eBook

Individuality and Modernity in Berlin

Föllmer, Moritz

2013

Overview

Moritz Föllmer traces the history of individuality in Berlin from the late 1920s to the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961. The demand to be recognised as an individual was central to metropolitan society, as were the spectres of risk, isolation and loss of agency. This was true under all five regimes of the period, through economic depression, war, occupation and reconstruction. The quest for individuality could put democracy under pressure, as in the Weimar years, and could be satisfied by a dictatorship, as was the case in the Third Reich. It was only in the course of the 1950s, when liberal democracy was able to offer superior opportunities for consumerism, that individuality finally claimed the mantle. Individuality and Modernity in Berlin proposes a fresh perspective on twentieth-century Berlin that will engage readers with an interest in the German metropolis as well as European urban history more broadly.

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Subject: 20th century / Agent (Philosophy) / Agent (Philosophy) -- Social aspects -- Germany -- Berlin -- History -- 20th century / Berlin / Berlin (Germany) -- Social conditions -- 20th century / Berlin (Germany) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century / City and town life / City and town life -- Germany -- Berlin -- History -- 20th century / Civilization, Modern / Germany / History / Individuality / Individuality -- Germany -- Berlin -- History -- 20th century / Politics and culture / Politics and culture -- Germany -- Berlin -- History -- 20th century / Risk / Risk -- Social aspects -- Germany -- Berlin -- History -- 20th century / Self / Self -- Social aspects -- Germany -- Berlin -- History -- 20th century / Social change / Social change -- Germany -- Berlin -- History -- 20th century / Social isolation / Social isolation -- Germany -- Berlin -- History -- 20th century
• ISBN: 9781107030985, 1107030986, 1107521327, 9781107521322