AN episode of The Simpsons concludes with Bart saying there's no such thing as a good war - before reeling off the few exceptions, including the Second World War.
But Norman Davies says the western image of the war as one in which good democrats defeated evil dictators, making the world safe for freedom and decency, is false. In fact it was fought principally between two monstrous totalitarian regimes, one of which afterwards imposed its reign of terror on those countries such as Poland and Ukraine which suffered worst in the fighting.
Davies explains how the vast bulk of European fighting was in the east, with famous western battles barely making the "top ten", then explores how the Nazis and Soviets both practised ethnic cleansing, ruthless expansionism and mass murder on unprecedented scales.
An Eastern European specialist, Davies objects to the conflict's "hijacking" by American writers and directors (he names Stephens Ambrose and Spielberg) to create the myth of a good war, won by tough but good-hearted GIs.
But, as he says himself, history books will reach only a fraction of a movie's audience. I suspect many of Davies' readers will already know some of this story, but he still produces many revelations to surprise even the initiated, and his accounts of human endurance in seemingly unendurable circumstances are genuinely moving.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article