Return to Normalcy or a New Beginning: Concepts and Expectations for a Postwar Europe around 1945

At the end of the Second World War in 1945, the countries of Western Europe found themselves at a crossroads regarding Europe's future. How should they react to the challenges posed by the peace, by Germany's defeat, and by the newly won freedom? How should they deal with the emerging division of the continent, with the eastern part being controlled by the Soviet Union? Would they repeat the experiences that followed 1918, relapsing into national isolationism, or would they engage themselve...