Includes bibliographical references (pages 419-437) and index.
The founders' generation, 1871-1890 -- Wilhelmenian Germany, 1890-1914 -- World War I, 1914-1918 -- Revolution, inflation, and putsches: the search for a new consensus, 1918-1923 -- Fools' gold: the Weimar Republic, 1924-1930 -- From authoritarianism to totalitarianism, 1930-1938 -- Conquest, death, and defeat, 1938-1945 -- Condominium of the allied powers, 1945-1949 -- The Federal Republic of Germany, 1949-1990 -- The German Democratic Republic, 1949-1990 -- Euphoria and disillusionment, 1990-2005 -- The new normal, 2005 to the present -- Conclusion.