The German Myth of the East 1800 to the Present |
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Author:
| Liulevicius, Vejas Gabriel |
ISBN: | 978-0-19-954631-2 |
Publication Date: | Jun 2009 |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press
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Book Format: | Hardback |
List Price: | AUD $133.59AUD $178.95 |
Book Description:
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Across the generations, a varied cast of German writers, artists, philosophers, diplomats, political leaders, generals, and Nazi racial fanatics have imagined (often in very different ways) a special German mission in the East, forging a frontier myth that paralleled the American myths of the "Wild West" and "Manifest Destiny." Through close analysis of German views of the East from 1800 to our own times, The German Myth of the East reveals that this crucial international relationship...
More DescriptionAcross the generations, a varied cast of German writers, artists, philosophers, diplomats, political leaders, generals, and Nazi racial fanatics have imagined (often in very different ways) a special German mission in the East, forging a frontier myth that paralleled the American myths of the "Wild West" and "Manifest Destiny." Through close analysis of German views of the East from 1800 to our own times, The German Myth of the East reveals that this crucial international relationship has in fact been integral to how Germans have defined (and repeatedly redefined) themselves and their own national identity. In particular, what was ultimately at stake for Germans was their own uncertain position in Europe, between East and West. Paradoxically, the East came to be viewed as both an attractive land of unlimited potential for the future and as a place undeveloped, dangerous, wild, dirty, and uncultured.