Contemporary History and Contemporary Studies

Dr. Kim Wünschmann in Kooperation mit Dr. Christopher Dillon (King's College London)

The German Revolution of 1918/19 marks a historical turning point at which, following the catastrophe of the Great War, soldiers and civilians rose up to overthrow the German Empire’s political and military leadership. Its centenary offered a timely occasion to re-evaluate its contested history and memory by focussing on the socio-cultural realm of expectations, experiences, and responses. The German Revolution was a key event in the era of seismic transnational upheaval which shook Europe between 1916 and 1923. An advanced industrial economy with the most powerful organised labour movement in the world, Germany was practically, strategically, and symbolically critical to competing visions of the future in this new age of revolution.

An edited volume with new research on the German Revolution will shed new light on the history of the German Revolution by shifting attention to the practices and agencies of protagonists and stakeholders also beyond the political elites. It will explore the subjective dimension of the events and investigate the diverse expectations, experiences, and responses of Germans old and young, female and male, rural and urban, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish. The volume is based on an international conference organised by Christopher Dillon, Christina von Hodenberg, Steven Schouten and Kim Wünschmann. It took place at the German Historical Institute London and was funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. To view the conference programme click here

A conference report by Marius S. Ostrowski has been published in
German Historical Institute Bulletin, Vo. 41 (2019), No. 1.

Dr. Kim Wünschmann
Phone: 040 42838 2100
E-mail: kim.wuenschmann[at]igdj-hh.de