1st Edition

The German Urban Experience Modernity and Crisis, 1900-1945

By Anthony McElligott Copyright 2001
    320 Pages
    by Routledge

    320 Pages
    by Routledge

    By the 1930s over two-thirds of Germans lived in towns and cities, and those who did not found themselves inexorably affected by the ever-growing urban vortex. The German Urban Experience 1900 - 1945 surveys the social and cultural history of Germany in this crucial period through written, visual and oral sources. Focusing on urbanism as one of the major forces of change, this book presents a wide range of archive sources, many available for the first time, as well as film scenes, literature and art.
    Exploring the German experience of 'urbanism as a way of life' in cities from Berlin and Dresden to Hamburg and Leipzig, this book discusses:
    the concept of the urban experience
    the development of urban infrastructure and transport
    the social conditions of the urban poor
    health and the effects of the city on the body
    production and commerce in German cities
    the city as a challenge to traditional gender hierarchies

    1: Introduction; 2: Defining and deciphering the urban experience; 3: Metropolis; 4: ‘Slum'; 5: Rehabilitating the urban body; 6: Capitals of consumption; 7: Tempo of the city, map of the nation; 8: Masculine women and feminine men; 9: Files and fingerprints; 10: Conclusion

    Biography

    Anthony McElligott

    '[A] superb documentary source book ... McElligott's choice of material is quite simply inspired and the result is a marvellously rich tapestry of words and images that document the complexity of the early twentieth-century German urban experience. It is the model of what a collection of sources should be and cannot be recommended highly enough.' - Journal of European Studies

    'This is an excellent book ... a fascinating evidential exploration ... As such, this book should have an appeal to everyone confronted with the task of teaching modern history; it should be essential reading for every urbanist in the university system.' - Urban History