Reluctant Meister: How Germany's Past Is Shaping Its European Future, Green - C +

                                               This is a very deep, thoughtful, almost philosophical analysis of the topic. And, as one would expect, any assessment of Germany must analyze how the most sophisticated culture in Europe, if not the world, wound up at 'Stunde Null' (Zero Hour) in 1945.  The author starts with Luther and his division of responsibilities into the personal or internal issues of faith, and the public responsibility to be part of a functioning civic entity. Layer on the Thirty Years War and a devastation almost on par with 1945, and you start to move toward a society with a huge emphasis on individual responsibility to the greater whole.  When the Teutonic Knights were disbanded in 1525, many of the members settled in what would become East Prussia and their descendants became the Junker backbone of the 2nd and 3rd Reichs. He points out there was almost similar language on the topic of 'obedience' in  the oaths sworn by the Teutonic Knights and the Wehrmacht.  He also emphasizes a national sense of victim hood occasioned by the Thirty Years War, constant French invasions and Napoleon's triumphs. As Germany grew in in the 19th century, it grew as an insecure victim constantly looking over its shoulder.  One theme he explores was totally over my head. He spends chapters on German culture, discussing Beethoven, Bach, Schopenhauer, Wagner, Schiller, Brecht, the Brothers Grimm, Kant, Nietzsche, Goethe, Hegel etc. etc. and their influence on the formation of the national character.  Other than Hitler's obsession with the Ring Cycle, particularly Gotterdamerung, I'm not sure he ties it at all in.
                                                Finally, with an eighth of the book left, he turns to the question posed in the subtitle, i.e. how the past influences today. He contends that because Germany has had to deal with the mumble jumble of the Holy Roman Empire and the overlapping entities of the 19th century, it is at home and comfortable in the inherently unstructured EU, where there are different entities responsible for different aspects of European life.  Also, Germany experienced the massive struggle to integrate the GDR into the nation and thus is best equipped to work through the issues involved in the expansion of the EU east. Germany's willingness to assume responsibility for the ECB and take on the lead role in trying to preserve the Euro stem from its own success with the Deutschmark and its need to be part of the greater European community. Green loves Germany, its language, Kultur and music and believes it can lead the continent into the future.