Who Paid for the War

About this book

Every country that fought the Second World War sent a bill home. Some paid it in soldiers, some in cities, some in children who grew up hungry, some in borders, empires or freedom, and a few, quietly, were paid rather than paying. Who Paid for the War adds up that bill nation by nation, in plain words, from the street. Alden Rooke, who writes history at pavement level, walks through the war one country at a time. Poland, invaded from both sides and left with its borders moved on the map. France, beaten in six weeks and occupied for four years. Britain, which won and then queued for meat until 1954, four years longer than defeated West Germany. The Soviet Union, which lost more people than any nation in history has lost in a single war. Germany, which started the war in Europe and ended it in ruins, divided and emptied of millions of refugees. Italy, which changed sides. The occupied nations of Europe and their hunger winters.