Allies in Memory
World War II and the Politics ofTransatlantic Commemoration, c.1941–2001

A fresh perspective on World War II commemoration that identifies the central place of war memory in post-1945 transatlantic relations.

Sam Edwards (Author)

9781107426467, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 29 March 2018

311 pages, 12 b/w illus.
23 x 15.3 x 1.7 cm, 0.48 kg

'This book is a latecomer to an intense wave of scholarly interest in commemoration, particularly of war and conflict, which began in the mid-1990s. … Edwards tells an important story and he does it with no small amount of verve.' Adam R. Seipp, The Journal of Modern History

Amidst the ruins of postwar Europe, and just as the Cold War dawned, many new memorials were dedicated to those Americans who had fought and fallen for freedom. Some of these monuments, plaques, stained-glass windows and other commemorative signposts were established by agents of the US government, partly in the service of transatlantic diplomacy; some were built by American veterans' groups mourning lost comrades; and some were provided by grateful and grieving European communities. As the war receded, Europe also became the site for other forms of American commemoration: from the sombre and solemn battlefield pilgrimages of veterans, to the political theatre of Presidents, to the production and consumption of commemorative souvenirs. With a specific focus on processes and practices in two distinct regions of Europe – Normandy and East Anglia – Sam Edwards tells a story of postwar Euro-American cultural contact, and of the acts of transatlantic commemoration that this bequeathed.

Introduction
Part I. Remembrance and Reconstruction, c.1917–69: 1. Old World and New World: interwar transatlantic commemoration, c.1917–41
2. 'Here we are together': air war and the anglicisation of American memory, c.1941–63
3. 'These memories shall not be forgotten': D-Day and transatlantic memory, c.1944–69
Part II. Americanisation and Commercialisation, c.1964–2001: 4. 'It looks so different now': veterans' memory, c.1964–84
5. 'The last good war': Vietnam, victory culture and the Americanisation of memory, c.1964–84
6. 'One last look': the commercialisation of memory, c.1984–2001
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW], History of the Americas [HBJK], British & Irish history [HBJD1]