“Nature” is a multifaceted and elusive concept that has undergone surprising transformations throughout German history. From Hildegard von Bingen’s concept of “green power” to the anti-nuclear movement of the 1970s: Amid the tensions between faith, biology, and power, governments as well as a wide variety of political and religious movements have defined and claimed their own concept of nature. Nature and German History explores upheavals and shifts in conceptions of nature spanning 800 years. Drawing on exemplary events from the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, the era of industrialization, National Socialism, and divided Germany, history is told through stories, framed by conversations with distinguished historians. Each historical epoch is introduced with an animal or a plant: from the wolf and the beluga whale to the oak, the potato, and the African violet, and on to the Burgundy grape. Historical recipes reflect the significance of food and eating habits.
A richly illustrated book that vividly illustrates the contrasting transformations in conceptions of nature throughout German history from the Middle Ages to the 1970s through selected historical periods.
Julia Voss, born in 1974, is an honorary professor at the Institute for Philosophy and Art History at Leuphana University Lüneburg and a research associate on the executive board of the German Historical Museum in Berlin, where she curated the exhibition Nature and German History. Faith – Biology – Power.
Raphael Gross, born in 1966, is president of the German Historical Museum in Berlin. Until 2015, he served as director of the Leo Baeck Institute in London, as well as the Jewish Museum and the Fritz Bauer Institute in Frankfurt am Main.
