Modern Germany: An Encyclopedia of History, People, and Culture, 1871-1990.

Bruce, Gary

Modern Germany: An Encyclopedia of History, People, and Culture, 1871-1990, edited by Dieter Buse and Juergen Doerr. New York, Garland Publishing, 1998. 1iii, 1,158 pp. 2 volumes, $175.00.

It is striking that prior to 1998 there existed no reliable, English-language single-source reference on modern Germany. To be sure, there exist numerous English-language specialized lexica and companions which deal with aspects of modern German history, including John Sandford's Encyclopedia of Contemporary German Culture (New York, Routledge, 1999); Wolfgang Benz and Walter Pehle's Encyclopedia of German Resistance to the Nazi Movement (New York, Continuum, 1997); and Tim Kirk's The Longman Companion to Nazi Germany (New York Longman, 1995). In German, standard reference works include Gerhard Taddey Lexikon der deutschen Geschichte, (Stuttgart, Alfred Kroner, 1998, third edition), and the ever-growing Neue deutsche Biographie, by the Historische Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin, Duncker and Humblot, 1953 - present). Modern Germany: An Encyclopedia fills an important gap in the current array of reference works on modern Germany.

As the title makes clear, the area of investigation is that of the political entity that arose from the unification of the German states in 1871. The editors (Dieter Buse of Laurentian University, and Juergen Doerr of St. Thomas University) have confined themselves to the topic fairly strictly, so that events that had an important bearing on German unity, but which took place prior to 1871, such as the Franco-Prussian war, the Austro-Prussian war, the Zollverein, or, more distant, Frederick the Great, do not have separate entries, but are mentioned in passing. On the other hand, the editors have included a number of German-speaking individuals who have made major contributions to German culture, although their involvement with Germany as a political entity may have been limited. Literary notables such as Franz Kafka and Max Frisch have, therefore, entries in the encyclopaedia.

The entries are divided into four broad categories: individual biographies, ranging from politicians to artists to social activists; specific issues, such as "The Berlin Wall," or "Abortion"; (the above two types of entries tend to be brief); more in-depth examinations of broader fields of inquiry, such as "federalism", "poverty", "crime", or "disease"; and a fourth category which comprises lengthy entries and sub-entries on the five political units that existed in Germany in the period under investigation: Imperial Germany, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, the German Democratic Republic, and the Federal Republic of Germany. The editors are to be commended for having captured an impressive array of topics, and for having integrated subjects that dominated earlier historical investigation with more recent areas of inquiry. A reference work which covers topics such as "Carl Goerdeler," alongside topics on "architecture", "urban design", and "feminism" is of utmost value. In the significant majority of cases, the references cited at the end of each entry are the major works in the field, although certain standard texts have been missed. Hermann Weber's works on the Communist party of Germany, for example, are notable omissions.

Volume One begins with an introduction that outlines the structure of the encyclopaedia and captures the limitations and complexities of undertaking such an endeavour. A chronology of major events (broken down by year, and not further by month or date) and a subject guide follow the introduction. The reader is then introduced to the contributors to the volume prior to the first entry. Volume Two concludes with a title index.

The entries provide a level of accuracy that is uncommon in general reference works, making reliability the greatest strength of this work. Entries dealing with historiography, either in detail or in passing, such as on the "Holocaust" or the Sonderweg are particularly strong. When one considers the eminent scholars who contributed to the volume, the reliability becomes less of a pleasant surprise, and more of an expectation. The editors succeeded in attracting leading scholars to write entries, including Peter Hoffmann, Konrad Jarausch, Volker Berghahn, Otto Pflanze, and Thomas Schwartz. Leading scholars did not write all entries, but the accuracy of these other entries is nonetheless comparable with those of the acknowledged leading scholars. Although, for the most part, the editors succeed in their stated goal of presenting "information accepted by scholars, rather than interpretations espoused by specific schools," certain contributors have chosen to reveal their bias in their entries. Thankfully, such entries are few in number.

Because this encyclopaedia is superior, pointing out the following flaws amounts to quibbling. Nevertheless, the encyclopaedia would have benefitted by some minor organizational changes. First, there are few maps. Maps would have greatly enhanced the entries dealing with the individual German states (Lander) as well as the major entries on the political units of Germany between 1871 and 1990. As it stands, for example, there are no maps of East or West Germany. On the positive side, the encyclopaedia is replete with interesting images (although the quality is questionable) and useful data tables. Second, the topics covered under the major political headings (Imperial Germany, Weimar Republic, Third Reich, East Germany, and West Germany) are inconsistent. Whereas "Weimar Germany" and "Imperial Germany" are covered in three subjects (army, foreign policy, literature), the "Third Reich" is covered in nine subjects, the "F.R.G." in ten subjects, and the "G.D.R." in nineteen subjects. In certain cases, this is understandable -- it makes little sense to have a subject entry on Marxism-Leninism in the "Federal Republic of Germany" entry. However, in other cases, the rationale for subsuming information under other entries is not clear. It is not entirely clear why there would be an entry on "women" in the "F.R.G." and "G.D.R." entries, but not in the entries on the "Third Reich" or "Weimar Germany" (which are covered in separate entries under "women") or why "media" merits a topic under the "G.D.R." but not under the "F.R.G.."

In sum, Modern Germany succeeds in its goal -- a reliable, convenient, and broad reference work on Modern Germany.

Gary Bruce The University of New Brunswick