Technology in Modern German History: 1800 to the Present

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People often associate postwar Germany with technology and with its products of mass consumption, such as luxury cars. Even pop music, most notably Kraftwerk (literally power station) with songs such as Autobahn, Radioactivity or We are the Robots, disseminates the stereotype of a close link between German culture and technology. Technology in Modern German History explores various forms of technology in 200 years of German history and explains how technology has been fundamental to the shaping of modern Germany. The book investigates the role technology played in transforming Germanys culture, society and politics during the 19th and 20th centuries. Key topics covered include the different stages of industrialization, the growth of networked cities, and the triumph of a teleological narrative of technology as progress. Moreover, it provides a critical revision of the history of high technology which reveals how high-tech euphoria determined certain paths in history regardless of whether the respective technology proved to be successful. In its second part, the volume introduces new avenues in scholarship. Karsten Uhl examines neglected areas, such as rural technologies or the often-overlooked importance of everyday technologies: How did consumers or workers use new technologies How did they appropriate and modify them Lastly, the book considers the final decades of the 20th century and asks if they provided a significant new quality of technological change: To what degree and effects did computerization transform professional and private life in Germany In culture and politics, reinforced by the German variety of environmentalism, the idea of progress was challenged, as the once prevailing vision of progress gave way to new apprehensions of uncertainty evident to this day. Technology in Modern German History brings fascinating insight into a much neglected area of German history for students and scholars alike.

Reviews

Technology has been fundamental to German political, economic, social, and cultural development. Karsten Uhl provides the first systematic overview of its central role since the 19th century, incorporating classic studies of key technologies with findings and emerging themes from the most recent literature. * Ray Stokes, Chair of Business History (Economic & Social History), University of Glasgow, UK *
Technology in Modern German History is the first comprehensive study to explore the profound significance of technology in modern German history. This study is insightful, interesting, and eminently readable and will be of interest both to scholars and students. * Dolores L. Augustine, Professor, Department of History, St. John's University, USA *

Author Bio

Karsten Uhl is the director of the Mittelbau-Dora Concentration Camp Memorial and teaches Modern History as well as History of Technology at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany.