A German Generation : An Experiential History of the Twentieth Century

Germans of the generation born just before the outbreak of World War I lived through a tumultuous and dramatic century. This book tells the story of their lives and, in so doing, offers a new history of twentieth-century Germany, as experienced and made by ordinary human beings. On the basis of sixty-two oral-history interviews, this book shows how this generation was shaped psychologically by a series of historically engendered losses over the course of the century. In response, this generation turned to the collective to repair the losses it had suffered, most fatefully to the community of the “Volk” during the Third Reich, a racial collective to which this generation was passionately committed and which was at the heart of National Socialism and its popular appeal. Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: “We Have All, Always, Sought the Collective” 14 PART I. GERMANY DURING WORLD WAR I AND THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC 32 1 Interviews: Youth 34 2 Analysis: Finding the Collective in the Youth Movement “Group” 72 3 Essays 85 The Experience of War, Revolution, Disorder, and Inflation 85 Gemeinschaft, Gesellschaft, and the Collective 89 Sexuality, Identity, and Equality in the Youth Movement 90 The Youth Movement and National Socialism 93 PART II. GERMANY DURING THE THIRD REICH AND WORLD WAR II 96 4 Interviews: Young Adulthood 98 5 Analysis: Extending the Collective in the Community of the Volk 137 6 Essays 163 The Popularity of National Socialism and the Volksgemeinschaft with Younger Germans 163 National Socialism and Women 165 National Socialism and Modernization 169 The Experiential and Racial Reality of the Volksgemeinschaft 171 “Looking Away” from Jews in Nazi Germany 174 German Knowledge of the “Final Solution” before 1945 175 German Anti-Semitism during the Third Reich 180 National Socialist Terror and the Germans 185 Men and Women during the War and in Its Aftermath 187 PART III. POSTWAR GERMANY 192 7 Interviews: Maturity 194 8 Analysis: Resurrecting the Collective in the Generational “Circle” 224 9 Essays 237 Men, Women, and the Reassertion of the Family in Postwar Germany 237 The Mitscherlichs’ “The Inability to Mourn” 243 The National Socialist Past in West German Families 247 Conclusion: The Authority of Historical Experience 250 Notes 256 Bibliography 322 Index 336 A 336 B 336 C 337 D 337 E 337 F 338 G 339 H 340 I 340 J 341 K 341 L 341 M 342 N 343 O 343 P 343 R 344 S 344 T 345 U 346 V 346 W 346 Y 347 Z 348 Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: "We Have All, Always, Sought the Collective"--PART I. GERMANY DURING WORLD WAR I AND THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC -- 1 Interviews: Youth -- 2 Analysis: Finding the Collective in the Youth Movement "Group" -- 3 Essays -- The Experience of War, Revolution, Disorder, and Inflation -- Gemeinschaft, Gesellschaft, and the Collective -- Sexuality, Identity, and Equality in the Youth Movement -- The Youth Movement and National Socialism -- PART II. GERMANY DURING THE THIRD REICH AND WORLD WAR II -- 4 Interviews: Young Adulthood -- 5 Analysis: Extending the Collective in the Community of the Volk -- 6 Essays -- The Popularity of National Socialism and the Volksgemeinschaft with Younger Germans -- National Socialism and Women -- National Socialism and Modernization -- The Experiential and Racial Reality of the Volksgemeinschaft -- "Looking Away" from Jews in Nazi Germany -- German Knowledge of the "Final Solution" before 1945 -- German Anti-Semitism during the Third Reich -- National Socialist Terror and the Germans -- Men and Women during the War and in Its Aftermath -- PART III. POSTWAR GERMANY -- 7 Interviews: Maturity -- 8 Analysis: Resurrecting the Collective in the Generational "Circle" -- 9 Essays -- Men, Women, and the Reassertion of the Family in Postwar Germany -- The Mitscherlichs' "The Inability to Mourn" -- The National Socialist Past in West German Families -- Conclusion: The Authority of Historical Experience -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z "Germans of the generation born just before the outbreak of World War I lived through a tumultuous and dramatic century. This book tells the story of their lives and, in so doing, offers a new history of twentieth-century Germany, as experienced and made by ordinary human beings. On the basis of sixty-two oral-history interviews, this book shows how this generation was shaped psychologically by a series of historically engendered losses over the course of the century. In response, this generation turned to the collective to repair the losses it had suffered, most fatefully to the community of the "Volk" during the Third Reich, a racial collective to which this generation was passionately committed and which was at the heart of National Socialism and its popular appeal"--Provided by publisher