Out of the darkness : the Germans, 1942-2022

Summary: 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: print
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?