Lunchtime Talk: Remembering the Second World War

The Second World War came to an end 80 years ago, and yet it still holds a central place in our communal identity.  

In this talk, Keith Lowe will explore the ways in which Britain remembers the war in contrast to other countries around the world. With reference to some of the monuments and memorials in and around Westminster Abbey, he will show how the ideas of heroism, martyrdom and resurrection have played into British memory, and how the stories we tell ourselves have changed over time. Are we forgetting some of the lessons we learned in 1945? Or are we simply repurposing them to make sense of the world we live in today? 

This event is part of our monthly Lunchtime Talk series. On the second Wednesday of every month, join us at St Margaret’s Church for an in-depth exploration of part of the Abbey’s history.  

About Keith Lowe

Keith Lowe the author of several books about the Second World War and its chaotic aftermath. He is best known for the international bestseller Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II, which won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize in the UK and Italy’s national Cherasco History Prize. His 2017 study of the long-term, global effects of the war, The Fear and the Freedom, was described by the Wall Street Journal as ‘one of the best, most useful books on World War II to have emerged in the last decade’. His other works include Prisoners of History, a critically acclaimed study of World War II monuments around the world, and, most recently, Naples 1944.