The historian Keith Lowe, author of the best-selling The Savage Continent, discusses what happened in the aftermath of the Second World War, which left a world in ruins, tens of millions of refugees, and a slide into anarchy and chaos. As the world was slowly rebuilt, this aspect of the war was forgotten - but it had a lasting impact.

The music in this episode is from Ida Pinkert's 'Four Songs', played by the Nimrod Ensemble of Berlin as part of the Lebensmelodien project, which seeks to rediscover the lost music of composers affected by the Holocaust (www.lebensmelodien.com).

Professor John Bodnar, author of The 'Good War' in American Memory, discusses America's World War Two. The United States came out of the conflict as a victorious superpower. But this has encouraged a narrative of American exceptionalism which has not lived up to critical scrutiny, with historians revealing a divided and often violent country during the war years.

The music in this episode is from Ida Pinkert's 'Four Songs', played by the Nimrod Ensemble of Berlin as part of the Lebensmelodien project, which seeks to rediscover the lost music of composers affected by the Holocaust (www.lebensmelodien.com).

Professor Geoffrey Roberts explains why the Soviet-German conflict on the Eastern front was the decisive theatre of the Second World War: without it, Nazi Germany would certainly have taken much longer to defeat. Despite this, outside military accounts, the Red Army's struggle has been overshadowed in Western narratives by the Anglo-American war effort. Professor Roberts corrects the balance.

The music in this episode is from Ida Pinkert's 'Four Songs', played by the Nimrod Ensemble of Berlin as part of the Lebensmelodien project, which seeks to rediscover the lost music of composers affected by the Holocaust (www.lebensmelodien.com).