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Lädt ... Arnhem and the Aftermath: Airborne Assaults in the Netherlands 1940 - 1945von Harry Kuiper
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War is far more than a series of military victories and defeats. Civilians always are the biggest victims and there are often staggering imbalances between casualties on the frontlines, and those behind; between the victims and the aggressors. According to recent figures, The Second World War saw the deaths of an estimated 72 million people worldwide, two thirds of whom were civilians. Wars also have serious social, economic and human consequences. They may defeat politicians and aggressive politics, but it is communities who pay the price. In 1939 one European country after another suffered defeat, which later resulted in enormous social and economic degradations of the communities involved. The failure of Operation Market Garden in 1944 resulted in yet another tragedy for the Dutch and one that would have far deeper social consequences than those before it. After the Allies were defeated, the Nazis terrorised the local Dutch populace and the V2 rockets fired immediately from their Dutch launch sites resulted in over 9,000 casualties in the UK.Arnhem and the Aftermath begins and ends in Arnhem, in 1940 and 1945 respectively. It focuses on the experiences of the civilians in those mournful years, against a back-drop of all three airborne operations in the Netherlands, in which both German and Allied forces were involved. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)940.54219218History and Geography Europe Europe 1918- Military History Of World War II Campaigns and battles by theatre European theatreKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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The author of this book was born in Arnhem and lived in the Netherlands throughout the Second World War. His perspective is informative and thought provoking. It ended up with the city in which he grew up razed to the ground in 1944. There are nineteen chapters in the book that begin with an introduction, and then go through the war chronologically. The author describes the reality of living in a country occupied by a ruthless and dictatorial and authoritarian regime from another country. The tensions within the occupied country within communities is described well, as well as the scarcity of food and freedom. Chapter 11 covers 1944 and what the author calls ‘The Summer of Hope’. How that ebbed and flowed over the forthcoming weeks forms the basis of the next few chapters. The last chapter ends with liberation in May 1945.
There are various photographs throughout the book, some of which I question whether they are relevant, e.g., do we need yet another photograph of CHURCHILL or MONTGOMERY. I would have preferred some more photographs to illustrate the reality that Dutch people faced in the war, accepting these are not common.
The text reads well, even though I suspect that English is not the first language of the author. I feel the book could have been improved if the timeline had continued beyond 1945 and covered the rebuilding and reconstruction in the Netherlands post-war. I have often wondered about the scene in a ‘Bridge Too Far’ when the British troops take over a house next to be bridge, and I thought about the Dutch people involved and whether they received any compensation. Sadly, this book does not answer this question.
The book manages to stand its ground because it does cover a perspective of this battle that is often ignored. With the author being Dutch and having lived in Arnhem, it does add to the authenticity of this book and the value of its content. ( )