Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955

How does a nation recover from fascism and turn toward a free society once more? This internationally acclaimed revelatory history--"filled with first-person accounts from articles and diaries" (The New York Times)--of the transformational decade that followed World War II illustrates how Germany raised itself out of the ashes of defeat and reckoned with the corruption of its soul and the horrors of the Holocaust. Featuring over 40 eye-opening black-and-white photographs and posters from the period. &nbsp; 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--with bodies yet to be found beneath the towering rubble. &nbsp; Aftermath received wide acclaim and spent forty-eight weeks on the best-seller list in Germany when it was published there in 2019. It is the first history of Germany's national mentality in the immediate postwar years. Using major global political developments as a backdrop, Harald 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 by Jähner as a period that proved decisive for Germany's future--and one starkly different from how most of us imagine it today.

History

Jähner, Harald

Europe

Vintage

Product Description 
How does a nation recover from fascism and turn toward a free society once more? This internationally acclaimed revelatory history of the transformational decade that followed World War II illustrates how Germany raised itself out of the ashes of defeat and reckoned with the corruption of its soul and the horrors of the Holocaust—and features over 40 eye-opening black-and-white photographs and posters from the period.\nThe 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—with bodies yet to be found beneath the towering rubble.\nAftermath received wide acclaim and spent forty-eight weeks on the best-seller list in Germany when it was published there in 2019. 
 It is the first history of Germany's national mentality in the immediate postwar years. Using major global political developments as a backdrop, Harald 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 by Jähner as a period that proved decisive for Germany's future—and one starkly different from how most of us imagine it today. 
 Review 
“In unsparing prose, cultural journalist Jähner sets the record straight, detailing how the war's aftereffects profoundly changed the lives of those who survived Europe's devastation. . . . Revealing photographs further amplify these complex realities.” — 
Booklist\n“Germans rebounded from shattering defeat with hard work, a pragmatic embrace of the new, and a willful forgetting of trauma and guilt, according to this penetrating history of the early postwar period. . . . Elegantly written and translated, Jähner’s analysis deploys emotionally resonant detail . . . to vividly recreate a vibrant, if morally haunted, historical watershed. This eye-opening study enthralls.” — 
Publishers Weekly\n“In his engrossing first book, Jähner, the former editor of the 
Berlin Times, examines how and why Germany was capable of radically transforming from a sinister fascist mindset toward a modern democratic state. The author presents an expansive yet sharply probing overview of the period, reaching across political, social, and geographical spheres to draw a lucid portrait of a country reeling from the stark consequences of being on the losing side of a horrendous war. . . . An immediate and long-lasting bestseller when it was published in Germany in 2019 and the winner of the Leipzig Book Fair Prize, Jähner’s shrewdly balanced look at postwar Germany is sure to spark the interest of readers across the world. An absorbing and well-documented history of postwar Germany.” 
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)\n“Magisterial, fascinating, humane—a brilliant book of the greatest importance and achievement.” —Philippe Sands, author of 
East West Street and 
The Ratline\n“A fiercely compelling book that brings vivid illumination to an era of twilight and brutal ruins. Harald Jähner beautifully explores the hinterland of human nature in all its shades.” —Sinclair McKay, author of 
Dresden: The Fire and the Darkness\n“Harald Jähner’s deeply researched, panoramic account of how Germany rebuilt and discovered itself from 1945 to 1955 is an eye-opening, thrilling read.” —Bernhard Schlink, author of 
The Reader“Exemplary [and] important. . . . This is the kind of book few writers possess the clarity of vision to write.” —Max Hastings, 
The 
Sunday Times (London)\n“It is depressing to see how few countries encourage or even permit their citizens freely to chronicle and discuss their pasts, and how many instead forge fictional histories to support modern political purposes. In the U.S. and

KNOPF

Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945–1955

'Exemplary [and] important... This is the kind of book few writers possess the clarity of vision to write' MAX HASTINGS, SUNDAY TIMES'Magnificent... There are great lessons in the nature of humanity to be learnt here' TELEGRAPH'Magisterial, fascinating, humane' PHILIPPE SANDS'An extraordinary book... Breathtaking' JACK FAIRWEATHER'Essential reading. Anyone with even the slightest interest in history and the human condition should read this book' JULIA BOYDGermany, 1945: a country in ruins. Cities have been reduced to rubble and more than half of the population are where they do not belong or do not want to be. How can a functioning society ever emerge from this chaos?In bombed-out Berlin, Ruth Andreas-Friedrich, journalist and member of the resistance, warms herself by a makeshift stove and records in her diary how a frenzy of expectation and industriousness grips the city. The Americans send Hans Habe, an Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and US army soldier, to the frontline of psychological warfare - tasked with establishing a newspaper empire capable of remoulding the minds of the Germans. The philosopher Hannah Arendt returns to the country she fled to find a population gripped by a manic loquaciousness, but faces a deafening wall of silence at the mention of the Holocaust.Aftermath is a nuanced panorama of a nation undergoing monumental change. 1945 to 1955 was a raw, wild decade poised between two eras that proved decisive for Germany's future - and one starkly different to how most of us imagine it today. Featuring black and white photographs and posters from post-war Germany - some beautiful, some revelatory, some shocking - Aftermath evokes an immersive portrait of a society corrupted, demoralised and freed - all at the same time.

WH Allen

'Magisterial, fascinating, humane' PHILIPPE SANDS\n'An extraordinary book ... breathtaking' JACK FAIRWEATHER\n'Essential reading. Anyone with even the slightest interest in history and the human condition should read this book' JULIA BOYD\nGermany, 1945: a country in ruins. Cities have been reduced to rubble and more than half of the population are where they do not belong or do not want to be. How can a functioning society ever emerge from this chaos?\nIn bombed-out Berlin, Ruth Andreas-Friedrich, journalist and member of the resistance, warms herself by a makeshift stove and records in her diary how a frenzy of expectation and industriousness grips the city. The Americans send Hans Habe, an Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and US army soldier, to the frontline of psychological warfare - tasked with establishing a newspaper empire capable of remoulding the minds of the Germans. The philosopher Hannah Arendt returns to the country she fled to find a population gripped by a manic loquaciousness, but faces a deafening wall of silence at the mention of the Holocaust.\nAftermath is a nuanced panorama of a nation undergoing monumental change. 1945 to 1955 was a raw, wild decade poised between two eras that proved decisive for Germany's future - and one starkly different to how most of us imagine it today. Featuring black and white photographs and posters from post-war Germany - some beautiful, some revelatory, some shocking - Aftermath evokes an immersive portrait of a society corrupted, demoralised and freed - all at the same time.

The dramatic and consequential history of Germany's short-lived experiment with democracy between the world wars&#8239;&nbsp; Out of the ashes of the First World War, Germany launched an unprecedented political project: its first democratic government. The Weimar Republic, named for the city where it was established, endured for only fifteen years before it was toppled by the insurgent Nazi Party in 1933. In Vertigo, prizewinning historian Harald Jähner tells the Republic's full story, capturing a nation caught in a whirlwind of uncertainty and struggling toward a better future. &nbsp; &nbsp; In the aftermath of World War I, Germany was buffeted by political partisanship, economic upheaval, and the constant threat of revolutionary violence. At the same time, many Germans embraced newly liberated lifestyles. They flouted gender norms, flooded racetracks and dance halls, and fostered a vibrant avant-garde that encompassed groundbreaking artists like filmmaker Fritz Lang, painter Wassily Kandinsky, and architect Walter Gropius. But this new Germany sparked a reactionary backlash that led to the Republic's fall to the Nazis and, ultimately, the conflagration of World War II.&nbsp; &#8239;&nbsp; Blending deeply researched political history with the firsthand experiences of everyday people, Vertigo is a vital, kaleidoscopic portrait of a pivotal moment in German history.

Vertigo: The Rise and Fall of Weimar Germany

Basic Books

Wolfszeit: Deutschland und die Deutschen 1945 - 1955

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

Rowohlt Taschenbuch

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Rowohlt Berlin

Wolfszeit: Ein Jahrzehnt in Bildern. 1945 - 1955

Unser West-Berlin: Lesebuch von der Insel (German Edition)

Kaminer, Wladimir

Hockenos, Paul

Austilat, Andreas

Praunheim, Rosa von

Rada, Uwe

Sontheimer, Michael

Nowakowski, Gerd

Dutschke, Gretchen Klotz

Martenstein, Harald

Berlinica Publishing UG

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jähner, Harald. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Jähner, Harald