Through the last century, Catholic fraternity alumni have served as German chancellors, presidents, federal ministers, state executives, and leading voices in Germany's parliament. They have played leading roles in the Catholic press, in Catholic youth groups, in Catholic civic associations, and in the German Catholic hierarchy. After World War II, Catholic fraternity alumni played founding roles in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), the two parties that led West Germany's transition from its catastrophic defeat («zero hour») to the economic miracle (1949-1969). This book considers the ideas that many of these Catholic leaders encountered as college students or as active alumni in their fraternities in the fifteen years before Adolf Hitler came to power.

Autorentext

Jeremy Stephen Roethler received his PhD from the University of Washington. Currently he is Senior Lecturer and Program Coordinator in the General Studies Program at Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. He is also an active member of the American Catholic Historical Association and the German Studies Association.

Inhalt

Contents: List of Illustrations - Introduction: Germany's Catholic Fraternities - Catholic Fraternities and Confessional Conflict - Catholic Fraternities at War - A Republic in Crisis - Catholic Parties and Fraternity Politics - The Ethos of Catholic Community - A Catholic Commentary on German Nationalism - The Catholic Fraternities and National Socialism - Accommodation, Dissolution and Revival - Conclusion: The Significance of the Catholic Fraternities in German History.