In the past, the two world wars have been mainly studied as military history, focused on armies, campaigns and battles. Historians have concentrated on wars in Europe and in particular on the Western Front in 1914–18 and on the war with Nazi Germany in the west. This has given rise to many excellent accounts. But there are many other interesting things to read and think about. Here are some of them...

This article is extracted from Exploring and Teaching Twentieth Century History.