The Closing of the Second World War (American University Studies Series IX, History)

This book, a worthy sequel to The Opening of the Second World War (Peter Lang, 1991), takes an unprecedented approach: the closing of the war from the losing side's point of view. The period discussed spans from January 1945, with the end of Hitler's last hope (the Ardennes counter-offensive), to the Japanese surrender in mid-August. The situation for the Axis is presented by German, Italian, and Japanese historians, and the "Allied" responses are by British, French, Russian, American, Slovene, and New Zealand scholars. The foreword covers commemorative events in Germany, Italy, and Japan in the period 1990-1999.