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1.   Carl Büchsel, Protestant Pastor, Describes Rural Courtship and Marriage (1865)
In this passage from his multi-volume memoirs, Reminiscences of a Rural Clergyman (1865-), the popular Protestant pastor and theologian Carl Büchsel (1803-1889) describes courtship, wedding....
2.   Urbanization of Village Life near Lübeck after 1870
This account documents the rapid architectural and socioeconomic changes that took place in a small village near Lübeck in northern Germany during the period of German industrialization. It describes....
3.   Interior of Workers' Homes in Hamburg and Karlsruhe (1891)
The large-scale migration of laborers from the countryside to the cities meant that urban housing became a major challenge. This passage, which was taken from reports by Protestant workers’ associations....
4.   A Young Noblewoman is Presented at Court (1882-83)
This excerpt from the memoirs of a young German noblewoman, Marie von Bunsen (1860-1941), describes her introduction at the imperial court in Berlin. The pomp and ceremony of court....
5.   A Magdeburg Merchant Remembers a Royal Visit (1880)
After 1871, royal visits were frequently made to Germany’s diverse regions and localities in order to foster the Empire’s “inner” unification. These visits were well-suited to familiarizing non-Prussian....
6.   The Hunt for Decorations and Titles (January 7, 1889)
In many of his writings, the well-known novelist and poet Theodor Fontane (1819-1898) proved a critical....
7.   Prussian Junkers as Farmers and Huntsmen (1870s-1880s)
In this passage from his autobiography From Right to Left (1937), the democratic and pacifist author Hellmuth von Gerlach (1866-1935) exposes the outmoded and authoritarian operation of large....
8.   The Rural Landlord and "His" People (c. 1883)
In his Memoirs (1936), Elard von Oldenburg-Januschau (1855-1937) draws upon his own experiences (c. 1883) to argue that the selection of obedient, resident farm laborers was essential for....
9.   Exclusivity and the Entrepreneurial Class in Remscheid (1880s)
An awareness of hierarchical distinctions not only conditioned relations between the classes, it also reinforced fine gradations within them, as can be seen in this report by an in-law of the Mannesmanns,....
10.   Paths to Entrepreneurial Success: A Banker’s Advice (1884)
By the 1880s, Germany’s “second industrial revolution” was beginning to spawn new industries such as petrochemicals and electronics. These underwent rapid growth and directly contributed to Germany’s....
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