Out of Ashes: A New History of Europe in the Twentieth Century, by Konrad Jarausch
| Date | 01 June 2017 |
| Author | Gary Bruce |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702017707502 |
| Published date | 01 June 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
was an arrangement in which the US, Norway, and subsequently the UK pro-
vided extensive economic and technical assistance to the Russian government in
the safe and proper decommissioning of the former Soviet fleet of nuclear-pow-
ered submarines that were being allowed to rot in Russian harbours. This was
agreed to in 1996, so the suggestion that nothing was being done is untrue, but it
was being done on a parallel path. Canada was invited to join but declined.
However, in 2002, thanks to an initiative by the Chre
´tien Liberals, Canada,
through the G8, decided to contribute significantly to assisting the Russians to
decommission their submarines.
English’s book considerably expands our knowledge of the role played by a
number of specific Canadians in the creation of the Arctic Council. That said, it
does not tell the whole story; nor does it provide readers new to the subject with an
effective introduction to what the Arctic Council is and what it does. But for
readers who are already familiar with the multilateral efforts toward international
governance in the Arctic, this book is an important addition to their library.
Konrad Jarausch
Out of Ashes: A New History of Europe in the Twentieth Century
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015. 867pp. $39.50 (cloth)
ISBN: 978–0–691–17307–8
Reviewed by: Gary Bruce, University of Waterloo
As most travellers to Europe quickly realize, it is hard to sort out one’s feelings
about the continent. One can, for example, attend Berlin’s Philharmonie, home to
one of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras. Before listening to the music
inside, an interested tourist might be drawn to the small exhibition on the grounds
of this German cultural icon. Here, she would learn that during the Nazi era, the
euthanasia program, which killed more than 200,000 individuals with disabilities
(including 5000 children), was housed at the same location: Tiergartenstrasse-4, or
T-4 as the program came to be called. To be clear, the Berlin symphony today
performs not down the street from the former T-4 headquarters, nor around the
corner; it occupies the very same physical space.
It is to this frustrating dual legacy that Konrad Jarausch turns in his sweeping
synthesis of Europe in the twentieth century. How was it possible that Europe’s
worst traits materialized in an era when the health, education, and prosperity of
most Europeans had improved dramatically? Jarausch frames his answer within the
concept of modernity. Although there are many different understandings of the
term ‘‘modernism,’’ most scholars would agree with Jarausch that the European
modern age is characterized by large bureaucracies, factory production, nation-
states, an almost slavish devotion to science and technology, and an urbanized
population. For Jarausch, the challenge that Europe faced in the twentieth century,
and continues to face, is how to harness the benign aspects of modernity while
keeping its destructive forces in check.
Book Reviews 287
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