Author Description

This book contains a detailed survey of the Second World War and its aftermath, covering the period from January 1939 until December 1949. It thus includes the build-up to the war, as well as postwar events such as the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, the Indonesian and Vietnamese wars for independence, the Chinese and Jewish-Arab civil wars, the first Arab-Israeli war, and the escalating Cold War between the American and Soviet blocs. Instead of a simple day-by-day account, it is presented in parallel columns for the various theatres of war, with coloured columns for each of the major campaigns and battles so that they are easier to follow. Moreover, convinced that the truth outweighs ideological considerations, the author has endeavoured to be as objective and unbiased as possible. For example, victories/achievements on the one hand and crimes/misdeeds on the other hand by all sides in the conflict have been mentioned. Only in this way may we really learn from the past, while we live in the present and prepare for the future.