Over the course of the twentieth century, Germans from virtually
all walks of life were touched by two problems: forging a sense of
national community and coming to terms with widespread
suffering. Arguably no country in the modern Western world has
been so closely associated with both inflicting and overcoming
catastrophic misery in the name of national belonging.
	
    Within this context, the concept and ideal of "sacrifice" have
played a pivotal role in recent German political culture. As the
seven studies in this volume show, once the value of heroic
national sacrifice was invoked during World War I to mobilize
German soldiers and civilians, it proved to be a remarkably
effective way to respond to a wide variety of social dislocations.

    How did the ideals of sacrifice play a role in constructing
German nationalism? How did the Nazis use this idea to justify
mass killing? What consequences did this have for postwar
Germany? This volume opens up discussions about the history of
twentieth-century German political life.

_________________________________________________________

GREG EGHIGIAN is an associate professor of modern European
history at Pennsylvania State University in University Park,
Pennsylvania. MATTHEW PAUL BERG is an associate professor
of history and coordinator of modern European studies at John
Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.


Number Thirty-four: Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures