Book
Out of the darkness : the Germans, 1942-2022 / Frank Trentmann.
In 1945, Germany lay in ruins, morally and materially. Its citizens stood condemned by history, responsible for a horrifying genocide and war of extermination. But by the end of Angela Merkel's tenure in 2021, Germany appeared to be the moral voice of Europe, welcoming more than one million refugees, holding together the tenuous threads of the European Union, and making military restraint the center of its foreign policy. Frank Trentmann paints a remarkable and surprising portrait spanning eighty years of the conflicted people at the center of Europe, showing how the Germans became who they are today. 'Out of the Darkness' is a gripping and nuanced history of the German people from WWII to the present day, including hugely revealing new primary source material on every aspect of its transformation.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780771070785 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: xxi, 784 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), maps ; 25 cm
- Publisher: New York : Signal, an imprint of McClelland & Stewart, 2024.
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Formatted Contents Note: | Introduction -- Part one. The German war and its legacies, 1942-60s -- Parzival at war : the troubled conscience -- The wages of sin : from Stalingrad to the end -- The murderers are among us : from guilt to amnesty -- Making (some) amends : reparation and atonement -- Part two. One nation, two states, 1949-89 -- The house of democracy : liberal, within limits -- A new socialist people : the many moralities of the GDR -- Searching for Heimat : east and west -- War and peace : the dilemma of arms -- Strangers at home : the difficulties of difference -- Part three. After the wall, 1989-2022 -- United and divided : the cost of freedom -- In the wide world : Germany at its limits -- Part four. Trying to be good, 1950s to the present -- Money matters : thrifty, wealthy, and unequal -- The circles of care : family, community, and state -- Mother nature : loving and trashing -- Epilogue : what is Germany for? |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Collective memory > Germany. Group identity > Germany. National characteristics, German. Germany > History > 1945- |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroud Branch | 943.08 Tre | 31681010361608 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Random House, Inc.
Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize â¢Â One of The Telegraphâs 50 Best Books of 2023 ⢠Named a Best Book of 2024 by Kirkus Reviews
A gripping and nuanced history of the German people from the Second World War to the present day, including hugely revealing new primary source material on every aspect of its transformation.
In 1945, Germany lay ruined. Its citizens stood condemned by history, responsible for a horrifying genocide and war of extermination. But by the end of Angela Merkelâs tenure in 2021, Germany looked like the moral voice of Europe, welcoming over one million refugees, holding together the tenuous threads of the European Union, and making military restraint the center of its foreign policy. At the same time, its rigid fiscal discipline and energy deals with Russian leader Vladimir Putin have cast a shadow over the present. Innumerable scholars have asked how Germany could have degenerated from a nation of scientists, poets, and philosophers into one responsible for genocide. And yet, until now, a similarly vital question has been ignored. That is, how did a nation whose past has been marked by mass murder, a people who cheered Adolf Hitler, reinvent themselves?
Trentmann tells this dramatic story from the middle of the Second World War, through the Cold War and the division of East and West, to the fall of the Berlin Wall and Germanyâs struggle to find its place in the world today. This journey includes a series of internal, moral conflicts: admissions of guilt and shame vying with immediate economic concerns, restitution for some but not others, tolerance versus racism, compassion versus complicity. Through a range of voicesâGerman soldiers and German Jews; displaced persons in limbo; East German women and shopkeepers angry about energy shortages; opponents and supporters of nuclear power; volunteers helping migrants and refugees, and right-wing populists attacking themâTrentmann paints a remarkable and surprising portrait of the German people over eighty years, showing how they became who they are today.
