Elite, Männlichkeit und Krieg: Tübinger und Cambridger Studenten, 1900 - 1929

What effects did the First World War have on German and English society? This book answers this question from a new perspective: Sonja Levsen examines how English and German students designated themselves before and after the First World War as a national elite. By the double comparison, Levsen can show that before 1918 on both sides of the channel the similarities prevailed. Decisive for the radically divergent development after 1918 are the consequences of victory and defeat in the World War: While the military victory in England enabled a process of pluralization and individualization, the defeat among German students led to a fixation on community, nation and the ideal of military masculinity.