International Politics and German History: The Past Informs the Present PDF
Preview International Politics and German History: The Past Informs the Present
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND GERMAN HISTORY INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND GERMAN HISTORY The Past Informs the Present EDITED BY DAVID WETZEL AND THEODORE S. HAMEROW Westport, Connecticut London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data International politics and German history : the past informs the present / edited by David Wetzel and Theodore S. Hamerow. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–275–95749–7 (alk. paper) 1. Germany—History. 2. Germany—Foreign relations. 3. International relations. 4. World politics. I. Wetzel, David. II. Hamerow, Theodore S. DD112.I57 1997 943.08—DC21 96–39840 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright 1997 by David Wetzel and Theodore S. Hamerow All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96–39840 ISBN: 0–275–95749–7 First published in 1997 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Gordon A. Craig Again Contents Introduction David Wetzel and Diethelm Prowe 1 1. Does the History of International Politics Go Anywhere? Paul W. Schroeder 15 2. The Diplomatic Revolution of Our Time Paul Gordon Lauren 37 3. Monarchy, Court, and Society in Constitutional Prussia David E. Barclay 59 4. Karl Lamprecht: A Historian’s History Roger Chickering 75 5. “Der Bund für Bürgerrechte”: Transnational Relations and the Problem of Democratization in West Germany, 1949–1954 Hermann-Josef Rupieper 87 6. German Unity and Military Professionalism: The Officer Corps of the German Armed Forces Confronts the Legacy of the Nationale Volksarmee, November 1989–January 1993 Donald Abenheim 103 7. Reflections on the German Question Gaines Post, Jr. 127 Afterword: Gordon A. Craig and the Old-Fashioned Way of Doing History David Wetzel and Theodore S. Hamerow 147 Selected Bibliography 161 viii Contents Index 171 About the Editors and Contributors 179 Introduction David Wetzel and Diethelm Prowe Historians have been writing diplomatic history for a long time, indeed ever since they penetrated the archives of state. Leopold von Ranke spent the most productive days of his life poring over the state papers of the republic of Venice. Albert Sorel wrote a masterpiece, Europe and the French Revolution (1875), which showed even in its title that the two events were linked. C. K. Webster reached the same supreme level in his study of The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh (1925). These historians and others like them set out to write history out of the foreign office archives. But they had a more important task. They claimed to be able to write about contemporary events with the same detachment as if they were treating more remote periods. The claim may have been justified, but it would be foolish to pretend that the sudden interest in contemporary events was detached or “scientific.” It was forced on them by the First World War and particularly over preoccupation with the question of “war guilt.” Had Bismarckian peace endured, it is doubtful whether the twentieth century would have shown as much concern with diplomatic history. The years between the settlement of 1919 and Hitler’s victory in 1933 were the great days of the “pure” diplomatic historian. People wanted to understand the contemporary world; historians assured them that they could do so if all diplomatic secrets were revealed. The result proved disappointing. For the most part the documents confirmed what the histo- rians had in mind before they started to write: The Germans demonstrated that they had not caused the war; Soviet historians continued to blame capitalist imperialism; and the cynical were convinced that all statesmen had lurched from one blunder to another. Thus began the great doubts about diplomatic history. It was not merely that historians had missed some revelation, or were being denied some material. They were asking the wrong questions. They had to turn from the
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