The book is intended as a history of German ideas over the last 250 years or so, and specifically not a political, economic, or comprehensive "national" history of Germany. The narrative begins near the end of Bach's life (1685-1750), well prior to a German nation having been achieved (1871), and continues beyond the events of 1989 and the subsequent re-unification of what we recall as East and West Germany.
The book considers German ideas as being those of German people, which exceeds the bounds of citizenship in any German nation but instead also includes people of German cultural background from Austria, Bohemia, Moravia and other territories where German-speaking peoples lived en masse. A reader may no doubt quibble with some of the persons who are included as being "German" by the author, but a disagreement over any one person is indeed a quibble, not an indictment of the underlying premise.
The book would seem to have at least three purposes:
1) By documenting the immense fertility of German culture in generating powerful advances in the arts, science and the humanities the author attempts to restore (for those for whom it is needed) a wider, more balanced perspective on Germany than apparently currently exists. Without any attempt to minimize, dismiss, or overlook the evil of the Nazi's and the Holocaust (for which "Germany" has been stigmatized), the narrative offers a reminder of great achievements that were not accidental, but a product of German culture and society.
2) By explaining the elements of German culture that gave rise to those fertile developments, an explanation is also proposed for reasons that some of those same elements could ironically allow or make possible the barbaric (and distinctly uncultured) Third Reich. The exploration of these German cultural elements that "cut both ways" seems even-handed, and consistent with a mature perspective that there is much in life that is ambiguous, with the potential for both good and unintended, tragic outcomes. Again without minimizing the horror of the Holocaust or the role of the German people, the author offers a nuanced view of the cultural ground soil within which the Nazi's were allowed to grow and seize power.
3) To follow the widening influence of German ideas throughout the Western Civilization, part of which reflects the mass emigration of talented Germans during the Third Reich (principally Jewish-German artists and scientists) and part of which reflects the sheer impact of notable Germans. As a quote from Erich Heller presented as an epigram to the book states, "Defeated in two world wars, Germany appeared to have invaded vast territories of the World's minds" or in the author's own words, "The United States and Great Britain may speak English but, more than they know, they think German."
Of noteworthiness is the scope of this book. Reporting that it is 849 pages (plus an author's note, an appendix, and end-notes) does not adequately convey the amount of information contained within. Short biographical sketches for noteworthy individuals pepper the text, usually arrayed to tell the story of the development of a branch of science, commerce or the arts.
The sheer bulk of this information may test one's patience, but it is the supporting evidence for the author's themes.
Well, enough about length, what of substance?
Both the Introduction, titled 'Blinded by the Light: Hitler, the Holocaust, and "the Past That Will Not Pass Away"' and the final chapter, titled 'German Genius: The Dazzle, Deification, and Dangers of Inwardness' are, quite literally, excellent summary bookends to the book's themes, which in some ways have to be culled out of the extensive narrative of people, events and achievements that are documented in between. Reading the introduction and conclusion in sequence proved very helpful.
The book delivers a compelling case for considering such persistent cultural elements as Prussian Pietism (which became institutionalized early through professorships of theology in both Halle and Göttengen), the development of the German university ideal (whose trained graduates fed the burgeoning need for skilled thinkers and bureaucrats in an increasingly centralized world), the search for an agreeable concept of "nationality" for a group of people who had never shared a "nation" before (the concept of the volk was conceived to satisfy the search), and other notable elements (such as the concept of Bildung, a secular version of Pietism) as cultural influences that "cut both ways." These led to both outstanding achievements in the arts, industry and science, as well as led to a national mindset that made Nazi power a possibility and an unfortunate reality.
Quite correctly, there is nothing in this book that would be considered sympathetic to Nazi Germany. In fact, many prominent Nazi "thinkers" are quietly pilloried (like Theodor Frisch, a theologian who argued that Jesus was not a Jew, but that Galileans were actually Gauls, and therefore Jesus was really German!)or scientists Lenard and Stark (both Nobel Prize winners) who dismissed relativity as "a bogus Jewish science"... after the theory had been confirmed by experiment. The author appears interested only in a more complete understanding of the period and of the German people, which includes some empathy for the course of ordinary human lives and the human condition.
The author points out that, like many cultures, Germany was deeply influenced by a respect for classic antiquity. Greek models of the arts and intellectual thought materially shaped German culture. Which makes it doubly unfortunate then, that there was a collective failure to learn from one of the greatest of Greek achievements, tragic drama. The unfortunate experience of Germany and the victims of Nazi Germany appear as a cruel, ironic enactment of Greek Tragedy. Choices made for seemingly well-intended purposes result in, perhaps many years later, the preconditions for an enormous amount of suffering. The protagonists cannot foresee the looming disaster despite the chorus that tries to warn them. Perhaps one of the points of The German Genius, though, is that because of certain German cultural elements, the chorus wasn't loud enough to be heard.
As the author further points out, strains of the German Genius are still with us (including an emphasis upon science and technology, as well as an emphasis on "inwardness" - his description of the effects of Pietism or Bildung - at the expense of community involvement). Read this book, it is both a history and a timeless story.
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