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johnmarlowe 's review for:
Year Zero: A History of 1945
by Ian Buruma
I have never really thought about what happened after World War II, but Ian Baruma did in this novel. Life was miserable for millions of people after the war ended. Millions had no food, shelter or clothing and millions were forcibly moved from their homelands to somewhere else. I never thought about the fact that property was looted and plundered by their neighbors after Jews were removed to concentration camps, or that Jews were not welcome after the war ended. Ian Baruma states that hatred for Jews was fomented by the plunder of property up for grabs. Surviving Jews were an embarrassment in many countries because people wanted to forget the part they played. Revenge played a part in the war, and many people were killed for revenge. The Russians were particularly revengeful towards Germans. What was life like for millions of defeated soldiers returning to their homes in humiliation? I liked this excerpt from the book about the end of the war: “There was one important difference, however, between the victorious nations and the defeated, the effect of which lasted much longer than the hardships that follow any devastating war. Germans and Japanese were disenchanted with the heroic ideal. They wanted nothing more to do with the war. British and Americans, on the other hand, could never quite rid themselves of nostalgia for their finest hours, leading to a fatal propensity to embark on ill-advised military adventures so they and their nations could live like heroes once more.” That’s a powerful statement among many other ones in this book.
It was ironic to read about Dwight Eisenhower’s efforts to document the German concentration camps liberated at the war’s end. “He wanted reporters to visit the camps so that no one could ever pretend that these horrendous crimes were figments of propaganda.” A little over 60 years later, that’s exactly what happened with the leader of Iran denying the Holocaust ever happened.
This was a good book, although hard to read at times.
It was ironic to read about Dwight Eisenhower’s efforts to document the German concentration camps liberated at the war’s end. “He wanted reporters to visit the camps so that no one could ever pretend that these horrendous crimes were figments of propaganda.” A little over 60 years later, that’s exactly what happened with the leader of Iran denying the Holocaust ever happened.
This was a good book, although hard to read at times.