German History Unbound
From 1750 to the Present

Offers a new, polycentric vision of modern German history, focusing on the great plurality of Germans across Europe and around the world.

H. Glenn Penny (Author)

9781316510414, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 June 2022

280 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.6 kg

What is German history? Where did it take place? And what role did Germans living outside of Central Europe play in it? This polycentric history offers a new vision: It uses communities of Germans, from Austria to Chile to Russia, to rethink our narratives of modern German history. Focusing on the great plurality of Germans, and their interconnections around the world, it pointedly de-centers the nation-state while arguing that resisting its dominance in our historical narratives has high intellectual and political stakes. For within an unbound German history there are characteristics, clues, models, and precedents that can do much to undermine the return of violent, exclusionary nationalism. To that end, this book calls for a greater integration of mobilities, migration flows, different ways of belonging, and transcultural places into our narratives of Germans' histories. Ultimately, it reveals how embracing a range of narratives can help us to better understand people's actions, intentions, and motivations in particular historical moments.

1. Worldly provincials
2. Cultural nation
3. Emigrant nation
4. Binding Germany history
5. Recasting the emigrant nation
6. Vectors of indoctrination
7. Persistent postwar interconnections.

Subject Areas: 21st century history: from c 2000 - [HBLX], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], European history [HBJD]