The multi-faceted, problematic history of the German lands has supplied material for a wide range of debates and differences of interpretation. This second edition spans the early Middle Ages to the present day, synthesizing a vast array of historical material. Mary Fulbrook explores the interrelationships between social, political and cultural factors in the light of the latest scholarly controversies.

Includes maps of: Division of the Frankish Kingdoms at the Treaty of Verdun, 843; German Empire, c. 1024-1125; Europe at the Time of the Reformation; Germany after the Peace of Westphalia; Growth of Brandenburg-Prussia to 1786; German Confederation in 1815; Development of the Prussian-German Customs Union; Unification of Germany, 1867-71; Versailles Settlement, 1919; Territorial Annexations by Nazi Germany, 1935-39; Partition of Poland in 1939; Hitler's Empire by Autumn 1942; Divided Germany after 1945.

Introduction : the German lands and people -- Mediaeval Germany -- The age of confessionalism, 1500-1648 -- The age of absolutism, 1648-1815 -- The age of industrialisation, 1815-1918 -- Democracy and dictatorship, 1918-45 -- The two Germanies 1945-90 -- The Federal Republic of Germany since 1990 -- Patterns and problems of German history.