A History of Modern Germany, Volume 2: 1648-1840

by Hajo Holborn

This second volume of a three-volume reassessment of the last five centuries of German history covers the two centuries from the crucial aftermath of the Thirty Years' War to the eve of the revolution of 1848-49. Dealing with the growth of absolutism, the author traces the founding of the Hapsburg empire and the rise of Bradenburg-Prussia, culminating in the conflict between Maria Theresa and Frederick the Great. Professor Holborn explores the impact of the French Revolution on Germany, its part in the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, and the subsequent reorganization of the German states. In his section on the Congress of Vienna, he shows the struggle between the conservatism of Metternich and the incipient liberal and national movement. Students of German history will appreciate the attention given religious, intellectual, and social developments, colorfully presented in chapters on Baroque civilization and the age of Kant, Goethe, and Beethoven.

Genres: History, Germany, European History, 19th Century, 18th Century

558 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1964

About the author

A scholar of German and European history, Hajo Holborn fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1933, first arriving in the United Kingdom, then emigrating to America. He taught at Yale and Tufts before becoming Sterling Professor of History at Yale; among his students there was Peter Gay. He became an American citizen and served as president of the American Historical Association.

Reviews

[Lobstergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a complicated, complex era and geopolitical focus. It still confuses me and maybe it will always. You can't discuss German history or even German geography without getting into Austria, the Habsburgs, the Austro-Hungarian empire, the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, France, and Poland, at a minimum. Holborn's writing is comprehensible, but dense. In addition to political, religious, military, economic, and social developments, he discusses the happenings and trends in philosophy, education, literature, and music. The visual arts, however, are slighted.

Holborn was taught by Friedrich Meinecke at Berlin University. He fled to the U.S. with his family in 1933, shortly after he had spawned the future historian and educator Hanna Holborn Gray. Teaching at Yale, his students included Peter Gay.

[Bernard English · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent coverage of religious issues, philosophy (loved his take on Leibniz), and even music. It's really hard to get someone like myself who doesn't listen to music actually interested in descriptions of what composers were up to, but Holborn managed to this. I don't feel he was able to convey the essence of military matters quiet as well; that's unfortunate because he does cover war in a fair amount of detail. The weakest part of this volume was, in my opinion, the development of technology.
And like in volume 1: the only footnotes refer to what he himself wrote in volume 1 of this series. That's rather odd (and annoying) from a book published by Princeton University Press.

[Canavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

✭✭✭✭½

[DW Rowlands · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very long and dense and, honestly, I probably wouldn't have read it if I hadn't bought it on a whim and then had it on my bookshelves for years.

[Jackson Cyril · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting fact: Holborn received a personal phone call from Goebbels to get out of Germany (his wife was Jewish).My German history prof recommended this trilogy by Holborn as the best work of German history --he was Holborn's student, so maybe some bias here. But Holborn's work is truly breathtaking in scope, thoroughness and very accessible to anyone. I only wish that he'd ditched the 50-100 pages that discussed military strategy and replaced that with some information of women, peasants and the lives of persons living in cities-- I wasn't that interested in knowing Frederick the Great's best military tactic (a forceful cavalry attack from the flank, which Napoleon greatly admired).

[Darla Stokes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a little dense and time-consuming to read, but worth it.