Die Eroberung der Natur

David Blackbourn portrays the birth of modern Germany through the lens of nature conquest. Over the past 250 years, significant interventions have been made in the environment. Forests were cleared, rivers were straightened, wetlands were drained, and dams were built to tame the forces of nature and make them serve humanity. The transformation of the German landscape was accompanied by the mythologizing of nature and nation. Since the 18th century, the German landscape has been fundamentally and systematically reshaped. David Blackbourn narrates how the Germans embarked on a campaign against their environment and how they gradually subdued the animal and plant world, rivers, and marshlands: from Frederick the Great, who viewed the draining of swampland as "conquests from barbarism," to Johann Gottfried Tulla, the "tamer" of the Rhine, and dam builder Otto Intze, up to the Nazis, who sought to conquer "living space" in the east. Land reclamation and "racial policy" went hand in hand here. Blackbourn describes the development of the German landscape while simultaneously explaining how Germany evolved into a modern state. He offers readers a unique perspective that aids in understanding German history better. At the same time, he touches on issues that are more relevant today than ever: climate change and the extinction of more and more animal and plant species. Germany from a natural and cultural historical perspective - a somewhat different view of German history.