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Germany’s Struggle for Modernity
Society, Economy, Culture, and Politics, 1789-1918
Jürgen Kocka
Translated by Volker Berghahn
208 pages, 11 ills., bibliog., index
ISBN 978-1-80539-958-2 $135.00/£104.00 / Hb / Published (April 2025)
eISBN 978-1-80539-959-9 eBook
Reviews
“Jürgen Kocka's gamble has paid off: in a relatively short book, the historian synthesizes the essential points of historiography dedicated to the nineteenth century, while providing some personal reflections on each theme.” • Revue de l’Institut français d’histoire en Allemagne
“At first glance, you wouldn't believe it: that structural history can be read just as entertaining and fluid as an event story, just as exciting as a novella or a novel. But this book proves that it is possible.” • Taz
“Kocka succeeds in impressively carving out the Janus character of the 19th century on just 150 pages (the remaining 90 pages are appendices). For him, the defining characteristic of the era is the process of comprehensive modernization, which spared practically no area of the state, economy and society.” • Frankfurter Hefte
“The great strength of Kocka's approach is (still) the concentration on central terms and debates, which are worked out very clearly, as well as the concise and consistently topical, pointed summary of debates, each of which presents different positions fairly, and refers to their changes over time in order to then weigh them in a comprehensible way.” • Sehepunkte
Description
In the historiography of modern Germany, the nineteenth century’s innovations mark a period of seismic change. From accelerating demographic growth to growing secularization and the rise of nationalism, it was a century which laid the foundations for both a civil society and the dictatorships of the twentieth century. In this comprehensive history of Germany from 1780 to 1918, Jürgen Kocka re-examines the transformative interactions that took place between society, economy, culture, and politics. Innovatively resituating these developments within a wider context of conflict and transformation in Europe, this book illuminates new ways to understand the emergence of classical modernity within the nineteenth century.
Jürgen Kocka is a historian of modern Germany and Europe. Since 1988, he has held the position of Professor of the History of the Industrial World at the Free University of Berlin. Focusing on comparative approaches, social history and the cooperation between history and the social sciences, he has held positions such as President of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) and President of the International Organization of Historians. His recent publications include; Kampf um die Moderne: Das Lang 19. Jahrhundert in Deutschland (bpb 2021), Historians and the Future (Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study 2020), and Capitalism: A Short History (Princeton University Press 2016).
Volker Berghahn is the Seth Low Emeritus Professor of History at Columbia University. He has written on European-American business and cultural relations for many years and more recently returned to the study of modern German history in the twentieth century. His recent publications include: Journalists between Hitler and Adenauer (2018), Hans-Günther Sohl als Stahlunternehmer und Präsident des Bundesverbandes der Deutschen Industrie (2020) and The Insider-Outsider of Early-Twentieth Century German Industry (2024).
Subject: History: 18th/19th CenturyHistory: 20th Century to PresentHistory: World War I
Area: Germany
Contents
Download ToC (PDF)
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