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.

‘Roger Chickering presents a general survey on the history of the German Empire which is based on more than forty years of research. His book brilliantly combines this research with the knowledge of the development of the scholarship and the curiosity and openness for new approaches. The result is a Totalgeschichte of the German Empires as a realm of multiple actions and experiences.’

Karen Hagemann - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

‘The sum-total of more than fifty years of research and reflection, this comprehensive, masterful history of Imperial Germany offers a new take on the much-debated question of what went wrong in the Second Reich. It is unlikely that we will see a better interpretation of this history any time soon.’

Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann - University of California, Berkeley

‘In this fine book, Roger Chickering combines the reflections of a scholarly lifetime with a remarkable command of the most recent historical literature. The German Empire, 1871–1918 is full of new information and sharp analysis, the work of a scholar at the top of his game.’

James J. Sheehan - Stanford University