A panegyric on Europe’s dominant country and its startlingly heterogeneous people.
At the close of the Second World War, Germany was an undisputed pariah. Seventy-three years later, it has become the moral beacon of the Western world.
'On Germany' is a refreshing portrait of the German nation in its present state, viewed through its recent history. In1945, the country was as good as finished, but it took advantage of the Cold War and the ‘Economic Miracle’ to rebuild and join the family of Western nations once more.
Giles MacDonogh tells the captivating story of Germany’s rebirth, from defeat to gradual rehabilitation, including milestones such as West German NATO accession and founding membership of the future EU. He charts the excitement as the Berlin Wall fell, and the painstaking work that followed: stitching ‘the two Germanies’ back together again, ultimately to become an economic colossus and a world leader in soft power.
The fruit of thirty years’ close study, 'On Germany' is more than a political narrative. It is rich with observations on German life, arts, religion, education, food and drink; it probes Germany’s relations with other countries, its deep-rooted provincialism, its attitude to outsiders, and, above all, its profound fear of its own dark history.
