IMPERIAL GERMANY 1871–1914, Economy, Society, Culture and Politics

[Paul Hederer]

Imperial Germany, 1871-1914: Economy, Society, Culture, and Politics

Volker R. Berghahn

Paperback: 408 pages

Publisher: Berghahn Books; 2nd edition (January 15, 2005)

ISBN: 1571810145

Price: Can be found used on-line from 1-5 pounds.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone wishing background on Germany and the Germans prior to the war.

I think we tend to forget that soldiers are not born soldiers, and grow up in, and are products of their societies.

Berghahn's book delves into all facets of pre-war Germany. Here is the chapter listing, which gives a good idea of the books depth:

Economic Sectors and Structural Change - Booms, Depressions, and Regional Developments - The Organization of Industry - Demography Structure and Development - Social Stratification and Inequalities - Men and Women - Problems of Generation and Socialization - Majorities and Minorities - Basic Patterns of Social Inequality and their Milieux - High Culture and Popular Culture - The Sciences - The Press, its Readership and the Role of Intellectuals - The Constitutional Framework - Parties and elections in a Period of Change - Organizations and Movements in the Extra-Parliamentary Sphere - Structure and Functional Changes in the Executive Branch - Foreign and Domestic Policy and Politics - The Plunge into the First World War and Conclusion.

The book is heavy on statistics at times, but these were not enough to put me off.

I can earnestly recommend this book for anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of the factors that shaped pre-war Germany, and to gain a glimpse into the societal background of the German soldier.

Paul

[SiegeGunner]

Paul,

Thanks for recommending this book, which I've just ordered. The very low price you mention only seems to apply to the 1st edition, but Amazon's price for the 2nd edition still isn't bad for a work of this scale. As a translator of German, I already know a fair bit about this period of German history, but still always feel that I should know more.

regards

Mick

[Paul Hederer]

Paul,

Thanks for recommending this book, which I've just ordered. The very low price you mention only seems to apply to the 1st edition, but Amazon's price for the 2nd edition still isn't bad for a work of this scale. As a translator of German, I already know a fair bit about this period of German history, but still always feel that I should know more.

regards

Mick

Mick,

My pleasure. I'm curious to see what you think. I find it fascinating. The sections on culture and society very much so. I thought it interesting, for example, that a noble officer, who was judged to have married "beneath his station," could be dismissed from service.

The descriptions of different situations I found amusing. "Many raised eyebrows, then forgotten," would greet the marriage of a noble person and someone from the upper-middle class.

All very illuminating.

Paul

[SiegeGunner]

Paul,

I'll be interested to find out what was considered 'below your station' in Germany at that time. British 'society' was, of course, every bit as snobbish and seems to have likewise 'raised its eyebrows' at well-born, but impecunious, men who married American heiresses of socially humble origin. How different some things might have been if David Beatty (coincidentally born January 1871) had been drummed out of the service !

regards

Mick

[paul guthrie]

One can get quite a look at Germany of that period in fictional account by Heinrich Mann, Man of Straw, great book which reminds me of Main Street Sinclair Lewis about US of the same time.

It would be quite helpful to you to hear people voicing the things, trends etc. one reads about in the abstract.

[Paul Hederer]

Paul,

I'll be interested to find out what was considered 'below your station' in Germany at that time. British 'society' was, of course, every bit as snobbish and seems to have likewise 'raised its eyebrows' at well-born, but impecunious, men who married American heiresses of socially humble origin. How different some things might have been if David Beatty (coincidentally born January 1871) had been drummed out of the service !

regards

Mick

Mick it's all there...also there was a big difference between a noble man marrying "lower"--this could be accepted, but a noble woman marrying down would never be accepted.

Paul