1947: Where Now Begins

I was disappointed by a misunderstood story about post-war Dutch history mentioned in the first chapters of the book. This is about the misbegotten "operation Black Tulip" that was intended to deport a number of so-called "Reichsdeutsche" (the Nazi- German term for German nationals living in foreign countries during the war) to occupied Germany. The first thing the book gets wrong is that these were *not* Dutch citizens of German ancestry, but Germans who had collaborated with their countrymen during the war and lived high on the hog while real Dutchmen were starving. But even then it would have been wrong to treat them this way. And that is why opposition from the Dutch population prevented its implementation. So nothing happened. But the book describes it as a real fact. "Those awful Dutch." In the same section reference is made to the fact that the Dutch ate tulips during the German-caused "Dutch Famine" of the winter of 1944. One would expect an explanatory link between the two facts, but the tulip eating is presented as just a Dutch quirk; the famine is not mentioned.

My mother was a survivor from WWII who suffered through a stay in the Siberian Gulag along with millions of others. I loved the book’s concept: to weave a tapestry of different kinds of stories set at the end of the war. One prominent theme is the continuation of Nazism. I learned a lot but some of the recurring story lines were less interesting to follow and seemed somewhat random. However, this book has awakened deep interest in me on the topic of the immediate postwar period in Europe. It also made me realize that our present is linked to what was happening in 1947.

I bought this book after hearing it reviewed on NPR. We are fascinated with war era literature. This is covers a landmark year post WWII and succinctly portrays the fractured disarray of the shift in world politics, geographical boarders, music paradigms and UFO's in a world that was trying to decide who they were after entire countries were left in rubble. It started a bit slow and it took me a bit to catch on to the format, but as the characters, events and plots unfold, I was absolutely hooked. I couldn't put it down! The events are revealed in a masterful way. I'll be hunting up other works by this author!

What a book! Asbrink weaves together a number of historic events through the months of 1947. In addition, she explores what was her father's journey as a child in that same year. The translation reads smoothly and is often written with emotion and beauty in the syntax. What is most disturbing is to realize much of 1947--the year--is playing out before our eyes in 2018. Unnerving to see history repeat itself beyond just that stock phrase. An absolute must read for everyone, but especially those of us who can connect back to many of the events that unfolded from 1947 to now.

Elisabeth Asbrink brings a fresh perspective to the year 1947 ... just two years after the end of WWII. Pretty good read with a compelling middle section about the breakup and devastation caused by the war on her own family. One of the important messages is the downplay of the Holocaust by the prosecuting Allies at Nuremberg and elsewhere. The rather large number of responsible Nazis who ended up free and made their way to Argentina and other places. That was all shocking to read ... I've grown up thinking most of those responsible were brought to justice. It just ain't so. There are a number of side stories that flow through the months of the year. The chapters are named by the corresponding month ... chapter 1 is January, chapter 2 is February ... etc. In the end I'm better off and more knowledgeable for having read the book. Hats off to Elisabeth Asbrink.

Asbrink walks month by month through 1947 following several lines of historical development: The Nuremburg (and similar) trials of Nazi officials, the dispersion of – and rebranding of – those Nazis that escaped detention (in 1947), the Zionist movement w. regards to immigration to Israel, the random love life of some notable personalities, and some of the major policy changes of the US and European governments. To call this a history book would be inaccurate. It is a series of snapshots, which focus almost entirely on European Jews and former Nazis – and a few random people who happened to be present at tumultuous times in Eastern Europe. It is obvious that these selections are personal to the author and the people in the author’s life / extended family. The book is interesting in a “history from a single perspective” / human interest vantage point.

Well-written with fascinating subplots and stories of lives and events after the Second World War. The events and politics and heroics, as well as inhumane depraved behaviors trace the beginnings of what became the post-war world stage. This has played out in many facets into where our world is today. And we see how we repeat our history.

Part history, part poetic broad brushstrokes distilling the essence of events in 1947 that reverberate today—the definition of grnocide, invention of kalashnikov, groundwork for creation of the state of Israel and the currentArab Israeli conflict, immigrants, continued worldwide Naziism, fascism.

Rather than taking a year and giving a full account of what happened during it, this book is something slightly different. Yes, the year is split by months; , but, while it is certainly factual, it is also full of poetic writing and is also quite personal at times. Although the book has a worldwide perspective, it is Eurocentric and takes a cast of characters (some you will have heard of, such as Christian Dior, Primo Levi and Simone de Beuvoir, while others are less well known, such as Raphael Lemkin) through the events of a traumatic and compelling period of history.In 1947 the war may have finished, but Europe was in turmoil. The Cold War was beginning, a battered England threw up its hands and abandoned both Palestine and India, leaving Palestine to become someone else’s problem, and leading to the partition of India. It could also no longer provide support to Iran, Turkey and Greece to hold off Soviet Intervention; directly leading to America having to step up and take over Britain’s role. As America offered to provide support to a Europe left with bombed cities and displaced people, the Soviet Union prevented Eastern Europe from receiving aid, widening the division between East and West.It was a time of upheaval, conflict, movement and, yet, optimism (as well as changes in fashion and music, Thomas Mann releases “Doctor Faustus” and George Orwell is hidden away writing “1984”). When Raphael Lemkin fought to have the concept of genocide accepted legally, while it was first used (although not in legal existence) at the Neuremberg trials that year. With ex-Nazi’s fleeing to South America, many of those who survived the concentration camps found they were unwanted by America and Britain and tried to make it to Palestine. In all European countries, the war was still very close and very emotional. As Primo Levi attempted to publish his memoirs of his time in Auschwitz, his was a story that nobody was yet ready to hear and Holocaust deniers were already in existence, while Germany struggled to find a meaning to their recent history and dreamed of a united Europe.This then is the chaotic world that Elisabeth Åsbrink writes about. A time of change, where much that happened then still resounds today. For example, she tells of Hasan al-Banna, who started the Muslim Brotherhood and pushed for Jihad in Palestine. Those problems, in India and the Middle East, have their beginnings in events in 1947, when rushed, poorly made decisions, led to chaotic beginnings and troubled histories. It is also the beginning of the Cold War, with the Un-American Activities Committee in the States, the Soviet Union tightening its grip on Eastern countries and a Europe coming to terms with the aftermath of the war. If you feel that 2017 has been a year when so much happened that you cannot quite get to grips with it, then perhaps this book will help both explain the past and help you understand the present.

I am not a huge fan of history books. I was swayed to try this out by its description that it reads like a novel. And I'm very glad I did. It is beautifully written (or maybe I should say translated) and as a consequence is incredibly engrossing. It ranges in scale from the minor (stolen eggs in exchange for watching films) to the huge (the partition of India) and you start to see how many hugely significant global events could have so easily turned out so differently.I can't recommend this book enough. I've already bought two copies as presents and will probably buy more when it comes out in paperback.

Such an interesting way to convey the disparate events of post war people, cultures and countries. I would highly recommend this book.

Thought provoking book, lots to consider

Looked interesting purchased as a Christmas present