Introduction

“In the last two centuries, more and more people have come to see history in terms of relentless, often painful movement away from the past and toward an uncertain future.” There are precious few countries for which this quote applies more than Germany, whose experience with historical trauma goes back further than the past two hundred years. From at least the 30 Years War, Germany has been geographically situated in the so-called Mittellage, surrounded by great powers who often fought their wars on German territory.