Q and A with William Hitchcock

1. Why do you think the full story of the liberation of Europe at the end of the war has not been told before?

In Britain and in America, we are quite protective of a certain story about WWII. This story generally emphasizes the early setbacks and hardships of the war; the eventual revival of allied fortunes under steady leadership of a handful of talented political and military leaders; and the steadfast, dutiful effort of millions of ordinary soldiers along the road to victory. What is generally missing is any account of the millions of civilians who also paid an awful price in the war, and the difficulties they faced as the war of liberation crashed over them. It is sometimes uncomfortable to think that even the victorious allies caused great hardship for innocent civilians – and so there has been a natural reluctance to include this part of the war’s history into our popular narratives.

2. Do you think that this story has resonance with liberators and the liberated throughout history?

Wars, once unleashed, cannot easily be controlled. Despite the best intentions of liberators, war has a way of creating chaos and upending the normal social order. In fact, wars of liberation aim precisely to do this: to destroy one order and replace it with another. In the process, civilians are likely to suffer, even if they welcome the freedom that a just war brings them. This is the central paradox of a war of liberation.

3. When researching the book, what story struck you as the most shocking?

Over 200,000 surviving European Jews were kept, against their will, in refugee camps inside Germany after the war, under US and British supervision. I consider this shocking. I was also stunned to learn of the scale of destruction that the Normandy invasion brought to north-western France. About the same number of French civilians died in the summer of 1944 in Normandy as did British servicemen.

4. What lessons – if any – can be learnt from this story?

The main lesson is that wars of liberation – however just – will inevitably cause terrible suffering among innocent civilians.  Therefore, if a war of liberation must be fought, the liberators must achieve total victory; must delegate political power to local people quickly; and must provide massive humanitarian aid. These actions will help overcome the bitterness of the losses that those people in any war zone must endure.

5. What drew you to this story?

In 2003, the western alliance was almost torn into shreds by an acrimonious debate: should the West lead an invasion of Iraq to liberate its people from a horrible tyrant? Leaders in Britain and America said yes; but the peoples of the European continent said no. I wanted to know if the experience of liberation in 1944-45 was a critical factor in explaining Europe’s hesitation to join a war of liberation in the Middle East. As it turns out, the countries that suffered most during the period of liberation were precisely those that opposed the war in Iraq most vociferously.

6. In what sense, if any, is this book related to recent political events?

See above.

7. Did you find any previously uncovered material when researching the book?

Most of the material I used has never before been published, especially documents from local archives in France, Belgium, Britain, and the USA. I used soldiers diaries, letters and personal accounts; as well as army records, the records of humanitarian organizations, and even the Yiddish-language press produced in the Jewish DP camps. So I have really been able to tell a rich story using a huge range of new material.