Germany’s New Sonderweg

Echoes of the early 20th century in Germany's current crisis

Photo by Rasmus Gundorff Sæderup on Unsplash

Dear Reader,

The phrase deutscher Sonderweg — “the German special path” — once explained how a nation of poets and philosophers could fall for organised barbarism. In the 19th century, Germany modernised without democratising: industry boomed, but political power stayed with the Kaiser and Junker aristocracy. T…