{"product_id":"the-unknown-dead-civilians-in-the-battle-of-the-bulge-9780813123523","title":"The Unknown Dead: Civilians in the Battle of the Bulge","description":"\u003cp\u003eTraditional histories of the hard-fought Battle of the Bulge routinely include detailed lists of the casualties suffered by American  British  and German troops. Conspicuously lacking in most accounts  however  are references to the civilians in Belgium and Luxembourg who lost their lives in the same battle. Yet the most reliable current estimates calculate at approximately three thousand. the number of civilians who perished during the six weeks of fighting. Telling the stories of ordinary people caught up in the maelstrom of war  The Unknown Dead surveys this crucial battle and its consequences from an entirely new perspective. Renowned historian Peter Schrijvers  a native Belgian  describes in vivid detail the horrific war crimes committed by German military units on the front lines and by Nazi security services behind the battle lines  as well as the devastating effects of Allied responses to the enemy threat  including massive bombings of small towns.  During the offensive  inhabitants of the villages of this region of Belgium lived in a state of chaos. Countless men  women  and children were killed in cold blood for aiding American soldiers  and the GIs themselves were often highly suspicious of German-speaking Belgians. Local services ground to a halt  and citizens formed volunteer groups to obtain water and meet other basic needs. Even after the violence had ended and the postwar reconstruction had begun  the small communities remained in turmoil. The countryside was dotted with abandoned land mines and explosives  and the emotional tension between civilians and battle hardened veterans often took years to dissipate. Based on recently discovered sources including numerous personal testimonies  municipal and parish records  and findings of the Belgian War Crimes Commission  The Unknown Dead vividly recounts the experiences of innocents in the violence of one of World War IIs seminal battles.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647560966197,"sku":"ByrdShop_0813123526","price":20.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780813123523.jpg?v=1781692826","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-unknown-dead-civilians-in-the-battle-of-the-bulge-9780813123523","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}