Seventy years ago on May 8, 1945, the European portion of World War II finally came to an end. By the time I was in a high school history class, twenty-five years later, the presentation of this period was relegated to a series of alliances and dates. That the fathers of classmates were genuine heroes was never mentioned – they moved on to start careers and build families. Others’ parents, grandparents and relatives had fled Europe as the Nazis rose. Some came to the US after the war, bearing emotional and physical scars. That, too, remained unspoken for the most part except possibly in whispers outside the earshot of the children.
So I admit with some embarrassment that it has taken me decades to develop a richer understanding of this period, with all its complexities. The lengthy enumeration of dates and battles that marks many a history tome was a real turn off. It’s the explosion of character-driven historical narratives and well-researched historical fiction that have piqued my curiosity. Continue reading History, One Character at a Time: Nonfiction
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