Globalizing German History

Traditional German history has been characterized by the supposition that German history followed a special path with unique characteristics that clearly set it apart from the history of other nations. Such accounts limited themselves to a study of German history in isolation rather than in connection to other countries. Yet very few aspects of modern German society developed in isolation and could be explained from within German society and culture alone. This global history of Germany does not focus on the relationships between the German state or the German government with other states and governments—that would be an international history—but it rather focusses on the interconnections between German society and culture with other societies and cultures and the transfer of social and cultural products such as Christmas, football, eugenics, highways between countries and nations. It further explores the development of the German-speaking diaspora in the nineteenth century and the growth of this diaspora in the aftermath of political transformations in Germany.