Time and Power: Visions of History in German Politics, from the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich
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- Create Date：2021-05-06 11:51:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Christopher Clark
- ISBN：0691217327
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Summary
From the bestselling author of The Sleepwalkers， a book about how the exercise of power is shaped by different concepts of time
This groundbreaking book presents new perspectives on how the exercise of power is shaped by different notions of time。 Acclaimed historian Christopher Clark draws on four key figures from German history-Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Prussia， Frederick the Great， Otto von Bismarck， and Adolf Hitler-to look at history through a temporal lens and ask how historical actors and their regimes embody unique conceptions of time。 Elegantly written and boldly innovative， Time and Power reveals the connection between political power and the distinct temporalities of the leaders who wield it。
This groundbreaking book presents new perspectives on how the exercise of power is shaped by different notions of time。 Acclaimed historian Christopher Clark draws on four key figures from German history-Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Prussia， Frederick the Great， Otto von Bismarck， and Adolf Hitler-to look at history through a temporal lens and ask how historical actors and their regimes embody unique conceptions of time。 Elegantly written and boldly innovative， Time and Power reveals the connection between political power and the distinct temporalities of the leaders who wield it。
Reviews
Anne
，
Interesting but sometimes heavy to listen to
José Angel Daza
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El libro muestra en un solo hilo narrativo， dos de las obsesiones más prominentes de las élites alemanas a través de los últimos siglos: el concepto de Estado y el de Tiempo。 Concretamente son cuatro instantáneas de Alemania: la centralización del poder en el rey de Prusia （Federico Guillermo）， el apogeo intelectual y despótico de Federico II， la formación del Estado alemán moderno unificado con Bismarck y finalmente la negación de la historia en pos de la definición racial por parte de H！-tle El libro muestra en un solo hilo narrativo， dos de las obsesiones más prominentes de las élites alemanas a través de los últimos siglos: el concepto de Estado y el de Tiempo。 Concretamente son cuatro instantáneas de Alemania: la centralización del poder en el rey de Prusia （Federico Guillermo）， el apogeo intelectual y despótico de Federico II， la formación del Estado alemán moderno unificado con Bismarck y finalmente la negación de la historia en pos de la definición racial por parte de H！-tler。 Lo interesante es como la auto-percepción del pasado （la historia） da forma a la toma de decisiones que afectan el futuro （que a su vez será reinterpretado por los tiempos venideros）。 Y Alemania es un gran caso de estudio dada su violenta historia y su incesante renacer de los tropiezos en su definición como Estado hegemónico。 。。。more
Clara
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Es war ein historisches Fachbuch， was natürlich auch immer bedeutet， dass man manche Sätze zweimal lesen muss um sie wirklich zu verstehen。 Auch jetzt kann ich nicht behaupten， jedes Detail verstanden zu haben， was in dem Buch vermittelt wurde。 Was ich aber verstanden habe， hat mir neue Einblicke in den Umgang mit Geschichte und Zeit vermittelt， auf eine angenehme und interessante Art。 Christopher Clark kann echt gut schreiben und ich mochte es， wenn er aktuelle Bezüge beschrieben hat。 Das Buch Es war ein historisches Fachbuch， was natürlich auch immer bedeutet， dass man manche Sätze zweimal lesen muss um sie wirklich zu verstehen。 Auch jetzt kann ich nicht behaupten， jedes Detail verstanden zu haben， was in dem Buch vermittelt wurde。 Was ich aber verstanden habe， hat mir neue Einblicke in den Umgang mit Geschichte und Zeit vermittelt， auf eine angenehme und interessante Art。 Christopher Clark kann echt gut schreiben und ich mochte es， wenn er aktuelle Bezüge beschrieben hat。 Das Buch ist sehr empfehlenswert， aber nur etwas für Menschen， die sich auch gerne schwerere Lektüre antun wollen und nicht nur hinter einer spannenden Story her sind。 。。。more
Isabel
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a very difficult read
Jakob
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Intellektuelles Meisterwerk！
Honoré
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From the late thirteenth century to 1947， in this relatively short period of German and European history， Brandenburg， that became the kingdom of Prussia， and was finally dissolved， as political entity， in the soon to be born DDR， evolved from a poor， marginal territory， built on sand and short of access to the sea， into one of the power houses of Europe and the kernel of the new German Reich （1871）。 Christopher Clarke， Iron Kingdom – The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947， The Sleepwalkers From the late thirteenth century to 1947， in this relatively short period of German and European history， Brandenburg， that became the kingdom of Prussia， and was finally dissolved， as political entity， in the soon to be born DDR， evolved from a poor， marginal territory， built on sand and short of access to the sea， into one of the power houses of Europe and the kernel of the new German Reich （1871）。 Christopher Clarke， Iron Kingdom – The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947， The Sleepwalkers – How Europe went to War in 1914， was for certain well placed， from the vantage point of a German-speaking historian in the Cambridge tradition， to describe the Prussian trajectory through an original， sometime provocative， analysis of its leaders’ perception of time: the Great Elector Fredrick William， Frederick II and Otto von Bismarck。 A fourth and final essay in Time and Power – Visions of History in German Politics， from the Thirty Years’ War to the Third Reich， attempts to analyse the cataclysmic disaster of the NS period through its historicity。In December 1640， when Frederick William acceded to the throne， Brandenburg was still under foreign occupation。 A two-year truce was agreed with the Swedes in July 1641， but the looting， burning， and general misbehaviour continued。 In a letter of spring 1641， the Elector’s viceroy， Margrave Ernest， who carried the responsibility for administering the ruined Mark， offered a grim synopsis:"The country is in such a miserable state and impoverished condition that mere words can scarcely convey the sympathy one feels with the innocent inhabitants。 In general， we think that the cart has been driven so deep in the muck， as they say， that it cannot be extricated without the special help of the Almighty。"For thirty years， from 1618 to the complicated negotiations leading to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648， the German lands from the Rhein to the eastern Marks bordering the Polish kingdom， had been the playground of the diverse armies of the then established monarchies: Austria， Sweden， Spain， France， Denmark and Poland。 The generalised religious war， a consequence of the Reformations and the chaos that followed in the old feudal order， was the opportunity for the many mercenary armies and outlaw bands， to plunder， rape， massacre the peasants and those unfortunate inhabitants of towns and cities they could conquer。 From the crucible of the thirty-year war a new order would emerge， and modern Europe would take shape。 The horrors of the war would only recede in the German psyche after the disasters of the twentieth century。Frederick William， deeply influenced by the culture and calvinist ethos of the Dutch Republic， married in 1646 to Louise Henriette， daughter of the Stadholder Frederick Henry of Orange， aimed to rebuild the country， its administration， its army。 His time perspective， historicity Clarke would say， was a continuous struggle to extract the country from the dark-age limitations and obstacles that had led， in his view， to the country’s ruin。 In this he was opposed by the local land-owning nobility， his class， the Estates。 Once the war was over， the Estates wanted simply to restore their privileges， and the old system whereby they ruled the land to their benefit， and the Elector returned to the function of their largely powerless representative to the Diet in Vienna。 This conflict reflected a profound antagonism of historicity: one， the Estates’， grounded in the past， seen as the source of law and the natural order， and the other， the Elector’s， certainly not “revolutionary” in the later sense， after all the Elector was himself one of the larger land-owners， but transformational and looking at the future for solutions to the present predicament。"The estates inhabited a mental world of mixed and overlapping sovereignties。 The Estates of Kleve maintained a diplomatic representative in The Hague and looked to the Dutch Republic， the imperial Diet （the assembly of the Holy Roman Empire）， and on occasions even to Vienna for support against illicit interventions from Berlin。 They envisaged establishing their own system of taxation and forming a corporate “hereditary union” with the nearby territories of Mark， Jülich and Berg and frequently conferred with the Estates of these lands on how best to respond （and resist） demands from Berlin。 The estates of Ducal Prussia， for their part， were still subjects of the Polish Crown; they saw neighbouring Poland as the guarantor of their ancient privileges。 As one senior Electoral official irritably remarked， the leaders of the Prussian Estates were “true neighbours of the Poles” and “indifferent to the defence of their own country。”"Through a mixture of protracted negotiations， mediation and the convergence of interests， Frederick William， through his 46-year reign， eventually succeeded in establishing his and his government's authority。When in 1740， his great-grandson， Fredrick II of Prussia， leads its armies out of Brandenburg to conquer Silesia from the Habsburg， his vision is wholly different。 The historian King is a deeply traditional， even though enlightened， monarch， an aristocrat among the aristocrats who send their sons to his armies。 Prussia is a kingdom， respected by his neighbours， the Marks’ borders are not threatened by anyone。 His father， the Soldier-King， has left his son one of the best， possibly the best， trained army in Europe。 Fredrick is thus convinced that the present is the best outcome of history， a steady-state that his conquests are not aimed at altering， but rather refining。 The pillars of Frederickan society are the King himself， his army and the local nobility， in perfect harmony。"Frederick’s reign was rich in large and perilous events。 The Seven Year’s War brought Prussia to the brink of collapse and might well have resulted in the partition and destruction of the the state inherited from the Great Elector。 The First Partition of Poland， though les dangerous in the short term from Berlin’s perspective， was a momentous event whose consequences would reverberate into the twentieth century。 Yet the shuddering， fearful vibration of great events is strangely absent form Frederick’s reasoning about past， present， future。 Contingency was crowded by will; decisions were a function of ‘systems’ resistant to short-term shocks and disruptions。"The Napoleonic era would bring the end of the Holy Roman Empire， and to Prussia， in quick succession， defeats and triumph， through the Liberation War and its alliance with Russia against the French。 After the Revolutions of 1848-49， nothing remains the same but， in the eyes of Otto von Bismarck， the primacy of the monarchical state。 Bismarck， the "boatman on the river of time"， accepts that the clocks cannot be turned back and knows that he himself has benefited from the political and social turbulences issued from the revolutions: without them a relatively low-rank junker like himself could not have acceded to the highest levels of the Monarchy’s government。 His role is to serve， to preserve， if necessary by force of arms， the integrity of the monarchical state， the Machtstaat。 His achievement is the unification of the Reich， culminating in the crowning of the King of Prussia， now Kaiser， in Versailles， once the seat of the Sun King's court and of the French Ancien Régime。After the fall of Bismarck and the advent of the new Kaiser， time seems to contract。 1918 is the watershed， as military defeat， failed revolution and the decomposition of society， destroy the Monarchy。 From the horrors of the war and the collapse of statehood a hiatus develops， aggravated by the ruin of the economy and the criminal ineptitude of the Versailles Treaty。 In its interstices the NS ideology would take roots。 Never consistent or clearly formulated， it is a negation of the German state’s historicity and of history itself。 Future generations would admire， in awe， the ruins of the colossal buildings of the Third Reich – in a thousand years。 There no longer is a time horizon， an evolution: only total victory through absolute war and the annihilation of its enemies， or cataclysmic self-destrution， the NS state is alien to the historical visions of German statehood， of Bismarck， Fredrick the Great or the Great Elector。 Indeed Hitler hated Berlin， the resisting capital grabbed from the Communists after years of vicious street fights， murders and unaccounted victims of torture in the KZ。 The city will be destroyed， its Nemesis the old ally of Prussia。Time and Power is a powerful reflection on history， leadership， time and fate。 While the first three essays are in the tradition of Iron Kingdom， and based on Clarke’s incomparable research on Prussia’s history， the fourth essay， Time of the Nazis， rich in new material and original analyses， could be read as the blueprint for a much larger study。 。。。more
James （JD） Dittes
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Time and Power has an interesting take on history。 Rather than being merely a look at Fredrick William （the Great Elector）， Frederick the Great， Bismarck， and Hitler， it is more of an exploration of the way these rulers looked at history。This is a very erudite book， one that a non-academic like me found to be a worthwhile challenge。 Considering all that Clark has written about German history--and I enjoyed his history of Prussia very much--I'm pleased that he found a new angle on things。 His con Time and Power has an interesting take on history。 Rather than being merely a look at Fredrick William （the Great Elector）， Frederick the Great， Bismarck， and Hitler， it is more of an exploration of the way these rulers looked at history。This is a very erudite book， one that a non-academic like me found to be a worthwhile challenge。 Considering all that Clark has written about German history--and I enjoyed his history of Prussia very much--I'm pleased that he found a new angle on things。 His conclusions boil down to these:The Great Elector （Frederick William）， who came to power during the 30 Years War and resolved to strengthen Prussia in its aftermath， used history to feature his actions and successes to strengthen his position with landowners--and to justify the taxes that would raise one of Europe's greatest armies。Frederick the Great wrote history， connecting his rule and his ideas with those of the distant past and setting his kingdom at the forefront of the Enlightenment。Bismarck saw history as justifications for intervention: first in the aftermath of the 1848 revolution， and later as he jumped at opportunities to unify Germany through war and negotiation。 He was the right man at the right time because of his appreciation of history。And finally， the Nazis， who saw themselves as creators of a new history。 I had never seen them called millenarians before I read Clark， but the description is apt。 They saw the past as something to overcome， and fantasized about a 1000-year future where all their racist， nationalist fantasies would come true。Time and Power is not a book I would recommend for casual Germanphiles， but it is a fascinating look at four key players in Germany's past， and how their views of history shaped their actions and ambitions。 。。。more
Joseph Jupille
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