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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. Stern brings to life the five Germanys he has experienced: Weimar, the Third Reich, postwar West and East Germanys, and the unified country after 1990 ... he shows that the tumultuous history of Germany, alternately the strength and the scourge of Europe, offers political lessons for citizens everywhere—especially those facing or escaping from tyranny.
"Starred review. The book's intriguing structure makes it a wonderful combination of history, memoir, analysis and even poetry." - PW.
"An expansive, eloquent fusion of 'memory and history' that examines the moral questions posed by the political and social upheavals of the last century." - Kirkus.
"This brilliant and insightful volume of memories and analyses of The Five Germanys he has known is a treasure to teachers and students of contemporary history." - Elie Wiesel
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