Students, Society and Politics in Imperial Germany

The study examines the social structure of German universities and the mindset of students during the Imperial period, highlighting a broader trend of academic abandonment of liberalism across Europe. It reveals how German higher education, while excelling in scientific leadership and professional training, experienced a decline in liberal education (Bildung). This erosion contributed to the formation of an educated class that became alarmingly receptive to the ideologies of the Third Reich.