Five Germanys I Have Known

It is no exaggeration to say that for both Americans and Germans Fritz stern is a living National treasure. —ambassador Richard holbrooke the German question Haunts the modern world: How could so civilized a nation be responsible for the greatest horror in Western history? In this unusual fusion of personal memoir and history The celebrated scholar Fritz stern refracts the question through the prism of his own life. Born in the Weimar Republic exposed to five years of National socialism before being forced into exile in 1938 in America he became a world-renowned historian whose work opened new perspectives on the German past. Weaving together interpretative narrative historical analysis and dramatic personal anecdote stern brings to life the five Germany he has experienced: Weimar the third Reich post-war West and East Germany and the unified country after 1990. Through his engagement with the nation from which he and his family fled he shows that the tumultuous history of Germany alternately Europe''s strength and Europe''s scourge offers political lessons for citizens everywhere—especially those facing or escaping from tyranny. His friendships with leading German intellectuals and politicians give him special insights into their struggle to create a liberal democracy. In this wise tough-minded and subtle book stern himself a passionately engaged citizen looks steadily beyond Germany to issues of political responsibility that concern everyone. Five Germany I have known vindicates his belief that at its best history is our most dramatic introduction to a moral civic life.