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aaastrike's review against another edition
The author is not a historian but he is a very good storyteller. An interesting read but I probably wouldn't suggest to read only this book for those who want to learn German History.
claudemonet's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Informatives Buch, lohnt sich auf jeden Fall zu lesen. In wenigen Seiten bzw. in ein paar Stunden hat man sich die Geschichte Deutschlands durchgelesen.
Ob seine These, dass Deutschland schon immer geteilt war und Preußen bzw. Ostdeutschland an der Ausrichtung nach Osten und an den autoritären Figuren der deutschen Geschichte sowie an aktuellen Bewegungen schuld sind erscheint fraglich. Aber sie bietet durchaus Erklärungsansätze.
Ob seine These, dass Deutschland schon immer geteilt war und Preußen bzw. Ostdeutschland an der Ausrichtung nach Osten und an den autoritären Figuren der deutschen Geschichte sowie an aktuellen Bewegungen schuld sind erscheint fraglich. Aber sie bietet durchaus Erklärungsansätze.
sydsnot71's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed reading this immensely. It's a brisk introduction to the history of Germany and Hawes makes a good case that there have always been two Germanies. A western looking, liberal one and an Eastern looking, illiberal one - which he calls East Elbia. And it is this East Elbia that has been the problem part since 'unification' in 1870 (and before.)
WARNING - this may be a half-arsed understanding of Hawes's approach.
Interestingly, he suggests that the decision by the British to give the Rhineland to Prussia in 1814 is basically a terrible error from which most of the catastrophes of the 20th century spiral out. I have always said that if you're talking about a problematic parts of the world you'll often find British fingerprints all over it, e.g. Pakistan/India, Palestine/Israel (and the Middle East in general) and the artificial borders of Africa. Now I can add Germany to that list.
I'd say though that if you're learning about modern Germany - either at school or not - then read this book before you get to the period you're studying as it gives a really solid context to what follows.
WARNING - this may be a half-arsed understanding of Hawes's approach.
Interestingly, he suggests that the decision by the British to give the Rhineland to Prussia in 1814 is basically a terrible error from which most of the catastrophes of the 20th century spiral out. I have always said that if you're talking about a problematic parts of the world you'll often find British fingerprints all over it, e.g. Pakistan/India, Palestine/Israel (and the Middle East in general) and the artificial borders of Africa. Now I can add Germany to that list.
I'd say though that if you're learning about modern Germany - either at school or not - then read this book before you get to the period you're studying as it gives a really solid context to what follows.