Summary of Neil MacGregor's Germany

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The German state of Brandenburg has a village green on which communal events are celebrated, and the Brandenburg Gate is the setting for all great national events. The Gate was originally built as a monument to peace, but it has become a symbol of the division of Germany and the world into two blocs.

#2 The first person to use the Brandenburg Gate for a triumphal entry was not King Frederick II of Prussia, but Napoleon Bonaparte. After the Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805, the only German state still offering serious resistance to the invader was Prussia.

#3 The Brandenburg Gate is a monument to which history has added layers of meaning. It is also a remarkable standpoint from which to view some of the key moments in German history. From this place alone, you can see evidence of the Napoleonic Wars, as well as many other great events that have shaped the German national memory.

#4 The westward view from the Brandenburg Gate is a view of Germany’s place in the world between 1870 and 1914. If things had gone as Hitler and Albert Speer had planned, the view north in the late 1940s would have shown their idea of what that place ought to be.

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Release date

Ebook: 5 June 2022