A Nation In Barracks: Modern Germany, Military Conscription And Civil Society

A Nation in Barracks shows how military-civil relations have evolved in Germany during the last two hundred years. This book investigates how conscription has contributed to instilling a strong sense of military commitment among the German public. The author looks at its relationship to state citizenship, nation building, gender formation and the concept of violence. She begins with the early nineteenth century, when conscription was first used in Prussia and initially met with harsh criticism from all aspects of society, and continues through the two Germanies of the post-1949 period. The book covers the Prussian model used during World War I, the Weimar Republic when no conscription was enforced, and the mass military mobilization of the Third Reich. Throughout this detailed examination, Ute Frevert examines how civil society deals with institutionalized violence and how this affects models of citizenship and gender relations.

Ute Frevert is Professor of German History at Yale University.