Savage Continent

Europe in the Aftermath of World War II

By: Keith Lowe

Narrated by: John Lee

The Second World War might have officially ended in May 1945, but in reality it rumbled on for another 10 years....

The end of the Second World War in Europe is one of the 20th century's most iconic moments. It is fondly remembered as a time when cheering crowds filled the streets, danced, drank and made love until the small hours. These images of victory and celebration are so strong in our minds that the period of anarchy and civil war that followed has been forgotten.

Across Europe, landscapes had been ravaged, entire cities razed and more than thirty million people had been killed in the war. The institutions that we now take for granted-such as the police, the media, transport, local and national government-were either entirely absent or hopelessly compromised. Crime rates were soaring, economies collapsing, and the European population was hovering on the brink of starvation.

In Savage Continent, Keith Lowe describes a continent still racked by violence, where large sections of the population had yet to accept that the war was over. Individuals, communities and sometimes whole nations sought vengeance for the wrongs that had been done to them during the war. Germans and collaborators everywhere were rounded up, tormented and summarily executed. Concentration camps were reopened and filled with new victims who were tortured and starved. Violent anti-Semitism was reborn, sparking murders and new pogroms across Europe. Massacres were an integral part of the chaos and in some places-particularly Greece, Yugoslavia and Poland, as well as parts of Italy and France - they led to brutal civil wars. In some of the greatest acts of ethnic cleansing the world has ever seen, tens of millions were expelled from their ancestral homelands, often with the implicit blessing of the Allied authorities.

Savage Continent is the story of post WWII Europe, in all its ugly detail, from the end of the war right up until the establishment of an uneasy stability across Europe toward the end of the 1940s. Based principally on primary sources from a dozen countries, Savage Continent is a frightening and thrilling chronicle of a world gone mad, the standard history of post WWII Europe for years to come.

©2012 Keith Lowe (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Authoritative but never dry, stripping away soothing myths of national unity and victimhood, this is a painful but necessary historical task superbly done." ( Kirkus)

Powerful story, painful narration

What made the experience of listening to Savage Continent the most enjoyable?

The story is thorough, well researched and comprehensive. The sheer amount of new information was well worth the listen.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The narration was painful. Every accent sounded like a caricature of Count Dracula. There was so much accent switching that after a while, what was meant to be helpful in distinguishing the locations/nationalities being discussed turned into moments of dread for me. Overall, I would say that audiobook producers should look very closely at the necessity for performing accents - rarely have I found them to be helpful or desired.

Part of the war we always forget

Where does Savage Continent rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Instructrive about how a large war end. Most of us that did not participate to the event remember only the glorious parade.

Well researched book on post war Europe

This is a very insightful book related to the causes and effects in the formation of post World War II Europe. Well researched and narrated,encompassing all major and minor players involved in the formation of post war Europe and the subsequent Cold War between former Allies.One criticism of this excellent book,is that the narration of speeches or quotations from Eastern Europeans sound like Boris Karloff,Americans like John Wayne and Germans like something out of a Hollywood war movie. Other than this minor flaw,I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in mid 20th Century history.

relativity

What did you love best about Savage Continent?

i have never read a history book that has managed so successfully to keep pulling the rug from under me. Evert time i thought i understood and sympathized with a country/a cause i would be shown things from another perspective. This is how history should be taught.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Savage Continent?

you won't forget this book in a hurry

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

its fine - a little over enunciated for my liking

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the whole book is moving, appalling ( i needed breaks) and even handed as far as i can tell. it is a fearsome examination of cycles of revenge that genuinely teaches something profound, rather than revel in apocalyptic pornagraphic imagery.

Any additional comments?

a profound study that opened my eyes to, among other things, the cold war.

Outstanding

This is an outstanding book on a little known but critical time in modern European history

Good book. Shoot the narrator.

This is an important book that describes in painful detail the economic and cultural devastation as well as the political turmoil that beset most of Europe after the Second World War. Redrawing of boundaries, revenge, ethnic cleansing…all contributed to atrocities committed on and sometimes by civilians (some whom had been victims of the war).....The author stresses the importance of unearthing the facts, which are often at odds the "hero" or "victim" mythologies of the war and its aftermath nurtured by different sides to incite hatred or to foster national pride...

Unfortunately, John Lee, the narrator of this book, like some fellow narrators of nonfiction books, inexplicably feels a need to put on accents for all of the direct quotes of "foreigners" (which includes Americans). Since there are quotes from so many different nationalities, we are constantly subjected to what sounds like cartoonish characters from a Robin Williams routine...I persevered to the end because I was fascinated with the content, but Mr. Lee didn't make it easy…. especially since, when he had to read quotes in an actual foreign language like French or Italian, he couldn’t even pronounce the words correctly!

A great book

Amazing and revealing research with much new and important information about the chaos in Europe as the continent was liberated at the close of WW2

Fantastic

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely It tells the history of the aftermath of World War II one that we were not taught in school. Very well done. It goes well with Winter World. A must read

So you think you know post-nazi Europe?

What made the experience of listening to Savage Continent the most enjoyable?

A great deal of this history is available only in the languages of the countries involved, German, Polish, Serbo-Croatian etc., virtually nothing available in English. Mr. Lowe has done some great research. Why hasn't anybody else?

What was one of the most memorable moments of Savage Continent?

Forced repatriation of Germans from Eastern Europe

Did John Lee do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Although Mr. Lee did his homework, pronouncing the complexities of Polish most deftly, I got tired of his mimicking the various foreign accents. Probably needed to do it for most listeners, but I didn't need his rendition of Stalin et al.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

So you think you know what happened in Europe after the Nazi's were defeated

Any additional comments?

If you're not a numbers person, you'll tire of his endless statistics. But if you'll bear with it, this is an invaluable piece of post-war history

Savage continent

This book relates the bloody aftermath of Europe from 1945 to 1949. After world war 2. From looting to rape to mass Murders of ethnic groups. Treatment of colaborators was severe. After listening to this bloody history I am truly grateful to live in the ISA