Civilization is an interesting concept that represents the duality of humanity so well. In its most optimistic form, civilization represents laws, learning, and a peaceful society committed to improvement. However because humans always think their own civilization is the correct version, it often leads to imperialism and a sense of superiority. A desire to give the best of ourselves to others resulted in occupation, plundering, and worse. At the end of World War II, a need to return to civilization helped heal Europe. However, the Nazi occupation did not inspire an awakening about Europe’s own occupation of its colonies. Civilization meant Europe’s own specific version even as American culture crept in. Professor Paul Betts’s Ruin and Renewal documents how the concept of civilization suffused post-war Europe. Ruin and Renewal looks at how returning to being ‘civilized’ helped Europe heal even as it attempted to maintain its colonial powers.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
TL;DR
Ruin and Renewal by Dr. Paul Betts delivered a fascinating history of Cold War Europe as it sought to rebuild and defend its civilization. Ruin and Renewal is a must have for anyone interested in European or Cold War history. Highly recommended.
From the Publisher
In 1945, Europe lay in ruins. Some fifty million people were dead, and millions more languished in physical and moral disarray. The devastation of World War II was unprecedented in character as well as in scale. Unlike the First World War, the second blurred the line between soldier and civilian, inflicting untold horrors on people from all walks of life. A continent that had previously considered itself the very measure of civilization for the world had turned into its barbaric opposite.
Reconstruction, then, was a matter of turning Europe’s “civilizing mission” inward. In this magisterial work, Oxford historian Paul Betts describes how this effort found expression in humanitarian relief work, the prosecution of war crimes against humanity, a resurgent Catholic Church, peace campaigns, expanded welfare policies, renewed global engagement and numerous efforts to salvage damaged cultural traditions. Authoritative and sweeping, Ruin and Renewal is essential reading for anyone hoping to understand how Europe was transformed after the destruction of World War II.
Review: Ruin and Renewal by Paul Betts
In Ruin and Renewal, Paul Betts seeks to highlight the people who rebuilt Europe after World War II. He treats Europe as a whole looking at both sides of the Iron Curtain and even at Europe’s colonies. Betts shows how factions turned reconstruction into a contest for civilization. Ruin and Renewal doesn’t just focus on the positive aspects of rebuilding the continent; it also shows how for some rebuilding civilization was limited to the European definition. Colonies were viewed as part of the European nation, not as an autonomous people unto themselves. Whether learning about the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) or the Women’s Caravan of Peace organized by Dora Russell or about UNESCO saving Nubian Monuments, Ruin and Renewal contains so much fascinating history. Betts used the thread of civilization to show how competing interests built the Europe we currently know.
I love European Cold War history. Over the past few years, it’s become a subject that I’m slightly obsessed with. Ruin and Renewal is an excellent and welcome addition to my library. It earned its place among my favorites, like Postwar by Tony Judt, The Global Age by Ian Kershaw, and Year Zero by Ian Buruma. It is a book to which I’ll return. I know I didn’t get everything out of it because there is so much here to learn, to think about. Plus, I loved the writing, and I think there’s a lot to learn craft-wise from this book.
Didn't Forget the Colonies
Going into the book, I worried that it would be a cheerleader for European culture. But Ruin and Renewal shows the good and bad. While Europeans sought to rebuild for themselves, they also sought to oppress their traditional colonies.
I read aghast that as France celebrated the final defeat of Hitler, it also engaged in violent suppression in the Algerian town of Sétif. While An Event, Perhaps and the very, very funny show A Very Secret Service taught me about Algeria as a French colony, I didn’t connect that French oppression coincided with its own reconstruction. One would think that the French living through the occupation by Nazi’s would make them question their occupation of another country. But, no, the majority saw Algeria as French, not a nation unto itself. In this chapter, Betts connect Algeria and other European colonies to the Greek Civil War. These nations and their people suffered, but to both East and West Europeans and the U.S. they were simply proxies in the Cold War. It’s a shameful but powerful look at how Europe and the U.S. viewed entire countries as resources to be used up in the name of the ‘greater good.’ Betts doesn’t judge but also doesn’t spare the reader from the ugliness and hypocrisy of using civilization as an excuse to oppress and exploit.
Loved the Writing
I loved how Betts structured each chapter as well. He starts by focusing on an individual or location as an entrance into the larger subject of the chapter. The best example of this structure is the chapter on faith and drugs as Cold War battlefronts. Betts begins by discussing the trial of Hungarian Cardinal József Mindszenty. This trial is followed by discussion of religious persecution in Eastern Europe, how Christianity became important for the U.S. in the fight against Communism, and how the U.S. formed a spiritual alliance with the Pope.
But the chapter isn’t restricted to religion. The Mindszenty trial also became part of popular culture in the West. Because the Cardinal is suspected to have been drugged during the trial, the public questioned what happened to his mental state. What had Hungary done to him to elicit his suspect confession? This led to worry about the Soviets having psychological weapons and using drugs to alter a person’s psyche. From brain-washing scares to MK Ultra, the West felt there was a ‘mind-control’ gap.
All of this is just one chapter. Betts weaves all this together with the thread of Cardinal Mindzsenty to make a cohesive chapter. In lesser skilled hands, this chapter would be a sprawling mess. Instead, Betts makes these connections seem natural. From a pure craft perspective, Ruin and Renewal tells a good story in each chapter.
A Confession
I have to make a confession. I didn’t finish the whole book by the review deadline. Of the nine chapters in my ARC, I finished seven. I will finish Ruin and Renewal after this review posts because it’s such a good history. While it is a long book, the length had no effect on my reading. Instead, Betts topics piqued my curiosity. For example, he discusses photography books about post-war Germany. Because of this, I ended up on Google searching for photos. When he discusses the rise in popularity of etiquette books, I went to Google to learn more. Reading through, I found myself asking questions and wanting to know more about each subject Betts was writing about.
For an example of my searches, the photo below is used in Chapter One of my ARC as part of the discussion of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). I wanted to see more of these photographs. They are beautiful and sad. I wanted to know more, to learn more, and to me, there’s no better recommendation for a nonfiction book than, “it made me want to learn more.”
Conclusion
Paul Betts’ Ruin and Renewal is an excellent history of Cold War Europe. It’s well written, interesting, and full of fascinating details. This looks at Europe as a totality across the Cold War divide, and it delivers a detailed view of the rebuilding of European civilization. Betts succeeds in documenting how the need to defend civilization drove much of Europe’s post-war actions. The competing view of civilization between the East and West of Europe drove their own cycles of Ruin and Renewal.
Highly Recommended!
Ruin and Renewal by Dr. Paul Betts is available from Basic Books on November 17th, 2020.