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THE GERMAN PHOENIX by William Henry Chamberlin

THE GERMAN PHOENIX

By

Publisher: uel, Sloan & Pearce

Few peoples have experienced so many and such sharp alterations of fortune as have been apparent in German history,"" remarks Mr. Chamberlin at the beginning of this careful survey and appraisal of post-W.W.II Germany's social, economic, political, and cultural climates. After an excellent one-chapter summary of the nation's complicated twistings and turnings from the time of Charlemagne to the present day, he takes us on a tour of divided Berlin, of Bonn, of the universities, introducing us to the groups of rising industrialists, the diplomats, and the disaffected intellectuals. He has examined West Germany in great detail since 1945, and his quietly expressed opinions show the effect of his exhaustive study. In general, his conclusions are optimistic; ""with no visible extremist movements of any consequence, with no very black storm clouds on the horizon, the political weather outlook for Germany seems generally fair."" He has few fears of the Communists making further trouble in Berlin. Pessimists will be hard put to counter his well-marshalled evidence.