Fighting for the Soul of Germany: The Catholic Struggle for Inclusion after Unification

Rebecca Ayako Bennette

Published by Harvard University Press 2012

Fighting for the Soul of Germany

The Catholic Struggle for Inclusion after Unification

Rebecca Ayako Bennette

Volume 178 in the series Harvard Historical Studies

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674064805

Overview
Contents

About this book

Historians have long believed that Catholics were late and ambivalent supporters of the German nation. Rebecca Ayako Bennette’s bold new interpretation demonstrates definitively that from the beginning in 1871, when Wilhelm I was proclaimed Kaiser of a unified Germany, Catholics were actively promoting a German national identity for the new Reich.

In the years following unification, Germany was embroiled in a struggle to define the new nation. Otto von Bismarck and his allies looked to establish Germany as a modern nation through emphasis on Protestantism and military prowess. Many Catholics feared for their future when he launched the Kulturkampf, a program to break the political and social power of German Catholicism. But these anti-Catholic policies did not destroy Catholic hopes for the new Germany. Rather, they encouraged Catholics to develop an alternative to the Protestant and liberal visions that dominated the political culture. Bennette’s reconstruction of Catholic thought and politics sheds light on several aspects of German life. From her discovery of Catholics who favored a more “feminine” alternative to Bismarckian militarism to her claim that anti-socialism, not anti-Semitism, energized Catholic politics, Bennette’s work forces us to rethink much of what we know about religion and national identity in late nineteenth-century Germany.

Author / Editor information

Bennette Rebecca Ayako :

Rebecca Ayako Bennette is Assistant Professor of History at Middlebury College.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
Map: The German Empire, 1871–1918 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART I. Antecedents and the Four Phases of the Kulturkampf
One. The German Question and Religion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
Two. The Beginning of the German Epoch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	22
Three. The Limits of Loyalty Tested Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	42
Four. The Real Threat Emerges Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
Five. The Search for Continued Relevance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	66
PART II. The Formation of Catholic National Identity
Six. Mapping Germany from the Borders to Berlin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	76
Seven. Femininity and the Debate over the Guiding Principle of the Nation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
Eight. The Battle over Schools and Scholarship Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	122
Nine. The Moral Geography of Europe and Beyond Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	313
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	351

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 368
Illustrations
- Other: 1 map

eBook

Published: June 15, 2012
ISBN: 9780674064805