Easier Fatherland: Germany and the Twenty-First Century

Description

Germany is the most powerful country in Europe, yet remains little understood - by itself, as much as by the rest of the world. It is in a state of remarkable flux, confronting the demons of the past, even as it gropes its way towards a new almost-normality. The enlargement of the European Union, which has brought formerly Communist countries of Eastern Europe into the EU, makes Germany's role more pivotal than ever. So what makes this country tick? For decades after the Second World War as the country remained poliuted by the Nazl legacy, there was little attempt to confront the past. Today, such confrontation with history is everywhere - and, at the same time, Germany itself has become more relaxed. Steve Crawshaw's remarkable book explores these changes in mindset and how German society itself, 15 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall is now in the midst of the greatest changes of all.

Steve Crawshaw is London Director of Human Rights Watch and former Germany bureau chief for the Independent. He is the author of 'Goodbye to the USSR' and his five-part BBC series 'Germany Inside Out' was broadcast in Spring 2003.

Mention in New Statesman, March 2009