The German Predicament: Memory and Power in the New Europe

265 Pages·1997·20.234 MB·English

by  Andrei S. Markovits, Simon Reich

THE GERMAN
PREDICAMENT

THE GERMAN
PREDICAMENT
MEMORY AND POWER
IN THE NEW EUROPE
ANDREI S. MARKOVITS
and
SIMON REICH
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
ITHACA AND LONDON
Copyright© 1997 by Cornell University
AU rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or
parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University
Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 1997 by Cornell University Press
Library o[ Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Markovirs, Andrei S.
The German predicarnent : memory and power in the new Europe 1 by
Andrei S. Markovirs and Simon Reich.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8014-2802-5 (alk. paper).
l. Germany-Politics and government-1990- 2. Germany-Relations-
Europe. 3. Europe---Relations-Germany. 4. Political culture---
Germany. l. Reich, Simon, 1959- . 11. Title.
DD290.29.M37 1997
320.943-dc20 96-42943
Printed in the United States of America
This book is printed on Lyons Falls Turin Book,
a paper that is totally chlorine-free and acid-free.
Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
To Irina and Linda
and
to the memory of our parents
with thanks
"The past will not release us"
-Klaus Kinkel, German foreign minister,
addressing the Bundestag, February 1996
CONTENTS
Preface Xl
INTRODUCTION
The Latest Stage of the German
Question
Part One: History and Analysis
CHAPTER ONE
Europe and the German Question 23
CHAPTER TWO
Optimists and Pessimists 43
Part Two: Collective Memory and Public Opinion
CHAPTER THREE
Germans and Germany:
A View from the United States 59
Vlll Contents
CHAPTER FOUR
Reactions among the Europeans 74
CHAPTER F 1 V E
The European Rim:
Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland 84
CHAPTER S 1 X
Four Small Northern States:
Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark,
Finland 91
CHAPTER SE VEN
Austria: Germany's Junior Partner 101
CHAPTER E 1 G H T
The World of Post-Communism:
Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary
(with Manik Hinchey) 109
CHAPTER NI NE
The Big States:
Italy, France, Great Britain 120
Part Three: The Three Faces of Power
CHAPTER TEN
The Deployment of German Soldiers
Abroad 137
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Germany's Economic Power in Europe
(with Frank Westermann) 150
Contents IX
CHAPTER TWELVE
Foreign Cultural Policy
(with Carolyn Hofig) 183
CONCLUSION
The Predicament of the Berlin Republic 203
Notes 209
Index 241