Feigel, Lara

The Bitter Taste of Victory: In the Ruins of the Reich

ISBN: 9781408845325
London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016. First UK Edition. Hardcover. "As the Second World War neared its conclusion, Germany was a nation reduced to rubble: an apocalyptic landscape of flattened cities and desolate wastelands. In May 1945 Germany surrendered and Britain, America, Soviet Russia and France set about rebuilding in their zones of occupation. Most urgent for the allies in this divided, defeated country were food, water and sanitation. However from the start they were anxious also to address German culture and history, which had been appropriated by the Nazis. Reconstruction was to be intellectual as well as practical: denazification and reeducation would be central to future peace, so the arts became crucial in modeling an alternative, less militaristic way of life. Germany was to be reborn; its citizens as well as its cities were to be reconstructed; the world view of the Third Reich was to be obliterated." (from front flap) The deeply disturbing & fascinating story of the victorious Allies' occupation of Germany in the wake of the Second World War by Lara Feigel, the acclaimed British author & academician. Many of the most famous & accomplished American & European writers, journalists, filmmakers & actors were dispatched to ruined Germany with the assignments of witnessing, documenting & participating in its attempted closure, transformation & redemption through the Nuremberg trials & other programs. Among them were Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn, Marlene Dietrich, George Orwell, W.H. Auden, Evelyn Waugh & Billy Wilder. With two sections of captioned historical photographs. None other than Antony Beevor, the great British WWII historian (search for our items by this author) writes of this volume on jacket back cover: "Lara Feigel's fascination with writers and artists drawn to the death throes of Nazi Germany and its aftermath makes an enthralling book which is both highly original and intelligent." Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first UK edition, first printing as indicated by number sequence on copyright page. An excellent & well-received work on this critical time & place as the smoke disbursed, blood dried & dust began to settle on the yet-most traumatic & destructive episode in world history; in its most collectible original form. Book in very fine condition; substantially mint inside & out. Dust jacket very fine with just a hint of rubbing to front, back covers & spine; a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same & flaps. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #4944]

Price: $40.00