The introduction to this concluding volume in The Short Oxford History of Europe series begins with a vivid contrast, setting the struggle for survival in a devastated rubble-strewn street of East Berlin in 1945 against the same location in the reunited city at the end of the century, unrecognizable in its gleaming, confident, cosmopolitan affluence. It brings home the extraordinary waves of transformation that have washed across Europe in the second half of the 20th century, sketching out the major general patterns of this change, and exploring some of the local themes and variations in different parts of Europe. The result should be useful for for students of contemporary history, politics and European studies, also offering insights to any reader interested in the roots and fruits of the post-war European renaissance.