World War II continues to fascinate us—the 80th anniversary of D-Day on the beaches of Normandy showed that the war is still considered a watershed event for Western society. The lessons of WWII must be recounted for current and future generations, or we all may be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past, with potentially more devastating results this time.
 
April, 1945. While German soldiers know they are defeated—Germany’s borders breached, concentration camps horrors discovered, cities bombed into rubble—hard-core Nazis won’t give up. Soviet troops enter Berlin. Hitler commits suicide. Yet his fanatical followers vow to fight a guerilla war until the military leadership agrees to unconditional surrender. Fear of the Russians lead German troops into the arms of the Americans, until millions are literally penned up behind barbed wire waiting for the war to end. When it’s over, some German units don’t believe it and have to check with their superiors before laying down arms—creating incredibly tense standoffs.
 
Suddenly, masses are on the move—POWs returning to their militaries; interned and enslaved people returning to their homes in France, Poland, Russia; concentration camp survivors trying to return home only to find their houses occupied and their belongings taken; American troops “vacationing” on the French Riviera before demobilizing and returning to the States. A massive cleanup begins. New people come in to handle the overwhelming logistical problems of feeding and housing and transporting millions. Opportunists and businessmen arrive looking to do deals and snap up German technology at bargain basement prices.
 
The Last Days of World War II draws from over 140,000 hours of oral histories from Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation and the National World War II Museum. Wars may be fought by armies, but they are made up of people who wrote touching letters, took candid photos, and recorded their impressions and memories that bring those days back to life. The Last Days of WWII is a page-turning read. (Includes 35 B&W Photographs, 1 Map.)