1945: The World We Fought For

by Robert Kee

1945, the year in which the Second World War ended, was also the year in which our modern world began to take shape. But as the year opened, nothing was clear except that men were still fighting, on both sides, for what they thought was worth fighting for. Informed opinion in Washington thought it might take two or three years to defeat Japan. Hundreds of civilians were still being killed by V-bombs every month in Britain. By telling the story of the year as it unfolded, from contemporary newspapers and broadcasts, Robert Kee has given back to the historic events of that year the intensity, excitement and anxiety with which they were viewed at the time, while illuminating their interest for us today. Born in 1919, Robert Kee has a history degree from Oxford and has been writing ever since he left the RAF, in which he was a bomber pilot, in 1946. He has worked for Picture Post, the Observer and the Sunday Times, and has been a literary editor of the Spectator. He has also worked with the BBC and ITV on current affairs programmes and documentaries, and is well known for the award-winning BBC series A Television History. 1945: The World We Fought For, his ninth book, is the sequel to 1939: The World We Left Behind.

Genres: Photography, World War II

450 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Robert Kee, CBE was a broadcaster, journalist and writer, known for his historical works on World War II and Ireland.

He was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham, and read history at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was a pupil, then a friend, of the historian A.J.P. Taylor.

During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force as a bomber pilot. His Hampden was shot down by flak one night while on a mine-laying operation off the coast of German-occupied Holland. He was imprisoned and spent three years in a German POW camp. This gave him material for his first book A Crowd Is Not Company. It was first published as a novel in 1947 but was later revealed to be an autobiography. It recounts his experiences as a prisoner of war and his various escapes from the Nazi camp. The Times describes it as "arguably the best POW book ever written."

His career in journalism began immediately after the Second World War. He worked for the Picture Post, then later became a special correspondent for The Sunday Times and The Observer. He was also literary editor of The Spectator.

In 1958 he moved to television. He appeared for many years on both the BBC and ITV as reporter, interviewer and presenter. He presented many current affairs programmes including Panorama, ITN's First Report and Channel 4's Seven Days. He was awarded the BAFTA Richard Dimbleby Award in 1976.

Kee wrote and presented the documentary series Ireland – A Television History in 1980. The work was widely shown in the United Kingdom and the United States and received great critical acclaim, winning the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize. Following its transmission on RTÉ, the Irish national broadcaster, Kee won a Jacob's Award for his script and presentation.

Reviews

[Henry Wortmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

How the Truth Was Hidden

I was a teenager when the war was over and never learned of the ramifications going on between the Allies. It was all covered over by the press, radio, and movie newsreels. Everything was so cozy twist America, Britain, France,.and Russia. We were then great allies! . Then slowly, but by bit, the Truth leaked out. France was done as a major power, Britain tried to hold out a bit longer, America became the World power. Russia was now a threat to the World at large. This book revealed these truths.

[John W Pipes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoy this account of history, supported by quotes from those at the time along with related news articles. As well written as the fist book: 1939 The World We Left Behind, from the same author.

[James W. Gibson]

great research and well written. Highly recommended

[Andy Holdcroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent narrative & analysis

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course, I knew the broad strokes of what happened in 1945 - Roosevelt died, Germany was beaten, the United Nations formed, the atomic bomb was dropped (twice), Japan was defeated - but Kee does a great job of making me think about experiencing the year as it developed. At the beginning of 1945, Germany had just finished its last major offensive in Western Europe, and it was by no means certain they were going to surrender any time soon. There were disagreements between the U.S. and Great Britain over Greece. Everybody trusted Russia to help lead a peaceful post-war period, whenever that would come. The Allies were a long way away from beating back the Japanese in the Pacific. Kee obsesses over details, digs up quotes from various sides politically in the U.S. and Britain, especially, and makes me think about the ways history develops in fits and starts, with nothing being as obvious as it seems in hindsight. His chapters on the final devastation of Germany are horrific, and then he follows that up with the discoveries, one by one, of the concentration camp nightmares, each more devastating to humanity's image of itself than the last. I love the idea of concentrating on a single year, giving us just enough information to understand the context of the beginning, and only relying on our own knowledge as to what happens after the end.