Liberators : the allies and Belgian society, 1944-1945 / Peter Schrijvers.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schrijvers, Peter, 1963-

Series:

Studies in the social and cultural history of modern warfare

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1939-1945--Belgium.

World War, 1939-1945.

World War, 1939-1945--Social aspects--Belgium.

Belgium--History--German occupation, 1940-1945.

Belgium.

History.

Physical Description:

xv, 340 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Summary:

In the autumn of 1944. Belgium was liberated at lightning speed. Yet Allied troops continued to dominate much of Belgian society until late 1945. Peter Schrijvers' revisionist account reveals that, during that time, strong currents of discontent began to build beneath the waves of gratitude and admiration. Chronic shortages of food and coal, rampant venereal disease, and deteriorating discipline led the Belgian population to lament "from the liberators, oh Lord, liberate us." Despite all this, however, the countries and cultures that the Anglo-American troops, represented, still exerted substantial attraction and influence, causing them to have a lingering impact on Belgian society in ways that would set the tone for the remainder of the turbulent twentieth century. Using newly discovery material from the Belgian state security archives as well as testimonies of the liberated, this book vividly reconstructs the largely unknown history of Belgium's liberation era.

Contents:

Part I The big void 7

1 The sun sets 9

2 Shadow fighters 26

Part II Liberations! 39

3 Embracing the new 42

4 Exorcizing the old 69

Part III Liberators 83

5 Waves of admiration 85

6 Currents of discontent 144.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780521514828

0521514827

9780521735575

0521735572

OCLC:

297147102