Aufbruch des Gewissens

The path of the Germans from 1942 to today, from a nation of perpetrators to a moral nation – a new, unique perspective on German history: For the first time, the renowned historian Frank Trentmann tells the story of Germany over the last 80 years from the viewpoint of morality. How did it come to be that the Germans were considered morally purified in the year of the welcome culture, 2015, after the Shoah and the war of annihilation? And are they really?

With the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942/43, the perspective of the German population on the war changed: questions of guilt and responsibility arose, marking the beginning of a moral awakening. From denazification to the economic miracle, from the 68ers to the environmental movement, from memory politics to migration and asylum, from the peace movement to the war in Ukraine, Frank Trentmann highlights the diversity of attitudes, debates, and actions. This encompasses both the Federal Republic and the GDR, as well as reunified Germany.

How did the Germans in the West learn democracy? How did they cope in the GDR with the contradiction between the promise of a new society and the reality of dictatorship? How was war and peace debated in both countries, along with work and child-rearing, duty to the nation, the treatment of prisoners of war in the Soviet Union, and the concept of home? The discussion includes the (not only financial) costs of reunification in East and West, the oil crisis of 1973, and the current dependence on Russian gas, as well as recent climate activism and growing social inequality.

Time and again, Frank Trentmann tells the stories of the people themselves, their attitudes, fears, and desires, their love and hate, ambition and compassion. He has analyzed a multitude of documents, including student newspapers and flyers, letters and diaries, sermons and community newsletters. He gives countless individuals a voice.