Germany

Fülszöveg

GERMflNY
1866-1945
GORDON A. CRAIG
Twice in this century Germany has plunged the world into a devastating world war. How could such a situation have arisen, and what factors in the Germán character and national development resulted in such belligerent conduct? One of America's most distinguished historians of modern Germany addresses himself to these questions in this magisterial and fascinating history of Germany from 1866 to 1945.
Craig writes: "The brief history of united Germany, which lasted only sev-enty-five years and died in the rubble of Berlin in 1945, demands attention . . . not only for what it has to teach about the role of fear and cupidity in humán affairs, about the seductions of power and the consequences of political irresponsibility, and about the apparently limitless inhu-manity that man is capable of inflicting on his fellows, but because it alsó has much to say about courage and steadfastness, about devotion to the cause of liberty, and about resistance... Tovább

Fülszöveg

GERMflNY
1866-1945
GORDON A. CRAIG
Twice in this century Germany has plunged the world into a devastating world war. How could such a situation have arisen, and what factors in the Germán character and national development resulted in such belligerent conduct? One of America's most distinguished historians of modern Germany addresses himself to these questions in this magisterial and fascinating history of Germany from 1866 to 1945.
Craig writes: "The brief history of united Germany, which lasted only sev-enty-five years and died in the rubble of Berlin in 1945, demands attention . . . not only for what it has to teach about the role of fear and cupidity in humán affairs, about the seductions of power and the consequences of political irresponsibility, and about the apparently limitless inhu-manity that man is capable of inflicting on his fellows, but because it alsó has much to say about courage and steadfastness, about devotion to the cause of liberty, and about resistance to the evils of tyranny."
Modern Germany began in 1866, when Bismarck brought together a number of Germán states into an informál unión, which in turn became a nation in 1871, after the Franco-Prussian War. This book pays close attention to the people, parties, and pressure groups that influenced Germán policy in foreign and domestic affairs.
Craig delineates the baleful influence mili-tary agencies exerted in the political proc-ess. His book is alsó a rich cultural history of Germany in its formative period, for it deals brilliantly with subjects such as the social influence of religion, the effect of the educational system on social classes and attitudes, the role of intellec-tuals in the state, and the place of art and literature in different historical periods.
Half the book is devoted to the crucial period following the collapse of Germany in World War I. Craig deals with Weimar Germany in all its contradictory ele-ments and shows how forces at work before and during the war combined with postwar conditions to sap the strength of the Germán republic and so brought Hit-ler's Nazi regime to power. The book is especially memorable in its rich and in-cisive account of Nazi Germany—its in-stitutions, foreign policy, military strategy, and morál bankruptcy. The book is a notable addition to the Oxford History of Modern Europe series.
Gordon A. Craig is J. E. Wallace Sterling Professor of Humanities at Stanford University. His many books include The Politics of the Prussian Army. Vissza