Unintended Affinities: Nineteenth-Century German and Polish Historians on the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

by Adam Kozuchowski

Overview

Unintended Affinities examines the ways in which German and Polish historians of the nineteenth-century regarded the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The book parallels how historians approached the old Reich and the Commonwealth within the framework of their national history. Kożuchowski analyzes how German and Polish nationalistic historians, who played central roles in propagandizing a glorious past that justified a centralized modern state, struggled with how to portray the very decentralized and multi-ethnic empires that preceded their time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780822987246
Publisher:	University of Pittsburgh Press
Publication date:	05/14/2019
Series:	Russian and East European Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	739 KB

About the Author

Adam Kozuchowski is assistant professor at the Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences, in Warsaw.

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgments A Note on Names and Translations Introduction Prologue. A Note on Some Fundamental Historical Concepts Chapter One. Nature and Nation Chapter Two. The Zenith Chapter Three. The Decline and Fall Chapter Four. It Is Never Too Late Conclusion Timeline Notes Selected Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

Historian Adam Kożuchowski has once again demonstrated his mastery of the ‘decline and fall’ historiography of defunct Central and East-Central European states. This learned yet elegantly written comparison of the doubts, dreams, and designs of nineteenth-century German and Polish historians smarting after the demise of their respective polities—the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth—is doubly enlightening.” —Patrice M. Dabrowski, author of Poland: The First Thousand Years
 


“This excellent book combines in-depth textual analysis with innovative contextualization and conceptualization. By making subtle and often counter-intuitive observations the author complicates and significantly advances our knowledge of nineteenth-century history-writing. It will be of relevance to a wide range of audiences, including those interested in Polish, German and European history, historiography and nineteenth-century studies.” —Monika Baar, Leiden University
 


“Adam Kożuchowski has written a valuable comparative history of how the German and Polish national narratives in the nineteenth century were constructed on the ruins of two unique political communities that were erased from the map of Europe: the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He compellingly illuminates an era’s ‘faith in the power of history’ to summon strength out of weakness.​” —Kevin Cramer,Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis
 

From the Publisher