Moses, John Anthony
Prussian-German Militarism 1914-18 in Australian Perspective

The Thought of George Arnold Wood.

Tracing his academic career and examining seven key texts, this study shows how Wood's thesis of the "Two Germanies" contributed to a distinct Australian image of German militarism. Wood had analysed the nature of Prussian-German political culture from the stand point of a radical English-trained liberal and projected an accurate image of the enemy. Basic to this was Wood's carefully drawn distinction between the Germany of true culture and humanity on the one hand and the "barbarous feudal aristocracy" of Prussia on the other which had determined German political culture since Bismarck had founded the Reich under Prussia in 1871. This study first takes a look at the beginnings and milestones of Wood's academic career, before providing transcriptions of seven of his key texts. These texts, beginning with Wood's inaugural lecture in 1891 and ending with a prognosis after Prussia's defeat in the war, are all briefly introduced and commented on by the author in order to highlight the gradual formation of Wood's thought. In his main analysis, the author then elaborates on Wood's central thesis of the "Two Germanies" and, in a concluding outlook, relates these findings on the lasting influence of Prussian political culture to the recent "Historikerstreit". The book also includes a 1988 speech by the author titled "The Intellectual Roots of Australian Anti-Prussianism and the Policy of Internment" as well as an extensive bibliographical essay. 215 Seiten, broschiert (German-Australian Studies; vol. 3/Peter Lang Verlag 1991) Mängelexemplar/near mint