Conditions of Surrender

During six months in 1945, the victorious Allies formulated a wide range of policies toward the defeated Germany. This pivotal period - between Yalta and Potsdam - was to herald the re-integration of Germany into postwar Europe, and eventually into the international system of democratic states. It was "the struggle for the soul of Germany". This collection of contributions exposes the intense differences between the Allies regarding Germany's future. The contributors are politicians, journalists and academics, and include eye-witnesses from both the Allies and the German side. There are personal experiences, letters from the front, personal war diaries and material from previously unpublished sources in Britain and Germany. The British papers include an unknown War Cabinet memo showing in graphic terms the British and Allied views of Germany in the face of total defeat.