New Books In German Studies

The German youth movement of the late Kaiserreich and ill-fated Weimar Republic has been a subject of controversy since its inception. The longing for community that drove the movement, and a sense of shared experience that members found on long hikes to historic sites, has been linked to everything from a revolution in conservative thought to the rise of Nazism. But how did the youth movement see history? Why did hiking become a bridge between the past and the present? What possibilities did members feel in the drumbeat of German history? Find out in our discussion with Robbert-Jan Adriaansen about his new book The Rhythm of Eternity: The German Youth Movement and the Experience of the Past, 1900-1933 (Berghahn Books, 2015). By examining the hiking reports of the youth movement, Robbert-Jan traces the development of historical thought among its members and how their experience of heritage became a vehicle to express hopes for the future. Robbert-Jan Adriaansen is an assistant professor of history at the Eras