Germany from the Margins: A Cultural History of East Prussia

This course provides an insight into the fascinating cultural legacy of the “Atlantis of the North”: East Prussia. Immanuel Kant, Käthe Kollwitz, Siegfried Lenz, Hannah Arendt: They represent the former easternmost Prussian and later German province’s multi-ethnic traditions. In the late 19th century, East Prussia was in the focus of nationalist claims and debates. East Prussia represents an ideal case study for the gradual demise of a diverse culture being overturned by nationalism and racism. In 1945, at the end of the Nazi years, East Prussia finally disappeared from the geographical map. This course will look at East Prussia’s past in culture, literature and ethnic traditions and what to what extent the region still matters for Germans, Poles, Lithuanians and Russians alike. With a specific focus on East Prussia it provides also a case study for the general history of Prussia and Germany.

Required texts: Andreas Kossert, Ostpreussen. Geschichte und Mythos./(Pantheon); Monika Wienfort, /Geschichte Preussens. (C.H.Beck Wissen).