The 20th century, declared at its start to be the "Century of the Child"
by Swedish author Ellen Key, saw an unprecedented expansion of state
activity in and expert knowledge on child-rearing on both sides of the
Atlantic. Children were seen as a crucial national resource whose care
could not be left to families alone. However, the exact scope and degree
of state intervention and expert influence as well as the rights and
roles of mothers and fathers remained subjects of heated debates
throughout the century. While there is a growing scholarly interest in
the history of childhood, research in the field remains focused on
national narratives. This volume compares the impact of state
intervention and expert influence on theories and practices of raising
children in the U.S. and German Central Europe. In particular, the
contributors focus on institutions such as kindergartens and schools
where the private and the public spheres intersected, on notions of
"race" and "ethnicity," "normality" and "deviance," and on the impact of
wars and changes in political regimes.