*The Hidden Victims*

 [[{“value”:”The author is Cormac Ó Gráda, the renowned Irish economic historian, and the subtitle is Civilian Casualties of the Two World Wars.  This is a first-rate and also horrifying of a still underdiscussed topic.  Here is one excerpt: The death rate from famine in Greece was probably higher than in any other European country with
The post *The Hidden Victims* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.”}]] 

The author is Cormac Ó Gráda, the renowned Irish economic historian, and the subtitle is Civilian Casualties of the Two World Wars.  This is a first-rate and also horrifying of a still underdiscussed topic.  Here is one excerpt:

The death rate from famine in Greece was probably higher than in any other European country with the exceptions of the Soviet Union and Poland.  Following its occupation by Axis troops in April-June 1941, the British Navy, which controlled the Mediterranean, blocked sea access to Greece.  Greece was one of the fe Nazi-occupied economies that depended on imports for much of its food.  The theft of meat and dairy cattle in the area around Athens for army use quickly followed occupation.  Very soon, essential foodstuffs became scarce, particularly in Athens, which led to a famine at its most intense in 1941-42.  The capital and its port city of Piraeus and some of the islands were hit particularly hard.  The context was one of hyperinflation, an Allied blockade, and state-sponsored theft by the occupation forces.

This important book will make my best non-fiction of the year list.

The post *The Hidden Victims* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

 Books, History, Uncategorized