Author Description
This is the history of the rise and fall of united Germany, which lasted only 75 years from its establishment by Bismark in 1870. Ending in the rubble of Hitler's regime, It is a history of greed, fear, cruelty, and the corruption of power on one hand; of courage, struggle for liberty, and resistance to tyranny on the other. Gordon Craig not only analyses the political structures of and the foreign, social, and economic policies of successive governments, but also examines the individuals who dominated the period and the important intellectual and cultural influences at work. His fascinating chapter on the rich diversity of Weimar culture - Mann and Hesse, Marlene Deitrich and film, Brecht, Schonberg, Expressionist art, and the growth of psychoanalytic theory - is proof enough that this is not an ordinary historybook. It is rather a full and vivid re-creation of a period of history which, as he says, demands the attention of reflective men'.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This work investigates the political, social, and cultural trajectory of the German nation from its unification in 1871 to the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945. Gordon A. Craig, a distinguished historian of modern Europe, utilizes a comprehensive analytical framework to examine the structural evolution of the German state. By synthesizing political developments with economic policy and intellectual history, the author argues that the German experience was defined by a persistent tension between authoritarian power and the struggle for democratic liberty.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of the Bismarckian political structure and its subsequent evolution.
- Examination of foreign, social, and economic policies across successive German governments.
- Detailed overview of the Weimar Republic's cultural output, including literature, film, and psychoanalytic theory.
- Biographical assessments of key figures who influenced the German state.
Scope Limits
- The text focuses primarily on the period between 1866 and 1945, excluding post-war reconstruction.
- The analysis prioritizes high-level political and cultural history over granular social history of the general populace.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Historians and scholars frequently cite this volume as a foundational text for understanding the complexities of the German state during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which balances rigorous political analysis with a nuanced exploration of cultural shifts.
Page Count:
842
Publication Date:
1980-03-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN-10:
0192851012
ISBN-13:
9780192851017
History
Political History
European History
20th Century
Cultural History
German history
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