Bombing, States and Peoples in Western Europe 1940-1945

(Paperback)

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Description

This is the first book to treat bombing during WWII as a European phenomenon and not just the 'Blitz' on Britain and Germany. With Western Europe now at the heart of a united continent, it is even more difficult to explain how only 70 years ago European states destroyed much of the urban landscape from the air. There were many blitzes between 1940 and 1945 with an estimated 700,000 people killed. The purpose of this book is to provide the basis for a comparison of the experience of western states under the impact of bombing. In particular, it considers the political, cultural and social responses to bombing rather than the military, strategic and social dimensions which have formed the core of the discussion hitherto. This book will correct the popular perception of the British Blitz as the key bombing experience by exposing the reality of life under the bombs for communities as far apart as Brest, Palermo, and Rostock. An international panel of historians consider the issues raised amidst the bombing of human rights and protection of civilians in this seminal event in C20th history.

Reviews

The high value [of this collection] comes from its clear division into four major chapters, which include highly empirical and analytical contributions, as well as the concise and readable introduction . . . In Bombing, States and Peoples in Western Europe 19401945, the editors have presented a cross-section of recent research into the air war, which will be useful to anyone in the academic sector. -- Jrg Arnold, University of Nottingham * H-Soz-u-Kult (Bloomsbury translation) *

Author Bio

Claudia Baldoli is Senior Lecturer in Modern European History at Newcastle University, UK. Andrew Knapp is Professor of French Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Reading, UK.