“History of Germany, 1780-1918: The Long Nineteenth Century”, by David Blackbourn

476 pages, Blackwell, ISBN-13: 978-0631231967

Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, über alles in der Welt…oh, sorry, mustn’t sing that first lyric in the Deutschlandlied anymore, must we? But this lyric doesn’t mean what you think it means, and in order to discover its original, much more positive meaning, just read David Blackbourn’s History of Germany, 1780-1918: The Long Nineteenth Century – but NOT if you are a noob to German history, for this is yet another academic treatise that assumes you are familiar with the outlines of German history and are looking to dive into the weeds after more specialist and esoteric detail. For all of you who are familiar with German history outside of the 20^th Century, then by all means take the plunge, my friend. First, the title: yes yes yes, I know I know: according to the calendar the 19^th Century began on January 1^st 1801 and ended on December 31^st 1900, but calendars do not concern us here; as an historical, cultural and philosophical epoch, the 19^th Century really began in Germany in 1780 as the immense flowering of the German intellect began to show and ended in 1918 – on November 11^th, 1918, to be exact – with the defeat of the German Empire in World War I. There, see?

As mentioned above, The Long Nineteenth Century is a serious textbook and not the kind of work you cuddle in your arms as you cozy up to a fireplace on a sleepy Saturday afternoon; it is written in a dry, arcane and academic style which will turn off many readers not used to such stuff. Many pages are devoted to such topics as – ahem – the economic development of Germany from an agricultural to a strong industrial economy; the emergence of Prussia as the leading German state leading to the unification of the nation in 1871 following the victory over France at the Battle of Sedan; the rise of Prussian militarism as Otto “the Iron Chancellor” Bismarck makes Germany a nation to be reckoned with in the world economy and arms race; the rise of industrialization and the growth of coal mining, steel production and iron manufacturing; the rise of anti-Semitism, imperialism and racism; the ever-increasing Catholic-Protestant hostility, as well as religious conflicts with the government, along the rise of modern biblical scholarship that began in German universities; the explosion of city populations as problems with slums and crime became major concerns; and much, much more besides. One interesting revelation in this book is that, according to Blackbourn, the course of German history was normal; that, is the Sonderweg – “special path” – that German-speaking lands, or the country of Germany itself, supposedly followed from aristocracy to democracy was unlike any other in Europe; indeed, that it was downright dangerous to itself and the rest of the world, besides. An excellent addition to anyone’s extensive German history library.