Crimes and Mercies: The Fate of German Civilians Under Allied Occupation, 1944-1950

For Germany, the end of World War II occurred officially on 8th May 1945; but the end of suffering did not. Using recently released documents from the USA and detailed research in the Moscow archives, the author shows how millions of Germans died unnecessarily - from starvation, disease and forced homelessness. The Red Army in the east took revenge for the crimes of the Nazis, as did the French and Americans in the west. The governments responsible have never acknowledged any mass deaths. Bacque argues that the Allies came not as liberators and rescuers, but as judges and avengers.