laodicea: The Two Germanies

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Wednesday, February 08, 2006

The Two Germanies

When Adenauer was liberated by the Americans in 1945 he told

them that there are two Germanies: the Germany of Prussia, Militarism and the will- to-power, and the Germany of Austria and Roman civilization. I was surfing the net today looking for a some images to illustrate how nationalism turned nasty over the course of the nineteenth century and I found these two from 1848 and 1914. I don't know how to illustrate Adenauer's point more beautifully. If nations exist by a disposition of nature (as Pius XII says) no doubt the two cities lurk in this way in the bosom of every country.

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