Naples 1944 : War, Liberation and Chaos

The Second World War left countless cities in Europe and Asia in ruins. Naples 1944 chronicles the story of the first major European city liberated by the Allied forces. The book delves into not only the devastation that befell Naples during the scourge of war but also, crucially, the aftermath.

This is the first comprehensive history of wartime Naples written in the English language. It bridges a glaring gap in British and American historiography of the war, unveiling a trove of untold stories – some truly shocking – that have never been published in any language before.

When the Allies arrived in late 1943, Naples had already endured a brutal German occupation and reprisals for the city's heroic resistance and uprisings. This did not spare it from the merciless Allied bombing. The city was brought to its knees, plagued by widespread suffering and squalor. Criminal gangs thrived, as did typhus, starvation, and skyrocketing black market prices. A significant portion of the female population was forced into part-time prostitution merely to obtain food. Then, Mount Vesuvius erupted.

Lowe's gripping and powerful book places Naples at the heart of Italian history. What transpired in this city was not a mere sideshow to larger events unfolding further north; it was central to the story of the entire country. Neapolitans resisted Fascism just as the Florentines, Bolognese, and Milanese did. They suffered as northerners did, and they yearned for constitutional rebirth just as ardently. The heroism and sacrifice witnessed in Naples foreshadowed what would later occur throughout Italy – as did the compromise and corruption of ideals that followed the Allied takeover.

Naples 1944 is an original and humane work of history at its finest, a book that demonstrates how the Neapolitan story is the Italian story.

Product Information:

Book ISBN:	9780008339593
Book Author:	Keith Lowe
Book Format:	Hardback
Book Imprint:	William Collins
Book Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Book Dimensions:	242 x 163 x 39 cm
Book Publication Date:	2024-09-26
Book Pagination:	400 pages
Book Weight:	732g