Einstein's German World

Distinguished historian Stern (Gold and Iron, Dreams and Delusions, etc.) presents a rich collection of essays--some scholarly, others more personal--written during the past decade. The book's first part centers around the lives of four visionary scientists (Paul Ehrlich, Max Planck, Fritz Haber and Albert Einstein), allowing Stern to draw attention to what he calls ""Germany's second Geniezeit,"" or Age of Genius, an era filled with great promise and yet punctuated by war and violence. His subjects, internationally acclaimed figures in modern science, were also committed German patriots, all of whom (except Einstein) were outspoken supporters of the German war effort in 1914. The extended chapter on Haber and Einstein meticulously documents the careers of these two highly assimilated German Jews who, despite numerous obstacles, managed to become leading public intellectuals of their time. In the second half of the book, Stern reevaluates major debates concerning the First World War, German unification, the representation of the Holocaust and contemporary German-Polish relations. Without ever pointing an accusatory finger, Stern's approach helps readers to grasp how the extraordinary potential for ""what could have been ""Germany's century"" ended so disastrously. Stern launches a corrective to the notion of German peculiarity, insisting instead on the greater universal import of interpreting the German past. As he persuasively argues, ""No country, no society, is shielded from the evils that the passivity of decent citizens can bring about. That is a German lesson of the twentieth century--for all of us."" (Sept.)