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Liberators
The Allies and Belgian Society, 1944–1945

Part of Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare

Author: Peter Schrijvers, University of New South Wales, Sydney

Date Published: July 2009
availability: Available
format: Paperback
isbn: 9780521735575

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About the Authors

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 discovered 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.
- A major contribution to our understanding of military occupation and the ending of wars
- Provides a fresh perspective on the liberation of Europe as a modern liberation
- Will appeal to scholars and students of twentieth-century European and American history, military history, the Second World War, war and society and military occupation
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Reviews & endorsements
"Stimulating. An excellent book." -Times Literary Supplement
"Recommended." -Choice
“A pioneering work.” -Vingtieme Siecle
"Highly recommended." -Military Review
"...highly recommended for general readers as an important and little understood aspect of the end of the war in Europe." -Hal Elliott Wert, Military Review
"This riveting and important book makes remarkable use of the rich collections..." -Sophie De Schaepdrijver, American Historical Review
"...this is a valuable, deeply researched study, one that students of the Second World War should welcome." -William I. Hitcock, The Journal of Modern History
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Product details
- Date Published: July 2009
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521735575
- length: 358 pages
- dimensions: 228 x 152 x 17 mm
- weight: 0.57kg
- contains: 26 b/w illus. 2 maps
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I. The Big Void:
1. The sun sets
2. Shadow fighters
Part II. Liberation!:
3. Embracing the new
4. Exorcising the old
Part III. Liberators:
5. Waves of admiration
6. Currents of discontent
Epilogue: A tide of change
Cries for normalcy
Whispers of change.
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Author
Peter Schrijvers, University of New South Wales, Sydney
Peter Schrijvers is Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. He is the author of The Crash of Ruin: American Combat Soldiers in Europe during World War II (1998), The GI War against Japan: American Soldiers in Asia and the Pacific during World War II (2002) and The Unknown Dead: Civilians in the Battle of the Bulge (2005).