Furious economic growth and social change resulted in pervasive civic conflict in Imperial
Germany. Roger Chickering presents a wide-ranging history of this fractious period from German
national unification to the close of the First World War. Throughout this time national unity
remained an acute issue. It appeared to be resolved momentarily in the summer of 1914 only to
dissolve in the war that followed. This volume examines the impact of rapid industrialization
and urban growth on Catholics and Protestants farmers and city dwellers industrial workers
and the middle classes. Focusing on its religious regional and ethnic reverberations
Chickering also examines the social cultural and political dimensions of domestic conflict.
Providing multiple lenses with which to view the German Empire Chickering's survey examines
local and domestic experiences as well as global ramifications. The German Empire 1871-1918
provides the most comprehensive survey of this restless era available in the English language.
