Urbanization and Crime Germany 18711914 [Paperback]

A 1995 study of urban crime in Imperial Germany, questioning whether cities, in themselves, cause crime.This book contributes to modern German history and to the sociological understanding of crime in urban societies. Its central argument is that cities do not cause crime. It focuses on crime during Germany's period of most rapid growth. From 1871-1914, German cities, despite massive growth, socialist agitation, non-ethnic immigration, and the censure of conservative elites, were not particularly crime-infested. Nevertheless, governmental authorities often overreacted against city populations, helping to set Germany on a dangerous authoritarian course.This book contributes to modern German history and to the sociological understanding of crime in urban societies. Its central argument is that cities do not cause crime. It focuses on crime during Germany's period of most rapid growth. From 1871-1914, German cities, despite massive growth, socialist agitation, non-ethnic immigration, and the censure of conservative elites, were not particularly crime-infested. Nevertheless, governmental authorities often overreacted against city populations, helping to set Germany on a dangerous authoritarian course.This book contributes to modern German history and to the sociological understanding of crime in urban societies. Its central argument is that cities do not cause crime. It focuses on crime during Germany's period of most rapid growth. From 1871-1914, German cities, despite massive growth, socialist agitation, non-ethnic immigration, and the censure of conservative elites, were not particularly crime-infested. Nevertheless, governmental authorities often overreacted against city populations, helping to set Germany on a dangerous authoritarian course.Introduction; 1. The criminal justice system: safe streets in a well-organized police state; 2. Popular opinion: crime as a 'foreign' concept; 3. Long-term trends: the modernization of crime and the modernilc,