Return to Normalcy or a New Beginning: Concepts and Expectations for a Postwar Europe around 1945

At the end of the Second World War in 1945, the countries of Western Europe found themselves at a crossroads regarding Europe's future. How should they react to the challenges posed by the peace, by Germany's defeat, and by the newly won freedom? How should they deal with the emerging division of the continent, with the eastern part being controlled by the Soviet Union? Would they repeat the experiences that followed 1918, relapsing into national isolationism, or would they engage themselves in new ways of transnational co-operation? Addressing these questions, Return to Normalcy or a New Beginning presents new accounts and interpretations of the immediate postwar views and political considerations in leading circles of Western European countries and regions. The book is a revised version of actual conference contributions from the symposium "1945 - Back to Normal or a New Beginning? Expectations and Concepts for a Postwar Europe" held at the Copenhagen Business School in September 2005.

Joachim Lund (1967), MA and PhD in History. Associate Professor at International Center for Business and Politics, Copenhagen Business School. His research and teaching interests include modern Danish history. business history, occu-pation history, and the Second World War, and European Political Economy in the 20th cen-tury.Per Ohrgaard (1944), dr.phil., Professor of German literature at the Copenhagen University (1980-2007); Professor from 2007 at International Center for Business and Politics, Co-penhagen Business School. Per Ohrgaard is the author of numerous books and articles on German literature, culture, and history. He has translated several works of German literature, and he often comments on German affairs in the Danish media.