Broken glass, twisted beams, piles of debris--these are the early
memories of the children who grew up amidst the ruins of the Third
Reich. More than five decades later, German youth inhabit manicured
suburbs and stroll along prosperous pedestrian malls. Shattered Past
is a bold reconsideration of the perplexing pattern of Germany's
twentieth-century history. Konrad Jarausch and Michael Geyer explore the
staggering gap between the country's role in the terrors of war and its
subsequent success as a democracy. They argue that the collapse of
Communism, national reunification, and the postmodern shift call for a
new reading of the country's turbulent development, one that no longer
suggests continuity but rupture and conflict.
Comprising original essays, the book begins by reexamining the
nationalist, socialist, and liberal master narratives that have
dominated the presentation of German history but are now losing their
hold. Treated next are major issues of recent debate that suggest how
new kinds of German history might be written: annihilationist warfare,
complicity with dictatorship, the taming of power, the impact of
migration, the struggle over national identity, redefinitions of
womanhood, and the development of consumption as well as popular
culture. The concluding chapters reflect on the country's gradual
transition from chaos to civility. This penetrating study will spark a
fresh debate about the meaning of the German past during the last
century.
There is no single master narrative, no Weltgeist, to be discovered. But
there is a fascinating story to be told in many different ways.
