The Family in Modern Germany

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This cutting-edge edited collection examines the impact of political and social change upon the modern German family. By analysing different family structures, gender roles, social class aspects and children's socialization, The Family in Modern Germany provides a comprehensive and well-balanced overview of how different political systems have shaped modern conceptualizations of the family, from the bourgeois family ideal right up to recent trends like cohabitation and same-sex couples. Beginning with an overview of the 19th-century family, each chapter goes on to examine changes in family type, size and structure across the different decades of the 20th century, with a focus on the relationship between the family and the state, as well as the impact of family policies and laws on the German family. Lisa Pine and her expert team of contributors draw on a wealth of primary sources, including legal documents, diaries, letters and interviews, and the most up-to-date secondary literature to shed new light on the continuities and changes in the history of the family in modern and contemporary Germany. This book is a fantastic resource for scholars, postgraduates and advanced undergraduates studying modern German history, sociology and social policy.

Reviews

This book provides an excellent overview of the development of the Family in Modern Germany, from the German Empire to the present. It will be of great use to students. * Karen Hagemann, James G. Kenan Distinguished Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA *
This fine collection outlines the history of the family across the social spectrum, incorporating recent scholarship on gender, sexuality, emotions, public and private space, work and leisure. Leading scholars take us through both the changes and continuities across political regimes, demonstrating that the very definition of family is historically contingent and always in flux. * Julia Sneeringer, Professor of History, Queens College & the CUNY Graduate Center, USA *
This collection of essays offers a valuable survey of the history of the family in Germany from Imperial Germany to contemporary post-unification Germany, documenting changes in government policy and attitudes towards the family, marriage, sexuality, and reproduction under the various German regimes over the past 150 years. * Richard Bessel, Emeritus Professor of Twentieth Century History, University of York, UK *
Lisa Pine's anthology The Family in Modern Germany provides a successful summary of the history of the family. * H-Soz-Kult (Bloomsbury Translation) *
The volume offers an instructive social and cultural history of the modern family. * De Gruyter (Bloomsbury Translation) *

Author Bio

Lisa Pine is Reader in History at London South Bank University, UK. She is the editor of Life and Times in Nazi Germany (2016) and the author of Education in Nazi Germany (2010), Hitlers National Community: Society and Culture in Nazi Germany (2nd edition, 2017) and Nazi Family Policy, 1933-1945 (1997).