Turning to Nature in Germany Hiking, Nudism, and Conservation, 1900-1940 [Hardcover]

Turning to Nature in Germanyis a study of mass movements that aimed to bring the German people into closer contact with nature. In the early twentieth century organized hikers, nudists, and conservationists all looked to nature for solutions to the nation's political crises. Following these movements over three political erasthe Second Empire, the Weimar Republic, and the Third Reichthe book shows how manifestations of popular culture reflected the concerns and hopes of their time. Williams breaks with historians who have long seen nature movements as anti-modern and irrational by arguing that naturists were calling not for Germany to turn back the clock, but for the nation to find a way to navigate the treacherous waters of contemporary life and strive toward a brighter future.Turning to Nature in Germanytraces the history of organized hiking, nudism, and conservation in the earlier twentieth century, showing how hundreds of thousands of Germans sought to find solutions to the nation's crises in nature Williams offers valuable new insights . . . revealing some striking similarities but also some important differences in the way in which class impacted on German attitudes to nature. John Alexander Williams is Professor of History at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. [Turning to Nature in Germany] offers a valuable corrective to long-held assumptions about nature movements in Germany . . . [It] is a fine contribution to the scholarship on nature movements, German culture, and youth. Unlike many other works on twentieth-century Germany, it manages to show continuities across the major milestones of 1914, 1918, and 1933. Beyond an admirable ability to move across historical breaks, Williams manages to make cogent connections to broader cultural phenomena, especially sexuality. In grouping nudism, youth, and conservation together, he creates fertile connections and promotes a deeper understanding of the role of nature in German society. ThlÁ