Description
Book SynopsisThis unique blend of political, intellectual, and cultural history reveals how German nationalists at Frankfurt interwove cultural and political strands of the national ideal so finely as to sanction equal citizenship status in the proposed state for both the German-Jewish minority and the non-German-speaking nationalities within its boundaries.
Trade ReviewA richly contextual account that breaks down many of the received teleologies regarding the formation of German nationalism. Brian Vick examines a broad range of opinion among major and minor thinkers as well as parliamentarians of the Frankfurt assembly, producing a detailed picture of the political culture of the German middle class. The overall effect of the book is to emphasize the plasticity of nationalism and to re-embed the German case within a wider European framework. This makes a major contribution to the debate on liberalism and nationalism, furthering a more differentiated understanding of their aspirations and weaknesses. -- Konrad H. Jarausch, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Even on such well-studied issues as the contrast between the little German and greater German plans for national unification, Vick finds something new and insightful to say. The accounts of the pre-1848 discussions of the nature of the nation and national honor-notably on German racial thought in the 1840s and the extent to which it upheld ideals of human equality and common humanity, and the relationship between nationalism and the classical republican tradition-are especially good, breaking intellectual new ground. -- Jonathan Sperber, University of Missouri
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Map: The German Confederation Introduction Part I. The Vormarz Culture of Nationhood 1. Defining National Boundaries 2. The Nation as Historical Actor Part II. Nationhood and Revolution in Germany, 1848-1849 3. The German Nation and the German Jews 4. Citizenship and Nationality Rights: The Paradox of the Non-German German 5. Setting Boundaries for the New Germany 6. National Honor, National Conflict: Germany's International and Historical Role Conclusion: The German Culture of Nationhood in Comparative Perspective Notes Index
