was an humiliation to certain section of mainland Irish population , who under the flagship of IRA demanded unification , if possible by force. Another group that emerged was from West Germany by the name of Baader Meinhof. They indulged in bombing, shooting, assassination, kidnapping, taking hostages and robberies. They assassinated soldiers, policemen, politicians and some person holding key positions. German partner in World War - Italy was bedevilled by Left terrorists. They were into murders, mutilations, assault, kidnapping. Their victims include politicians , policemen and magistrates, prosecutors and judges. Some of these organizations had also collusion with West Asian counterpart.

The Soviet Union which played a key role in defeat of Hitler, occupied half of Europe. In military weapons, it matched west for four decades. More than 30% of its resources were diverted towards military funding. Later the burden was too much. The Soviet Union and communism was beginning to crumble. Communism depends on control of economy, knowledge, opinion, people and their movement. Soviet Union also exercised control over its satellite states. There were demonstrations in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968 but was crushed by Soviet tanks.
This invasion left a very bad taste but the message was conveyed that East Europe was deviating from ideological politics. During later years, communism was no longer an obstacle but ironically it was becoming irrelevant. After liberal minded Micheal Gorbachev became head of Soviet Union, he preached freedom of choice and reforms from within. Not only control on citizen was relaxed but also satellite states. In 1989, there was storm of revolutions, which began in Poland and soon extended to Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and East German. One common feature was the irrepressible campaign and demonstrations in opposition to single party rule and change.
The upshot was the fall of Communism from Central and Eastern Europe. There was solemn abjuration of Communism.Four established nations disappeared from world map. Fourteen new countries were born. East Germany was unified with West Germany. Czechoslovakia became two separate nations - Czech Republic and Slovakia. USSR and Yugoslavia disappeared in the course of 90’s and what remained was splintering of new nations. Balkan region was a dormant region ready to erupt at any time. The region was plagued by xenophobia. Then chain of events led to full fledged ethnic war , resulting in disintegration of pluralistic Yugoslavia and creation of five new nations as an aftermath. Soviet Union case was a remarkable one where there was no war, no catastrophe and no bloody revolution. It’s institution and authority lost relevance and soon evaporated. The breakup resulted in formation of eleven new nations in 1991.

In the last decade of 20th century, there was a greater emphasis on European Unity. European union was formed , which is a unified trade and monetary body of member countries. It eliminates border control between members, which allow flow of goods and people . Anything manufactured in one country can be sold to other member country and that too without any additional tariffs or duties. Taxes were standardized and a common currency Euro was introduced. Now it had become a possibility for families to work in one nation and stay in another.

The world order had changed from what it was immediately after World War-II. There have been lot of positive developments but still atmosphere of distrust, resentment and lack of confidence stays on . The relation between US and Europe is on frosty ground. The rift widened after US generals were reluctant to share decision making with European counterpart during Balkan war. NATO future goal is obscure and after end of Cold War, it has lost its relevance. European Union is now powerful enough to put pressure on US Congress and on individual American manufacturers to conform to its norms and regulations or else risk being squeezed out of their market. The future of the relationship looks unpropitious.Though ex-Communist countries were inducted into European Union, still investors are wary of risking their capitals there. Chronic absence of legal protection is an issue. Even German investors are not investing on the eastern side as they can find better quality and low wage worker in Poland and Slovakia. In the last month, Catalonia in Spain was in news as their parliament voted to declare independence. The Catalonia parliament was dissolved by Spanish head of State. Catalonia is virtually a state within a state with its own language, institutions and governing councils.

The book was shortlisted for Pulitzer Prize. The subject is extensive and comprehensive. Every key event and occasions have been covered. The review has been written based on the contents that could be retained in memory after completion of the book. The author deserves loads of appreciation for presenting such a vast subject and wealth of information in a simple and lucid manner. The presentation of the subject matters has been done with such finesse that this 960 page book managed to hold on to my attention till the last page. It’s must have been an arduous task on the part of author to do an research on the subject . He has been scrupulous with his observation. The book subject matter is simply outside the ambit of the review. It cannot do justice to the book. If you are a history buff, this cannot be missed. It has to be in your collection. The book is worth every penny and time spent on it. This is highly recommended.
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