Abstract

By and large, the histories of East and West Germany have been studied in relative isolation. And yet, for all their differences, the historical trajectories of both nations were interrelated in complex ways, shaped by economic crises, social and cultural changes, protest movements, and other phenomena so diffuse that they could hardly be contained by the Iron Curtain. Accordingly, A History Shared and Divided offers a collective portrait of the two Germanies that is both broad and deep. It brings together comprehensive thematic surveys by specialists in social history, media, education, the environment, and similar topics to assemble a monumental account of both nations from the crises of the 1970s to—and beyond—the reunification era.

Frank Bösch is Director of the Center for Contemporary History Research and Professor of German and European History of the 20th Century at the University of Potsdam. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books on political, social, and media history, including Mass Media and Historical Change: Germany in International Perspective, 1400 to the Present (English edition: Berghahn, 2015).