This sophisticated and deeply researched work is the first major study of the 'war youth generation' in Germany. Especially original is Donson's treatment of war pedagogy that institutionalized the populist nationalism of August 1914. By exploring both the common experiences of youth as well as the divergences conditioned by class and gender, he accounts for the polarization within the Socialist ... Read moreand middle class youth movements and ultimately explains why the war generation proved so susceptible to the appeals of the Communists and Nazis. Donson has produced a thought-provoking analysis of some of the wrenching discontinuities in twentieth-century Germany's agonized history.
Derek S. Linton, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Donson's well-researched and nuanced study of German youth during World War I offers fresh perspectives on the history of class, gender, political mobilization, and the legacy of the war. Youth in the Fatherless Land tells a fascinating story of how the war encouraged authoritarianism, reform, and independence, all at the same time.
Annemarie Sammartino, Oberlin College Show Less