| Easier Fatherland: Germany and the Twenty-First Century Revised Edition Contributor(s): Crawshaw, Steve (Author) |
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ISBN: 0826476171 ISBN-13: 9780826476173 Publisher: Continuum OUR PRICE: $40.80 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2004 Annotation: Germany is the most powerful country in Europe, yet remains little understood--by itself, as much as by the rest of the world. It is in a state of remarkable flux, confronting the demons of the past, even as it gropes its way towards a new almost-normality. The enlargement of the European Union, which has brought formerly Communist countries of Eastern Europe into the EU, makes Germany's role more pivotal than ever. For decades after the Second World War as the country remained polluted by the Nazi legacy, there was little attempt to confront the past. Today, such confrontation with history is everywhere--and, at the same time, Germany itself has become more relaxed. Steve Crawshaw's remarkable book explores these changes in mindset and how German society itself, 15 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, is now in the midst of the greatest changes of all. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Europe - Germany - History | Social History |
| Dewey: 943.088 |
| LCCN: 2005279388 |
| Physical Information: 0.5" H x 6.1" W x 9.2" (0.80 lbs) 250 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1990's - Chronological Period - 21st Century - Cultural Region - Germany |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Germany is the most important and powerful country in Europe. And yet it remains strangely little understood - by itself, as much as by the rest of the world. It is in a state of remarkable flux, confronting the demons of the past, whilst also seeking to make the West and the East into one country - a much greater challenge than it seemed. The coming enlargement of the European Union, which will bring much of formerly communist Eastern Europe into the EU, will make Germany more pivotal than ever. So what makes this country tick? For decades after the Second World War, the country remained strongly polluted by the Nazi legacy; there was little attempt to confront the past. For today's younger generation, by contrast, Nazism was a weird aberration that they themselves have difficulty in understanding. The book will explore those changes, and how German society itself is still in the midst of enormous change. The story takes us through three periods: Before the Poison (pre-1933), The Poison (1933-45) and - the heart of the book - the period of Coming to Terms, and the changes that this period has brought to the shape of the country. The coming to terms with the past overlaps, from 1990 onwards, with the East-West story, where mutual misunderstanding has been rife. |