Burying the Enemy

“A hugely illuminating, scholarly and singular work on the nature of remembrance and heritage.”—Allan Mallinson, The Spectator“Grady’s work challenges us to reconsider how societies choose to remember war, and highlights that how we commemorate events helps shape historical narratives.”—Tom Baker, Britain at War“Well-researched… . Grady Writes passionately.”—Peter Howson, Methodist Recorder“Frequently moving [and] thought-provoking.”—Nick Soldinger, History of War“Full of memorable vignettes that describe how the people of Britain and Germany dealt with the enemy dead during two world wars. Here will be found many good starting points for family historians wishing to discover if there was an enemy buried in their own ancestors’ wartime town or village.”—Jacqueline Wadsworth, Who Do You Think You Are?“The premise of the book is enthralling… . Of interest to those studying the social and cultural aspect of conflict.”—Lynne McNeil, Life&Work“This excellent study shows the underlying and controverted issues around the recovery and non-repatriation of the remains of the deceased.”—Robert Shiels, Scottish Legal News“A beautifully written reminder of the common need to grieve, bury and commemorate the dead of war. Grady’s carefully researched book tells the story of how German and British societies cared for the ‘enemy dead’ alongside their own after the destruction of the two World Wars.”—Lucy Noakes, author of War and the British“An important book on a compelling subject, which is vividly brought to life by Grady’s winning prose and wide-ranging research… . Turns conventional wisdom about the Anglo-German antagonism on its head.”—Matthew Stibbe, author of Debates on the German Revolution of 1918–19“Illuminates an otherwise hidden history… Grady’s sensitive, moving study provides new insights into how ordinary people on the home fronts, long after the shooting has stopped, recover from the devastating effects of modern war.”—Jason Crouthamel, author of The Great War and German Memory“This is a remarkable book. It rests on impeccable scholarship but it reads effortlessly. More to the point, it is both intellectually shrewd and profoundly moving. What shines through is the compassion of ordinary people on both sides. Their everyday gestures of care provided a foundation for a movement of grassroots reconciliation that was then sadly erased by the deadweight hand of officialdom.”—Neil Gregor, author of Haunted City: Nuremberg and the Nazi Past

Tim Grady is professor of modern history at the University of Chester. He is the author of A Deadly Legacy, which was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize and the Cundill Prize, and The German-Jewish Soldiers of the First World War in History and Memory, which was proxime accessit for the RHS Gladstone Book Prize.