New Books in Anthropology

Tim Grady, "Burying the Enemy: The Story of Those who Cared for the Dead in Two World Wars" (Yale UP, 2025)

May 1, 2025

Tim Grady, a Professor of Modern History at the University of Chester, shares insights from his book on the compassionate care of enemy dead in the World Wars. He discusses the touching acts of kindness between local communities and war graves commissions, highlighting reciprocal respect across national divides. Grady reveals the evolution of memorial practices by organizations like the VDK and explores the tensions between personal grief and institutional narratives. His narrative underscores the importance of remembering enemy lives and the emotional connections fostered through grave tending.

54:30

Episode guests

Tim Grady

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Quick takeaways

Tim Grady's book explores the compassionate care for enemy graves during the World Wars, reflecting deeper themes of reconciliation and respect between nations.

The narrative sheds light on the emotional struggles families faced regarding military burials and the tensions with state decisions surrounding repatriation.

Deep dives

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Intro

6min

Remembering Enemy Lives

6min

The Evolution of War Commemoration: The Role of the VDK

5min

Exploring Community Engagement and Historical Archives

3min

War Graves and Community Memories

14min

Grave Tending and Political Narratives

19min

In Burying the Enemy: The Story of Those who Cared for the Dead in Two World Wars (Yale University Press, 2025), Tim Grady recounts here a detailed history of the fate of combatants who died on enemy soil in England and Germany in World Wars I and II. The books draws on a rich archive of personal family experiences, and describes the often touching acts of kindness and reconciliation with families caring for graves of enemy personnel in churchyards and local cemeteries close to where those deaths took place. Both sides were at pains to photograph tended graves, demonstrating reciprocal respect. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the German equivalent - the VDK - obscured decision-making around repatriation, which led to some family distress. Grady recounts in detail the creation of the German military cemetery at Cannock Chase, which comprised a year-long programme of exhumations across the UK. This book is a highly readable and touching account of the tensions that arose between families and the state in response to military death in the World Wars, offering a unique insight into personal German/English relations during both and after both conflicts.

Tim Grady is professor of modern history at the University of Chester.

Dr Julie Rugg is a Reader in Social Policy at the University of York, UK. She has an abiding interest in the ways in which societies come to an accommodation with mortality. The Cemetery Research website connects scholars with similar interests and in multiple disciplines from around the world.

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