Shattered Past: Reconstructing German Histories

by Konrad H. Jarausch, Michael Geyer

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 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.

Genres: History, European History

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2002

About the author

Konrad H. Jarausch is the Lurcy Professor of European Civilization at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Reviews

[Enya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought-provoking, clever and at times harrowing, this book is no light-hearted read but it tackles essential issues that anyone trying to understand German history will undoubtedly encounter.

Though the focus of the book is more about German identity and Germany's place in historiography, its ideas are pretty accessible to anyone with a keen interest in knowing more about the 20th century and Germany's place within it. It approaches many difficult subjects with a painful honesty that puts trauma under the microscope and investigates its causes and consequences.

While certain chapters of the book would be more useful if you're studying a specific theme or period of German history, it's really in the book's completeness that it gives you a well-rounded perspective of the issues with looking at complex histories and identities which is an invaluable tool for any student looking to expand their critical thinking.

Shattered Past also has a goldmine of research to draw from which, when approaching the daunting swath of literature about 20th century Germany, is a vital yellow brick road through which to learn more about particular issues. What's more, the book evaluates a broad range of literature and assesses their usefulness in turn which can save a student many hours of being slogged over articles only to find them of poor reputation.

After reading the book from cover to cover over a period of six months, my heavily annotated and underlined copy will have a secure home on my bookcase for a long time as it's one of the most thought-provoking academic books I've read so far.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do have a soft spot for the essay, and this book is a collection of the more daring in this vein. Each one of these is remarkably efficient in summarizing a paralyzing quantity of literature and history, and offers some interesting new approaches to German history. Not all are as original as intended, perhaps, but they all plead their respective cases nicely. I was particularly partial to the final section on the fusion of history and catastrophe, but then again, that's what I study.