In May 1945, the city of Breslau was annihilated by the Soviet Red Army. At the beginning of February the Russians had laid seige to the city, an ordeal that was to last for nearly five months. Much of Breslau was destroyed, thousands of its inhabitants were killed. Breslau surrendered four days after Berlin and was thus the last Fortress of the Reich to fall and one of the very last areas in Germany to surrender. The story of Central Europe is anything but simple. As the region in between East and West Europe, it has always been endowed with a rich variety of migrants and settlers, and has repeatedly been the scene of nomadic invasions, mixed settlements and military conquests. As a result, the people of Central Europe have witnessed a profusion of languages, cultures, religions and nationalities. The two most important waves of settlement came from the Germans and the Slavs, but Central Europe also became the great haven for Jews. In the centuries when Jewish people were deported from England, persecuted in Germany and expelled from Russian, they naturally congregated in the middle. The Jewishness of Central Europe has been subjected to both Fascism and Communism in succession. This ordeal lasted for about 50 years, and the damage to life and liberty was incalculable. In order to present a portrait of Central Europe, the authors of this work study the history of one of its main cities - Breslau. As the traditional capital of Silesia, Breslau rose to prominence as a trading centre and became one of the great commercial cities of medieval Europe. In due course it became the second city of the kingdom of Bohemia and a major city of the Hapsburg lands. The third largest German city of the mid-19th century, Breslau's population reached one million in 1945, before the bitter German defence of the city against the Soviets wrought almost total destruction. Transferred to Poland after the war, the city has risen from the ruins of the war and is once again a thriving economic and cultural centre of the region. The history of Silesia's main city can be seen as a fascinating tale in its own right, but it is more than that. It embodies all the experiences which have made Central Europe what it is: the rich mixture of nationalities and cultures; the German settlement and the reflux of the Slavs; a Jewish presence of exceptional distinction; a turbulent succession of Imperial rulers; and the shattering exposure to both Nazis and Stalinists. In short, it is a Central European microcosm.
