The German Empire, its structure, its dynamic development between 1871 and 1918, and its legacy, have been the focus of lively international debate that is showing signs of further intensification as we approach the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. Based on recent work and scholarly arguments about continuities and discontinuities in modern German history from Bismarck to Hitler, well-known experts broadly explore four themes: the positioning of the Bismarckian Empire in the course of German history; the relationships between society, politics and culture in a period of momentous transformations; the escalation of military violence in Germany's colonies before 1914 and later in two world wars; and finally the situation of Germany within the international system as a major political and economic player. The perspectives presented in this volume have already stimulated further argument and will be of interest to anyone looking for orientation in this field of research.
Author(s): Sven Oliver Muller, Sven Oliver M. Ller, Cornelius Torp
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Year: 2012
Language: English
Pages: 362
City: New York
Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I THE PLACE OF IMPERIAL GERMANY IN GERMAN HISTORY
Chapter 1 When the Sonderweg Debate Left Us Helmut Walser Smith
Chapter 2 The Impossible Vanishing Point Societal Differentiation in Imperial Germany
Chapter 3 Was the German Empire a Sovereign State?
Chapter 4 Theories of Nationalism and the Critical Approach to German History
Part II POLITICS, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY
Chapter 5 The Authoritarian State and the Political Mass Market
Chapter 6 Using Violence to Govern The German Empire and the French Third Republic
Chapter 7 Women’s Suffrage and Antifeminism as a Litmus Test of Modernizing Societies A Western European Comparison
Chapter 8 Germany in the Age of Culture Wars
Chapter 9 Their Favorite Enemy German Social Historians and the Prussian Nobility
Chapter 10 A Difficult Relationship Social History and the Bourgeoisie
Chapter 11 Cultural Nationalism and Beyond Musical Performances in Imperial Germany
Part III WAR AND VIOLENCE
Chapter 12 1914–1945: A Second Thirty Years War? Advantages and Disadvantages of an Interpretive Category
Chapter 13 The Enduring Charm of the Great War Some Reflections on Methodological Issues
Chapter 14 The First World War and Military Culture Continuity and Change in Germany and Italy
Chapter 15 A German Way of War? Narratives of German Militarism and Maritime Warfare in World War I
Chapter 16 German War Crimes 1914 and 1941 The Question of Continuity
Part IV THE GERMAN EMPIRE IN THE WORLD
Chapter 17 From the Periphery to the Center On the Significance of Colonialism for the German Empire
Chapter 18 The Kaiserreich as a Society of Migration
Chapter 19 Wilhelmine Nationalism in Global Contexts Mobility, Race, and Global Consciousness
Chapter 20 Imperial Germany under Globalization
Chapter 21 German Industry and American Big Business, 1900–1914
Select Bibliography
Notes on Contributors
Subject Index
Index of Persons
