A Concise History of Germany / Mary Fulbrook

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This book aims to provide a clear and informative guide to the twists and turns of German history from the early middle ages to the present day. The multi-faceted, problematic history of the German lands has provoked a wide range of debates and differences of interpretation. Dr Fulbrook provides a crisp synthesis of a vast array of historical material, and explores the interrelationships between social, political and cultural factors in the light of scholarly controversies. German history is renowned for it peculiarities and paradoxes. The land of Luther, Bach and Goethe is also the land of Hitler and the Holocaust. The 'land in the centre of Europe' played a pivotal role in the European balance of power, yet never found a satisfactory identity or even stable boundaries. For centuries, the loose framework of the 'Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation', dominated by the Austrian Habsburgs, permitted a myriad of social and political forms and cultural traditions. With late, rapid industrialisation and unification of a Prussian-dominated 'small' Germany, domestic tensions contributed to the unleashing century, the status of a divided Germany echoed, refracted, and had implications for wider developments and divisions across the world. Only recently has the breaching of the Berlin Wall and the breathtaking rapid unification of the two germanies marked a dramatic new beginning in German history and the international order. This is the only single-volume history of Germany in English which offers a broad, general coverage of the main themes and topics. It will therefore be essential reading for all students of German, European studies and history, and will be a helpful guide to general readers, members of the business community and travellers to Germany.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of illustrations (p. ix)
• Preface (p. xv)
• 1 Introduction: The German Lands and People (p. 1)
• 2 Mediaeval Germany (p. 9)
• The beginnings of German history (p. 9)
• Germany in the early and high middle ages (p. 13)
• Germany in the later middle ages (p. 22)
• 3 The Age of Confessionalism, 1500-1648 (p. 33)
• The German Reformation: the early years (p. 34)
• The German Peasants' War (p. 40)
• The development of the German Reformation (p. 43)
• Germany in the age of Counter-Reformation (p. 50)
• The Thirty Years War (p. 53)
• The Peace of Westphalia and the effects of the War (p. 60)
• 4 The Age of Absolutism, 1648-1815 (p. 69)
• Absolutism and the rise of Prussia (p. 72)
• Religion, culture and Enlightenment (p. 84)
• The impact of the French Revolution (p. 94)
• 5 The Age of Industrialisation, 1815-1918 (p. 104)
• Restoration Germany, 1815-48 (p. 104)
• The revolutions of 1848 (p. 116)
• The unification of Germany (p. 122)
• Germany under Bismarck (p. 131)
• Society and politics in Wilhelmine Germany (p. 137)
• Culture in Imperial Germany (p. 144)
• Foreign policy and the First World War (p. 148)
• 6 Democracy and Dictatorship, 1918-45 (p. 155)
• The Weimar Republic: origins and early years (p. 156)
• The period of apparent stabilisation (p. 167)
• The collapse of Weimar democracy (p. 172)
• The consolidation of Hitler's power (p. 179)
• Foreign policy and war (p. 187)
• Holocaust, resistance and defeat (p. 197)
• 7 The Two Germanies, 1945-90 (p. 205)
• The creation of the two Germanies (p. 205)
• From establishment to consolidation (p. 212)
• Politics in the two Germanies, 1949-89 (p. 220)
• Economy and society in West Germany (p. 230)
• Economy and society in the GDR, 1949-89 (p. 235)
• The revolution of 1989 and the unification of Germany (p. 243)
• 8 The Federal Republic of Germany Since 1990 (p. 250)
• 9 Patterns and Problems of German History (p. 258)
• Suggestions for further reading (p. 262)
• Index (p. 272)

Author notes provided by Syndetics