The First World War and German National Identity

An innovative study of the impact of the wartime alliance between Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary on German national identity.

An innovative study of the coalition between Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary during the First World War. Focusing primarily on the social and cultural dimension of the relationship, Jan Vermeiren examines the special relationship between Berlin and Vienna, and investigates the impact of the wartime alliance on German national identity.The First World War and German National Identity is an original and carefully researched study of the coalition between Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary during the First World War. Focusing on the attitudes taken by governmental circles, politically active groups, intellectuals, and the broader public towards the German-speaking population in the Habsburg Monarchy, Jan Vermeiren explores how the war challenged established notions of German national identity and history. In this context, he also sheds new light on key issues in the military and the diplomatic relationship between Berlin and Vienna, re-examining the German war aims debate and presenting many new insights into German-Hungarian and German-Slav relations in the period. The book is a major contribution to German and Central European history and will be of great interest to scholars of the First World War and the complex relationship between war and society.