Dimensions
155 x 243 x 20mm
This is a vivid, concise account of the German Empire that Bismarck founded, from its proud proclamation at Versailles in 1871 to its final dissolution in that same palace in 1919. Michael Sturmer examines whether what Disraeli called the "German revolution" created a country too big for the balance of Europe, yet too small to dominate it, making the First World War sooner or later inevitable. He questions whether the Kaiser's rule was so backward and authoritarian as to preclude liberal evolution in his new realm, and stresses, rather, its industrial might and democratic aspirations.
The narrative combines politics with an evocation of varied everyday life in very different regions and cities, and portraits of key figures. Here is a nation leading the second Industrial Revolution of the late nineteenth century, with a social-democratic subculture and a rising liberal bourgeoisie, second-to-none in its creative unrest and energy, alive with movements such as "Jugendstil" and "Sezession" among the arts and "Wandervogel" among the youth.
