A History of Modern Germany, Volume 3: 1840-1945

This is an excellent history of modern Germany. The information is well organized and easy to follow. Hajo Holborn explains the balance of power in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, the economic state of Germany during various periods, and includes maps to show how far the Empire extended during various periods. As a graduate student of German literature, I was looking for background knowledge in German history from an English source, and this book provided that. I will certainly purchase more books from the series.

Professor Holborn's masterful trilogy of Germany history begins with the Reformation and ends with Hitler's defeat in 1945. There are no footnotes, endnotes, or even a bibliography as Holborn writes in the style of a nineteenth century historian drawing upon his "life time of learning". Holborn covers every major event in modern Germany history from the Reformation to German unification. Holborn also gives interesting and detailed descriptions of major political and military figures. The sections on Bismarck, Gustav Stresemann, and General von Schlieffen are particularly fascinating. Holborn's commentary on who caused World War I and the effects of the German railroad system on the national character are excellent as well. Purchasing the series is highly recommended as Holborn makes reference to prior books of the series. If you are looking for a one-volume history of Germany from 1866-1945 Gordon A. Craig's "Germany, 1866-1945" is highly recommended.

I saw Mr. Holborn's books on the shelf in a bookstore almost two years ago and I purchased Part III (1840-1945). After I completed that, I immediately went back for the other two, working my way backward. This series has a great deal of valuable information on German social, cultural, economic, political and military history from Roman times through the Reformation, the Thirty Years War, Austro-Prussian rivalry from 1704-1866 for German hegemony, the Napoleonic era and the wars of the French Revolution, the Holy Alliance and the failure of the Frankfurt Assembly, the policies of Bismarck and the forging of the Second Reich in 1871 after victories in wars against Denmark, Austria and France and the constitution of the German Empire. Holborn also delves deeply into the period between 1871 and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, placing blame squarely on German shoulders where applicable. The postwar era and the Nazi rise to power in 1933 are studied deeply and critically, as is World War II and its immediate outcome. If you only buy one German history series, this is the one to get.