Turning points in modern times : essays on German and European history

Author(s)

• Bracher, Karl Dietrich
• Dunlap, Thomas
• Gleason, Abbott

Bibliographic Information

Turning points in modern times : essays on German and European history

Karl Dietrich Bracher ; translated by Thomas Dunlap ; with a foreword by Abbott Gleason

Harvard University Press, 1995

• : pbk

Other Title

Wendezeiten der Geschichte

Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [315]-332) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

ISBN 9780674913530

Description

This text focuses on events that occurred after 1917: the rise of Nazism on the Right and authoritarianism on the Left. It provides a framework for understanding one of the major ideological confrontations of this century - democracy versus totalitarianism in the forms of fascism, Nazism and communism. The analysis of the outcomes underscores the significance and power of democratic values and governments. Karl Dietrich Bracher extends the argument against dictatorship that runs through his life's work, offers a blueprint for dealing with the recent past of the communist East German State (DDR), looks at the true facts of the Stasi collaboration and challenges misperceptions of Hitler, Stalin and others. He also demonstrates the kinship between fascism and communism, considers Weimar and liberalism, assesses the legacy of Nazism and outlines the ethos of democracy.

Table of Contents

• Part I Historical Crises and Lessons: The Weimar Experience
• History between Ideas of Decay and Progress
• Thoughts on the Year of Revolution, 1989
• The Janus Face of the French Revolution Today: On Understanding Modern Revolution
• The Ideas and the Failure of Socialism
• Reflections on the Problem of Power
• The Dissolution of the First German Democracy
• Liberalism in the Century of Ideologies. Part II The Legacy of National Socialism: Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism: The German Dictatorship and Austria in the Antagonistic World of European Nationalisms
• Totalitarianism as Concept and Reality
• Resistance in "Right Dictatorships": The German Experience
• The Place of World War II in History
• The Dual Challenge of the Postwar Period. Part III Democracy in Transition: The Ethos of Democracy
• Problems of Orientation in Germany's Liberal Democracy
• The Germans and Their Constitutions and Institutions
• Germany in Europe: Historical Changes and Current Perspectives between National Diversity and Political Unification
• Revolution against Totalitarianism: From the End of Division to the Renaissance of Europe?
• Forty (and Nearly Sixty) Years of Dictatorship: A Challenge to a Government of Laws. Notes
• Sources
• Index.

Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780674913547

Description

This text focuses on events that occurred after 1917: the rise of Nazism on the Right and authoritarianism on the Left. It provides a framework for understanding one of the major ideological confrontations of this century - democracy versus totalitarianism in the forms of fascism, Nazism and communism. The analysis of the outcomes underscores the significance and power of democratic values and governments. Karl Dietrich Bracher extends the argument against dictatorship that runs through his life's work, offers a blueprint for dealing with the recent past of the communist East German State (DDR), looks at the true facts of the Stasi collaboration and challenges misperceptions of Hitler, Stalin and others. He also demonstrates the kinship between fascism and communism, considers Weimar and liberalism, assesses the legacy of Nazism and outlines the ethos of democracy.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Abbott Gleason Preface I. Historical Crises and Lessons 1. The Weimar Experience 2. History between Ideas of Decay and Progress 3. Thoughts on the Year of Revolution, 1989 4. The Janus Face of the French Revolution Today: On Understanding Modern Revolution 5. The Ideas and the Failure of Socialism 6. Reflections on the Problem of Power 7. The Dissolution of the First German Democracy 8. Liberalism in the Century of Ideologies II. The Legacy of National Socialism 9. Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism: The German Dictatorship and Austria in the Antagonistic World of European Nationalisms 10. Totalitarianism as Concept and Reality 11. Resistance in "Right Dictatorships": The German Experience 12. The Place of World War II in History 13. The Dual Challenge of the Postwar Period III. Democracy in Transition 14. The Ethos of Democracy 15. Problems of Orientation in Germany's Liberal Democracy 16. The Germans and Their Constitutions and Institutions 17. Germany in Europe: Historical Changes and Current Perspectives between National Diversity and Political Unification 18. Revolution against Totalitarianism: From the End of Division to the Renaissance of Europe? 19. Forty (and Nearly Sixty) Years of Dictatorship: A Challenge to a Government of Laws Notes Sources Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

• NCID: BA25103936
• ISBN:
  • 0674913531
  • 067491354X
• LCCN: 94034988
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Original Language Code: ger
• Place of Publication: Cambridge, Mass.
• Pages/Volumes: xiv, 338 p.
• Size: 24 cm
• Classification:
  • NDC9 : 234.07
  • LCC : DD237
  • DC20 : 943.08
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Germany -- History -- 20th century
  • LCSH : History, Modern -- 20th century