Duncan Kelly
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262870
- eISBN:
- 9780191734892
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262870.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter focuses on the work of Carl Schmitt during the Weimar Republic, though the limiting of focus to this period requires a few preliminary words. Chronologically, the movement from Imperial ...
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This chapter focuses on the work of Carl Schmitt during the Weimar Republic, though the limiting of focus to this period requires a few preliminary words. Chronologically, the movement from Imperial Germany to the Weimar Republic roughly coincides with Weber's untimely death in 1920. Schmitt's rapid rise to prominence within the academy and ‘high society’ during the second half of the 1920s, up to his famous role in the Preiβenshclag of 1932, provides one reason for concentrating on his writings in this period. Furthermore, the discussion suggests that the case that his Weimar writings bear the closest resemblance to Weber's thought.Less
This chapter focuses on the work of Carl Schmitt during the Weimar Republic, though the limiting of focus to this period requires a few preliminary words. Chronologically, the movement from Imperial Germany to the Weimar Republic roughly coincides with Weber's untimely death in 1920. Schmitt's rapid rise to prominence within the academy and ‘high society’ during the second half of the 1920s, up to his famous role in the Preiβenshclag of 1932, provides one reason for concentrating on his writings in this period. Furthermore, the discussion suggests that the case that his Weimar writings bear the closest resemblance to Weber's thought.
OLIVER GRANT
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199276561
- eISBN:
- 9780191706059
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199276561.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter begins with a discussion of migration and inequality in imperial Germany from 1870 to 1913. It discusses the role of migration industrialization, and its contribution to the social ...
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This chapter begins with a discussion of migration and inequality in imperial Germany from 1870 to 1913. It discusses the role of migration industrialization, and its contribution to the social dislocation which accompanies the early stages of economic growth in modern industrial societies. The chapter then considers the Weber–Lewis–Kuznets hypothesis.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of migration and inequality in imperial Germany from 1870 to 1913. It discusses the role of migration industrialization, and its contribution to the social dislocation which accompanies the early stages of economic growth in modern industrial societies. The chapter then considers the Weber–Lewis–Kuznets hypothesis.
OLIVER GRANT
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199276561
- eISBN:
- 9780191706059
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199276561.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The view that the Kaiserreich suffered from internal flaws is so deeply entrenched in German historiography that one doubts if it will ever be dispelled, however much evidence is produced against it. ...
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The view that the Kaiserreich suffered from internal flaws is so deeply entrenched in German historiography that one doubts if it will ever be dispelled, however much evidence is produced against it. This chapter reviews the alternative view presented in this book, that the Kaiserreich suffered from no more than the normal problems of a rapidly industrializing society.Less
The view that the Kaiserreich suffered from internal flaws is so deeply entrenched in German historiography that one doubts if it will ever be dispelled, however much evidence is produced against it. This chapter reviews the alternative view presented in this book, that the Kaiserreich suffered from no more than the normal problems of a rapidly industrializing society.
Oliver Grant
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199276561
- eISBN:
- 9780191706059
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199276561.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Presenting a new view of German history in the late 19th century, the author argues that many of the problems of Imperial Germany were temporary ones produced by the strain of rapid ...
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Presenting a new view of German history in the late 19th century, the author argues that many of the problems of Imperial Germany were temporary ones produced by the strain of rapid industrialization. Drawing on the tools of development economics he argues that Germany passed through a labour surplus phase as described by the Lewis Model. This period came to an end around 1900, creating more favourable conditions for political reform and social reconciliation. But Germany's progress to full political and economic maturity was derailed at the outbreak of war in 1914. The author bases his argument on an analysis of the economic and demographic forces driving migration in 19th-century Germany. High rural-urban migration led to the rapid expansion of German cities. The main factors driving this were social and economic change in the countryside and the process of the demographic transition. The release of surplus labour onto urban labour markets held back wage increases and led to an increase in inequality. The German economy behaved in a way which seemed to bear out the predictions of Karl Marx, and this contributed to the appeal of Marxist ideas and the rise of the social democratic vote. However, this was a temporary phase. The labour surplus period was largely over by 1900. The rise in inequality which had begun in the 1820s came to an end, and inequality began to fall. Contrary to received wisdom, Germany was not on the brink of a general socio-economic crisis in 1914; instead it was moving away from one. However, the political system failed to take advantage of this opportunity, and Germany's dependence on imported food and raw materials led to a strategic crisis which combined disastrously with internal political problems.Less
Presenting a new view of German history in the late 19th century, the author argues that many of the problems of Imperial Germany were temporary ones produced by the strain of rapid industrialization. Drawing on the tools of development economics he argues that Germany passed through a labour surplus phase as described by the Lewis Model. This period came to an end around 1900, creating more favourable conditions for political reform and social reconciliation. But Germany's progress to full political and economic maturity was derailed at the outbreak of war in 1914. The author bases his argument on an analysis of the economic and demographic forces driving migration in 19th-century Germany. High rural-urban migration led to the rapid expansion of German cities. The main factors driving this were social and economic change in the countryside and the process of the demographic transition. The release of surplus labour onto urban labour markets held back wage increases and led to an increase in inequality. The German economy behaved in a way which seemed to bear out the predictions of Karl Marx, and this contributed to the appeal of Marxist ideas and the rise of the social democratic vote. However, this was a temporary phase. The labour surplus period was largely over by 1900. The rise in inequality which had begun in the 1820s came to an end, and inequality began to fall. Contrary to received wisdom, Germany was not on the brink of a general socio-economic crisis in 1914; instead it was moving away from one. However, the political system failed to take advantage of this opportunity, and Germany's dependence on imported food and raw materials led to a strategic crisis which combined disastrously with internal political problems.
Erik Grimmer-Solem
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199260416
- eISBN:
- 9780191717369
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199260416.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Social History, Economic History
Social science and social reform flourished in Imperial Germany, and the historical economist Gustav Schmoller made fundamental contributions to both. Despite this, historians have neglected him. ...
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Social science and social reform flourished in Imperial Germany, and the historical economist Gustav Schmoller made fundamental contributions to both. Despite this, historians have neglected him. Questioning the term ‘German Historical School’ associated with Schmoller, this book reveals the European context of Schmoller's thought and the influence of empiricism, statistics, and advances in the natural sciences on his choice of methods. By exploring the social context in detail, it demonstrates how the nexus of young scholars around Schmoller fundamentally transformed German economics into a tool of social reform which was directly relevant to the many ‘social questions’ raised by rapid industrialization and urbanization in Germany in the 1860s. These reform efforts were novel in that they put forth the idea that inequality and poverty were ills emerging from the division of labour which society had an obligation to remedy. As a result, an awareness of the social implications of individual economic action emerged which proved remarkably useful for the development of social policy. Although the dissemination of this reform message influenced public opinion and put social reform on the political agenda, this book shows that Schmoller and his colleagues remained a beleaguered group, attacked from all political directions. It brings the fissures within German liberalism into sharp relief, revealing the persistence of a potent ideal of classlessness that fundamentally shaped German social policy. The author makes a unique and much-needed contribution to our understanding of the thought and milieu of Gustav Schmoller, the origins of social reform, and the development of the social sciences in Germany. The resulting volume addresses central questions in the historiography of the German Empire.Less
Social science and social reform flourished in Imperial Germany, and the historical economist Gustav Schmoller made fundamental contributions to both. Despite this, historians have neglected him. Questioning the term ‘German Historical School’ associated with Schmoller, this book reveals the European context of Schmoller's thought and the influence of empiricism, statistics, and advances in the natural sciences on his choice of methods. By exploring the social context in detail, it demonstrates how the nexus of young scholars around Schmoller fundamentally transformed German economics into a tool of social reform which was directly relevant to the many ‘social questions’ raised by rapid industrialization and urbanization in Germany in the 1860s. These reform efforts were novel in that they put forth the idea that inequality and poverty were ills emerging from the division of labour which society had an obligation to remedy. As a result, an awareness of the social implications of individual economic action emerged which proved remarkably useful for the development of social policy. Although the dissemination of this reform message influenced public opinion and put social reform on the political agenda, this book shows that Schmoller and his colleagues remained a beleaguered group, attacked from all political directions. It brings the fissures within German liberalism into sharp relief, revealing the persistence of a potent ideal of classlessness that fundamentally shaped German social policy. The author makes a unique and much-needed contribution to our understanding of the thought and milieu of Gustav Schmoller, the origins of social reform, and the development of the social sciences in Germany. The resulting volume addresses central questions in the historiography of the German Empire.
ERIK GRIMMER-SOLEM
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199260416
- eISBN:
- 9780191717369
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199260416.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Social History, Economic History
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of one of the most important heterodox variants of economics, the so-called ‘Historical School’ and the emergence of a ‘younger Historical School’ ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of one of the most important heterodox variants of economics, the so-called ‘Historical School’ and the emergence of a ‘younger Historical School’ in Germany between 1860 and 1890. It discusses studies on the impact of statistics and historical economics on empirical social research and the emergence of sociology, and the influence of the ‘Historical School’ on American academic disciplines and the social question as a methodological and epistemological problem in German social science The chapter also considers relevance of Gustav Schmoller and historical economics to the history of Imperial Germany. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of one of the most important heterodox variants of economics, the so-called ‘Historical School’ and the emergence of a ‘younger Historical School’ in Germany between 1860 and 1890. It discusses studies on the impact of statistics and historical economics on empirical social research and the emergence of sociology, and the influence of the ‘Historical School’ on American academic disciplines and the social question as a methodological and epistemological problem in German social science The chapter also considers relevance of Gustav Schmoller and historical economics to the history of Imperial Germany. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.
Geoff Eley
- Published in print:
- 1984
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198730583
- eISBN:
- 9780191694943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198730583.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter examines the concept of state in Imperial Germany. It attempts to determine what kind of a state the Imperial state was if it was neither a liberal state nor a straightforwardly ...
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This chapter examines the concept of state in Imperial Germany. It attempts to determine what kind of a state the Imperial state was if it was neither a liberal state nor a straightforwardly aristocratic one. It suggests that most of the existing definitions of the Imperial state maintain a discrepancy between the state as a system of political domination and its role in the economy. It highlights the need for an alternative perspective in order to better understand the Imperial period.Less
This chapter examines the concept of state in Imperial Germany. It attempts to determine what kind of a state the Imperial state was if it was neither a liberal state nor a straightforwardly aristocratic one. It suggests that most of the existing definitions of the Imperial state maintain a discrepancy between the state as a system of political domination and its role in the economy. It highlights the need for an alternative perspective in order to better understand the Imperial period.
David Blackbourn and Geoff Eley
- Published in print:
- 1984
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198730583
- eISBN:
- 9780191694943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198730583.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the peculiarities of German history, specifically bourgeois society and politics during the nineteenth century. This book ...
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This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the peculiarities of German history, specifically bourgeois society and politics during the nineteenth century. This book explains the basic assumptions in German historiography and the German historians' views concerning the problems of bourgeois revolution. It evaluates the relation of bourgeoisie with liberalism and democracy and attempts to define the concept of state in Imperial Germany.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the peculiarities of German history, specifically bourgeois society and politics during the nineteenth century. This book explains the basic assumptions in German historiography and the German historians' views concerning the problems of bourgeois revolution. It evaluates the relation of bourgeoisie with liberalism and democracy and attempts to define the concept of state in Imperial Germany.
Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199546312
- eISBN:
- 9780191720338
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199546312.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
This chapter dissects how the revolutionary unification of Germany into an empire by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck transformed the German myth of the East, creating anxieties about frontiers even as a ...
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This chapter dissects how the revolutionary unification of Germany into an empire by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck transformed the German myth of the East, creating anxieties about frontiers even as a new form of statehood was celebrated in official nationalism as a culmination of German culture. Bismarck pursued a foreign policy based on conservative solidarity with Russia while also caught in an internal struggle over the ethnic future of the ‘Eastern marches’ within Germany, its eastern provinces, and Slavic populations. The turn towards ethnic confrontation that came to the forefront after Bismarck's dismissal in 1890 can be traced in a turn towards Social Darwinism, racism, and the organized chauvinism of the nationalist leagues in both Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary. As a result, earlier conservative solidarity between the empires now changed into a mutual terror focused on threatened frontiers.Less
This chapter dissects how the revolutionary unification of Germany into an empire by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck transformed the German myth of the East, creating anxieties about frontiers even as a new form of statehood was celebrated in official nationalism as a culmination of German culture. Bismarck pursued a foreign policy based on conservative solidarity with Russia while also caught in an internal struggle over the ethnic future of the ‘Eastern marches’ within Germany, its eastern provinces, and Slavic populations. The turn towards ethnic confrontation that came to the forefront after Bismarck's dismissal in 1890 can be traced in a turn towards Social Darwinism, racism, and the organized chauvinism of the nationalist leagues in both Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary. As a result, earlier conservative solidarity between the empires now changed into a mutual terror focused on threatened frontiers.
Michelle Murray
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190878900
- eISBN:
- 9780190878931
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190878900.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics, Comparative Politics
This chapter considers the rise of Imperial Germany to world power status at the turn of the twentieth century. It argues that Germany’s bid for world power status—Weltpolitik—embodied the ...
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This chapter considers the rise of Imperial Germany to world power status at the turn of the twentieth century. It argues that Germany’s bid for world power status—Weltpolitik—embodied the recognitive practices constitutive of world power status and was designed to secure recognition from Britain, the system’s preeminent world power. Specifically, in building a powerful fleet of battleships stationed in the North Sea, German leaders reasoned they could alter the political relationship with Britain by creating a display of military force so great that Britain would recognize Germany’s position among the world powers. At the same time, these recognitive practices insulted Germany from the social uncertainty associated with intersubjective identity formation by creating the illusion that its world power status was self-evident rather than dependent on British recognition. The precariousness of its social status was revealed during the First Moroccan Crisis, when in response to acts of misrecognition Germany initiated a serious international crisis that risked war, rousing suspicions among the European great powers that Germany was a revisionist power.Less
This chapter considers the rise of Imperial Germany to world power status at the turn of the twentieth century. It argues that Germany’s bid for world power status—Weltpolitik—embodied the recognitive practices constitutive of world power status and was designed to secure recognition from Britain, the system’s preeminent world power. Specifically, in building a powerful fleet of battleships stationed in the North Sea, German leaders reasoned they could alter the political relationship with Britain by creating a display of military force so great that Britain would recognize Germany’s position among the world powers. At the same time, these recognitive practices insulted Germany from the social uncertainty associated with intersubjective identity formation by creating the illusion that its world power status was self-evident rather than dependent on British recognition. The precariousness of its social status was revealed during the First Moroccan Crisis, when in response to acts of misrecognition Germany initiated a serious international crisis that risked war, rousing suspicions among the European great powers that Germany was a revisionist power.
Alastair P. Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205432
- eISBN:
- 9780191676635
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205432.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
Who were the left liberals? No political grouping in Imperial Germany, anti-Semitic splinter groups apart, had a comparable history of splits and short-lived mergers. These disruptions were partially ...
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Who were the left liberals? No political grouping in Imperial Germany, anti-Semitic splinter groups apart, had a comparable history of splits and short-lived mergers. These disruptions were partially bridged by continuity of personnel and tradition. The label ‘left liberal’ was itself a product of diversity. It included North German groups who generally called themselves Freisinnige. However, most South German left liberals, reflecting a greater openness and attachment to radical political reform, referred to themselves as Democrats. Left liberal, as used here and by contemporaries, was an umbrella term to cover the political terrain between the National Liberals and the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD). There remains the need for a more detailed and accurate assessment of left liberal sociology. Two features emerge from an analysis of left liberal social composition. The first is the clear correlation between party and social hierarchy. The second is the wide, but correspondingly shallow spread of left liberal support. Left liberalism was also a party of minorities.Less
Who were the left liberals? No political grouping in Imperial Germany, anti-Semitic splinter groups apart, had a comparable history of splits and short-lived mergers. These disruptions were partially bridged by continuity of personnel and tradition. The label ‘left liberal’ was itself a product of diversity. It included North German groups who generally called themselves Freisinnige. However, most South German left liberals, reflecting a greater openness and attachment to radical political reform, referred to themselves as Democrats. Left liberal, as used here and by contemporaries, was an umbrella term to cover the political terrain between the National Liberals and the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD). There remains the need for a more detailed and accurate assessment of left liberal sociology. Two features emerge from an analysis of left liberal social composition. The first is the clear correlation between party and social hierarchy. The second is the wide, but correspondingly shallow spread of left liberal support. Left liberalism was also a party of minorities.
Anthony Kauders
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206316
- eISBN:
- 9780191677076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206316.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The last years of Imperial Germany saw the rise of vanguards who subjected contemporary society to searching critiques and tried to conceptualize the felt crises of history. Years before the ...
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The last years of Imperial Germany saw the rise of vanguards who subjected contemporary society to searching critiques and tried to conceptualize the felt crises of history. Years before the explosion of 1914, these men and women had developed theories and formulated ideas which after 1918 were to enter the common parlance and emerge as given forms of discourse. This chapter suggests therefore that in the period prior to the First World War the taboo against certain forms of anti-Semitism lay embedded in a context which precluded certain forms of victory, but that at a later stage these taboo rules were deprived of their original meaning and were ‘apt to appear a set of arbitrary prohibitions’. Even if events showed that the taboo was wearing down, its future remained open; and even if Germans witnessed a concerted and sustained assault on this taboo, defeat was not yet final.Less
The last years of Imperial Germany saw the rise of vanguards who subjected contemporary society to searching critiques and tried to conceptualize the felt crises of history. Years before the explosion of 1914, these men and women had developed theories and formulated ideas which after 1918 were to enter the common parlance and emerge as given forms of discourse. This chapter suggests therefore that in the period prior to the First World War the taboo against certain forms of anti-Semitism lay embedded in a context which precluded certain forms of victory, but that at a later stage these taboo rules were deprived of their original meaning and were ‘apt to appear a set of arbitrary prohibitions’. Even if events showed that the taboo was wearing down, its future remained open; and even if Germans witnessed a concerted and sustained assault on this taboo, defeat was not yet final.
Zeynep Çelik Alexander
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226485201
- eISBN:
- 9780226485348
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226485348.001.0001
- Subject:
- Art, Art Theory and Criticism
This book traces the history of “kinaesthetic knowing,” a form of knowledge associated with the movements of the body, in Imperial Germany. The figures that play central roles in the book invented ...
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This book traces the history of “kinaesthetic knowing,” a form of knowledge associated with the movements of the body, in Imperial Germany. The figures that play central roles in the book invented new pedagogical techniques with the conviction that there existed a non-discursive, non-conceptual way of knowing that could nonetheless compete in its rigour with reasoning realized through language, concepts, or logic. In doing so, they drew on the findings of the new discipline of experimental psychology. The book is structured around four techniques: a practice of comparative looking in which the eye was assumed to draw its own conclusions independently of the mind; a method of beholding that prioritized automatic and affective response rather than intellectual contemplation; a manner of drawing that abandoned the principles of imitation and composition and gave free rein to the movements of the body; and, finally, the practice of designing, a constellation of artistic techniques whose goal was to manipulate form, line, colour, and space rather than follow academic rules regarding orders, proportions, and composition. Some went so far as to argue that this alternative epistemological principle could become the basis of the human sciences at large. The faith in the epistemological value of kinaesthesia was short-lived but proved crucial: it was upon the foundation of this other way of knowing that many concepts and practices central to twentieth-century modernism were established. Primary amongst them was the formalist thrust of modern design education.Less
This book traces the history of “kinaesthetic knowing,” a form of knowledge associated with the movements of the body, in Imperial Germany. The figures that play central roles in the book invented new pedagogical techniques with the conviction that there existed a non-discursive, non-conceptual way of knowing that could nonetheless compete in its rigour with reasoning realized through language, concepts, or logic. In doing so, they drew on the findings of the new discipline of experimental psychology. The book is structured around four techniques: a practice of comparative looking in which the eye was assumed to draw its own conclusions independently of the mind; a method of beholding that prioritized automatic and affective response rather than intellectual contemplation; a manner of drawing that abandoned the principles of imitation and composition and gave free rein to the movements of the body; and, finally, the practice of designing, a constellation of artistic techniques whose goal was to manipulate form, line, colour, and space rather than follow academic rules regarding orders, proportions, and composition. Some went so far as to argue that this alternative epistemological principle could become the basis of the human sciences at large. The faith in the epistemological value of kinaesthesia was short-lived but proved crucial: it was upon the foundation of this other way of knowing that many concepts and practices central to twentieth-century modernism were established. Primary amongst them was the formalist thrust of modern design education.
Jason Crouthamel
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780859898423
- eISBN:
- 9781781385128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9780859898423.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter analyses the experiences of German soldiers in the trenches and the origins of ‘war neurosis’. It explores attempts by doctors to diagnose, control and stigmatize men who suffered mental ...
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This chapter analyses the experiences of German soldiers in the trenches and the origins of ‘war neurosis’. It explores attempts by doctors to diagnose, control and stigmatize men who suffered mental wounds as unmanly fakers. Most doctors argued that these men were hereditarily ill and that their symptoms were inherent rather than combat-induced. Traumatized men were excluded from pensions and treated as criminals and deviants. This chapter explores how traumatized men experienced and characterized the violence that shattered their minds.Less
This chapter analyses the experiences of German soldiers in the trenches and the origins of ‘war neurosis’. It explores attempts by doctors to diagnose, control and stigmatize men who suffered mental wounds as unmanly fakers. Most doctors argued that these men were hereditarily ill and that their symptoms were inherent rather than combat-induced. Traumatized men were excluded from pensions and treated as criminals and deviants. This chapter explores how traumatized men experienced and characterized the violence that shattered their minds.
James Retallack
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199668786
- eISBN:
- 9780191779046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199668786.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Political History, European Modern History
This Introduction explains what the book hopes to achieve, its central thesis, and the related arguments it puts forward. It explains how the book throws new light on the reciprocal relationship ...
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This Introduction explains what the book hopes to achieve, its central thesis, and the related arguments it puts forward. It explains how the book throws new light on the reciprocal relationship between political modernization and authoritarian governance in Germany over six decades. The first section differentiates between social and political aspects of democratization and outlines two kinds of election battles fought in Imperial Germany—over suffrage laws and during election campaigns. Both can be appraised in terms of the values, norms, and concepts that link a society to the act of voting. The second section outlines the book’s contribution to histories of Social Democracy and the German bourgeoisie. Section three asks: Why Saxony? It argues that regional history works best as a critical tool to reassess larger questions of German history over the longue durée.Less
This Introduction explains what the book hopes to achieve, its central thesis, and the related arguments it puts forward. It explains how the book throws new light on the reciprocal relationship between political modernization and authoritarian governance in Germany over six decades. The first section differentiates between social and political aspects of democratization and outlines two kinds of election battles fought in Imperial Germany—over suffrage laws and during election campaigns. Both can be appraised in terms of the values, norms, and concepts that link a society to the act of voting. The second section outlines the book’s contribution to histories of Social Democracy and the German bourgeoisie. Section three asks: Why Saxony? It argues that regional history works best as a critical tool to reassess larger questions of German history over the longue durée.
James Retallack
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199668786
- eISBN:
- 9780191779046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199668786.003.0015
- Subject:
- History, Political History, European Modern History
The first two sections of this chapter cover the war years 1914–18. The first section considers the salience of suffrage issues in the effort to establish a “new order” in Germany. The crumbling ...
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The first two sections of this chapter cover the war years 1914–18. The first section considers the salience of suffrage issues in the effort to establish a “new order” in Germany. The crumbling legitimacy of the German and Saxon states is examined, particularly after July 1917. The second section examines the parliamentary and suffrage reforms that arrived in Saxony at the eleventh hour, before the Second Reich collapsed in war and revolution in November 1918. An intermezzo follows, provided by Mark Twain’s fictional account of The Curious Republic of Gondour and its plural suffrage. Concluding remarks underscore this book’s contribution to debates about long-term continuities in German history, the processes of social and political democratization, and the best ways to study electoral culture. This section argues that both kinds of election battles—election campaigns and suffrage reforms—need to be studied together.Less
The first two sections of this chapter cover the war years 1914–18. The first section considers the salience of suffrage issues in the effort to establish a “new order” in Germany. The crumbling legitimacy of the German and Saxon states is examined, particularly after July 1917. The second section examines the parliamentary and suffrage reforms that arrived in Saxony at the eleventh hour, before the Second Reich collapsed in war and revolution in November 1918. An intermezzo follows, provided by Mark Twain’s fictional account of The Curious Republic of Gondour and its plural suffrage. Concluding remarks underscore this book’s contribution to debates about long-term continuities in German history, the processes of social and political democratization, and the best ways to study electoral culture. This section argues that both kinds of election battles—election campaigns and suffrage reforms—need to be studied together.
James Retallack
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199668786
- eISBN:
- 9780191779046
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199668786.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Political History, European Modern History
This book throws new light on the reciprocal relationship between political modernization and authoritarianism in Germany over the span of six decades. Election battles were fought so fiercely in ...
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This book throws new light on the reciprocal relationship between political modernization and authoritarianism in Germany over the span of six decades. Election battles were fought so fiercely in Imperial Germany because they reflected two kinds of democratization. Social democratization could not be stopped; but political democratization was opposed by many members of the German bourgeoisie. Frightened by the electoral success of Social Democrats after 1871, anti-democrats deployed many strategies that flew in the face of electoral fairness. They battled socialists, liberals, and Jews at election time, but they also strove to rewrite the electoral rules of the game. Using a regional lens to rethink older assumptions about Germany’s changing political culture, this book focuses as much on contemporary Germans’ perceptions of electoral fairness as on their experiences of voting. It devotes special attention to various semi-democratic voting systems whereby a general and equal suffrage (for the Reichstag) was combined with limited and unequal ones for local and regional parliaments. For the first time, democratization at all three tiers of governance and their reciprocal effects are considered together. Although the bourgeois face of German authoritarianism was nowhere more evident than in the Kingdom of Saxony, this book illustrates how Germans grew to fear the spectre of democracy. Certainly twists and turns lay ahead, yet that fear made it easier for Hitler and the Nazis to inter German democracy in 1933.Less
This book throws new light on the reciprocal relationship between political modernization and authoritarianism in Germany over the span of six decades. Election battles were fought so fiercely in Imperial Germany because they reflected two kinds of democratization. Social democratization could not be stopped; but political democratization was opposed by many members of the German bourgeoisie. Frightened by the electoral success of Social Democrats after 1871, anti-democrats deployed many strategies that flew in the face of electoral fairness. They battled socialists, liberals, and Jews at election time, but they also strove to rewrite the electoral rules of the game. Using a regional lens to rethink older assumptions about Germany’s changing political culture, this book focuses as much on contemporary Germans’ perceptions of electoral fairness as on their experiences of voting. It devotes special attention to various semi-democratic voting systems whereby a general and equal suffrage (for the Reichstag) was combined with limited and unequal ones for local and regional parliaments. For the first time, democratization at all three tiers of governance and their reciprocal effects are considered together. Although the bourgeois face of German authoritarianism was nowhere more evident than in the Kingdom of Saxony, this book illustrates how Germans grew to fear the spectre of democracy. Certainly twists and turns lay ahead, yet that fear made it easier for Hitler and the Nazis to inter German democracy in 1933.
James Retallack
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199668786
- eISBN:
- 9780191779046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199668786.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Political History, European Modern History
This chapter begins by examining the violent street protests in 1905 in favor of suffrage reform in Saxony. At this time, the authority of Saxony’s state ministry reached a new low, and opponents of ...
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This chapter begins by examining the violent street protests in 1905 in favor of suffrage reform in Saxony. At this time, the authority of Saxony’s state ministry reached a new low, and opponents of Social Democracy were forced to temporize even as they considered which suffrage reform proposals to adopt. Then the culture of working-class protest is examined from the perspective of Social Democracy’s new confidence and bourgeois fears of “the rabble.” This chapter’s second section examines the setback suffered by Social Democrats in the Reichstag election of 1907, and the lessons they and their enemies learned. This section examines the reasons for Social Democratic losses in Saxony, which included a new willingness on the Right to undertake the hard labor of grass-roots agitation. Yet the Right still sought to slow or halt Germany’s political democratization.Less
This chapter begins by examining the violent street protests in 1905 in favor of suffrage reform in Saxony. At this time, the authority of Saxony’s state ministry reached a new low, and opponents of Social Democracy were forced to temporize even as they considered which suffrage reform proposals to adopt. Then the culture of working-class protest is examined from the perspective of Social Democracy’s new confidence and bourgeois fears of “the rabble.” This chapter’s second section examines the setback suffered by Social Democrats in the Reichstag election of 1907, and the lessons they and their enemies learned. This section examines the reasons for Social Democratic losses in Saxony, which included a new willingness on the Right to undertake the hard labor of grass-roots agitation. Yet the Right still sought to slow or halt Germany’s political democratization.
James Retallack
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199668786
- eISBN:
- 9780191779046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199668786.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, Political History, European Modern History
This chapter examines Imperial Germany’s final half-decade of peace (1909–14). It charts Saxon traditions of anti-socialism, anti-liberalism, and antisemitism, including their contingent ...
More
This chapter examines Imperial Germany’s final half-decade of peace (1909–14). It charts Saxon traditions of anti-socialism, anti-liberalism, and antisemitism, including their contingent trajectories, in the context of developments elsewhere in Germany. The first section examines Saxon parliamentary life up to the outbreak of war and battles to reform or defend Prussia’s three-class suffrage. The second section is devoted to Imperial Germany’s last general election in 1912, looking at the campaign, the voting, and efforts to “spin” its outcome. Local examples of dirty tricks are juxtaposed with larger reflections on the meaning of “politics in a new key.” After Social Democrats scored another Reichstag victory, the anti-socialist parties licked their wounds, but pressures for further suffrage reform and the task of mustering parliamentary majorities ensured that Saxony’s and Germany’s electoral cultures continued to evolve. The final section examines suffrage proposals and other remedies to overcome democratic, “dysfunctional” parliaments.Less
This chapter examines Imperial Germany’s final half-decade of peace (1909–14). It charts Saxon traditions of anti-socialism, anti-liberalism, and antisemitism, including their contingent trajectories, in the context of developments elsewhere in Germany. The first section examines Saxon parliamentary life up to the outbreak of war and battles to reform or defend Prussia’s three-class suffrage. The second section is devoted to Imperial Germany’s last general election in 1912, looking at the campaign, the voting, and efforts to “spin” its outcome. Local examples of dirty tricks are juxtaposed with larger reflections on the meaning of “politics in a new key.” After Social Democrats scored another Reichstag victory, the anti-socialist parties licked their wounds, but pressures for further suffrage reform and the task of mustering parliamentary majorities ensured that Saxony’s and Germany’s electoral cultures continued to evolve. The final section examines suffrage proposals and other remedies to overcome democratic, “dysfunctional” parliaments.
James Retallack
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199668786
- eISBN:
- 9780191779046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199668786.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, Political History, European Modern History
In October 1909 Saxony’s new plural suffrage was tested for the first and only time. This chapter begins with an examination of Social Democratic strength and the election campaign. The chapter ends ...
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In October 1909 Saxony’s new plural suffrage was tested for the first and only time. This chapter begins with an examination of Social Democratic strength and the election campaign. The chapter ends by citing different answers to a question that had resonance beyond Saxony’s borders: Did the plural suffrage save the existing social and political order from Social Democracy, or was it a grave miscalculation? In between, sections are devoted to the actions and reactions of anti-socialist groups during the campaign; to the role of left-liberal and National Liberal parties between Left and Right; to statistical analysis of plural voting and its impact on the parliamentary representation of workers and the lower-middle classes; and to contemporaries’ realization that statistical predictions about the plural suffrage’s effect on voting outcomes were flawed.Less
In October 1909 Saxony’s new plural suffrage was tested for the first and only time. This chapter begins with an examination of Social Democratic strength and the election campaign. The chapter ends by citing different answers to a question that had resonance beyond Saxony’s borders: Did the plural suffrage save the existing social and political order from Social Democracy, or was it a grave miscalculation? In between, sections are devoted to the actions and reactions of anti-socialist groups during the campaign; to the role of left-liberal and National Liberal parties between Left and Right; to statistical analysis of plural voting and its impact on the parliamentary representation of workers and the lower-middle classes; and to contemporaries’ realization that statistical predictions about the plural suffrage’s effect on voting outcomes were flawed.
