The Fear and the Freedom: How the Second World War Changed Us by Keith Lowe (Viking, £25)
The Fear and the Freedom should be first in the suitcase this turbulent summer. Keith Lowe’s compelling study of the impact of the Second World War over the last seven decades helps explain our world.
Surveying the wrecked cities and traumatised populations in 1945, Lowe emphasises the apocalyptic mood. In coping with what they had witnessed, people adopted new ways of thinking. “They were shown a universe populated with heroes, monsters and martyrs. They imagined the war as a titanic struggle between good and evil. They created a mythology that made sense of the incomprehensible.”
Such thinking allowed the world to recover very quickly, says Lowe. Not only were cities rebuilt, but the utopian mood encouraged people to dream of equality, freedom and fairness on a global scale. Yet with dreams come nightmares. Tales of heroism and victimhood refreshed nationalistic narratives; the atomic age ushered in the prospect of Armageddon. Lowe argues persuasively that the freedoms and fears unleashed in 1945 have remained among the primary drivers of politics. Memories of the war continue to be manipulated, often for dubious ends. Lowe challenges these myths in a fascinating discussion; it will doubtless make him many enemies.
The narrative culminates with perceptive examinations of Brexit and Trumpism. However, one of the delights of this book is that it deals with individuals as much as it does big ideas. It is to be enjoyed, even as it illuminates, alarms and provokes.
The Fear and the Freedom should be first in the suitcase this turbulent summer. Keith Lowe’s compelling study of the impact of the Second World War over the last seven decades helps explain our world.
Surveying the wrecked cities and traumatised populations in 1945, Lowe emphasises the apocalyptic mood. In coping with what they had witnessed, people adopted new ways of thinking. “They were shown a universe populated with heroes, monsters and martyrs. They imagined the war as a titanic struggle between good and evil. They created a mythology that made sense of the incomprehensible.”
Such thinking allowed the world to recover very quickly, says Lowe. Not only were cities rebuilt, but the utopian mood encouraged people to dream of equality, freedom and fairness on a global scale. Yet with dreams come nightmares. Tales of heroism and victimhood refreshed nationalistic narratives; the atomic age ushered in the prospect of Armageddon. Lowe argues persuasively that the freedoms and fears unleashed in 1945 have remained among the primary drivers of politics. Memories of the war continue to be manipulated, often for dubious ends. Lowe challenges these myths in a fascinating discussion; it will doubtless make him many enemies.
The narrative culminates with perceptive examinations of Brexit and Trumpism. However, one of the delights of this book is that it deals with individuals as much as it does big ideas. It is to be enjoyed, even as it illuminates, alarms and provokes.
