Dissonant Lives Generations and Violence Through the German Dictatorships [Hardcover]

Dissonant Livesis not a standard 'history of Germany' in the twentieth century, or even of the German dictatorships. It is concerned with the ways in which Germans of different ages and life stages lived through this terrible period in German history, and how they interpreted, confronted, and responded to the multiple challenges of their times.

In volume two, Mary Fulbrook explores the move from the Nazi dictatorship to the communism that succeeded it, examining the experiences and perceptions of selected individuals, and how major historical events affected the course of their lives and their outlooks. In doing so, she provides a new understanding of the ways in which not only the character of the German state, economy, and social structure changed over the century, but also the very character of the German people themselves.

1. Introduction: Violence and Generations
2. Violence Abroad: Aspects of Imperialism
3. Uncomfortable Compatriots: Societal Violence and the Crises of Weimar
4. Divided Generations: State Violence and the Formation of 'Two Worlds' in Nazi Germany
5. The Escalation of Violence: War and Genocide
6. Profiles: The Shifting Formation of Generations after 1945
7. Transitions from Nazism to Communism
8. Mobilization for the Future (Again)
9. The 'Iron Cage': Coming to Terms with the Present
10. Turning Points
11. Conclusions: Generations through an Age of Violence
Bibliography
Index

Mary Fulbrookis Professor of German History at University College London. She is the author of numerous books and articles on German history, includingA Small Town Near AuschwitzandAnatomy of a Dictatorship, both also published by Oxford University Press.