Life after Death

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

Dirk Schumann editor Richard Bessel editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:5th May '03

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Life after Death cover

This book offers a novel approach to the cultural and social history of Europe after the Second World War.

This collection of essays 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.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.

"The volume has considerable value in bringing together some of the most innovative social and cultural historians of postwar Europe." Journal of Social History

ISBN: 9780521804134

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 25mm

Weight: 640g

376 pages