Political Culture in Germany: A Paradigmatic Case

Abstract

Germany, more than most other countries, has had a dramatic and (for many Germans and non-Germans alike) traumatic history, in particular during the first half of this century. For a keen but wellmeaning observer like Sebastian Haffner it exhibited a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’-like quality (Haffner 1940; see also Haffner 1987): on the one hand, the two world wars and, in particular, the atrocities of the National Socialists have terrified the world and, on the other, such acts seemed incomprehensible in view of the rich traditions of German arts, philosophy and sciences. The eminent sociologist, Norbert Elias, has also been affected and intrigued by this ‘reversal in the process of civilization’ (Elias 1976, 1989).