The Rhythm of Eternity: The German Youth Movement and the Experience of the Past, 1900-1933

Robbert-Jan Adriaansen

Published by Berghahn Books 2015

The Rhythm of Eternity

The German Youth Movement and the Experience of the Past, 1900-1933

Robbert-Jan Adriaansen

Volume 22 in the series Making Sense of History

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781782387695

Overview
Contents

About this book

The Weimar era in Germany is often characterized as a time of significant change. Such periods of rupture transform the way people envision the past, present, and future. This book traces the conceptions of time and history in the Germany of the early 20th century. By focusing on both the discourse and practices of the youth movement, the author shows how it reinterpreted and revived the past to overthrow the premises of modern historical thought. In so doing, this book provides insight into the social implications of the ideological de-historicization of the past.

Author / Editor information

Robbert-Jan Adriaansen is an assistant professor in the theory of history and historical culture at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. His research focuses on conceptions of time and history in modern, especially German, history.

Reviews

“With The Rhythm of Eternity Robert-Jan Adriaansen has written a fascinating book. [He] sheds new light on the middle-class youth movement, making visible the emergence of a new discussion about the consequences of alternative notions of time for a modern democratic society that perhaps contributes to a deeper understanding of the youth movement than the familiar and to be expected discussions along familiar political divisions. The book deserves a broad readership that is also interested in contemporary-historical issues.” · Mitteilungen des Archivs der Arbeiterjugendbewegung

“…an important book for German history and for historical theory more generally, and Adriaansen’s points about reimagining modernity (and its historicist underpinnings) and the many experiments therewith in the 1920s make this book a worthy addition to the graduate seminar syllabus and the libraries of those interested in historical consciousness.” · Germany History

“… an original and insightful account of the Wandervogel and Bündische Jugend…[Adriaansen] brings discernment and empathy to his interpretation of the individual and collective testimonies from the Youth Movement.” · Marjorie Lamberti, Middlebury College

“This is an imaginative and important manuscript. One does not encounter what one necessarily expects. One does not find what one already knows necessarily confirmed….I learned to see the youth movement, which I have worked on for many years now in one way or another, in a new light.” · Thomas A. Kohut, Williams College

“This study is the perfect combination of theoretical insights and empirical research, and sheds a new light on the significance of the German Youth Movement, the Wandervogel and the Conservative Revolution in Germany.” · F.W. Boterman, University of Amsterdam

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
List of Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	vi
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction: The German Youth Movement and the Problem of History Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 1: Wandervogel, Freideutsche Jugend and the Spirit of 1813 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
Chapter 2: The Experience of the Past Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
Chapter 3: The Postwar Crisis of Experience and the Religious Turn Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
Chapter 4: Immanent Eschatology and Medieval Forms Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
Chapter 5: In Search of the Spiritual Motherland Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	158
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
Sources and Literature Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213