The Second World War devastated Europe. The Allied invasions of Normandy and Sicily had led to fighting across much of France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany itself. In the East the German invasion of the Soviet Union and its subsequent retreat and defeat had left large areas of Eastern Europe laid waste. Cities like Warsaw and Berlin had been almost totally destroyed. In addition to the damage to infrastructure was the terrible human cost. As well as the millions killed in the fighting there were millions of refugees and displaced persons. What would happen to all these people? How would Europe be rebuilt?
Europe in the autumn of 1945 was functioning at the lowest level of subsistence…There was no single state in Europe, like the USA, which was both victorious and unscathed.
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