Out of the Darkness

Out of the Darkness by Frank Trentmann is a groundbreaking history of the people at the centre of Europe, spanning from the Second World War to today.

In 1945, Germany lay in ruins, both morally and materially. The German people stood condemned by history, held responsible for a horrifying genocide and a war of extermination. However, by 2015, Germany had transformed in the eyes of many to become the moral voice of Europe, notably welcoming almost one million refugees. Simultaneously, it pursued controversially rigid fiscal discipline and entered energy deals with a dictator. While many have questioned how Germany descended into the darkness of the Nazis, this book asks another vital question: how, and to what extent, have the Germans since reinvented themselves?

Trentmann narrates the dramatic story of Germans from the middle of the Second World War, through the Cold War and the division into East and West, to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunited nation's quest for a place in the world. This journey is marked by extraordinary moral struggles: guilt, shame, and limited amends; wealth versus welfare; tolerance versus racism; compassion and complicity. Through a diverse range of voices — including German soldiers and German Jews, environmentalists and coal miners, families and churches, volunteers, migrants, and populists — Trentmann crafts a remarkable and surprising portrait over 80 years of the conflicted people at the centre of Europe.