Historians of modern German culture and church history refer to "the Awakening movement" (die Erweckungsbewegung) to describe a period in the history of German Protestantism between the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the Revolution of 1848. "The Awakening" was the last major nationwide Protestant reform and revival movement to occur in Germany. This book analyzes numerous primary sources from the era of the Awakening and synthesizes the current state of German scholarship for an English-speaking audience. It examines the Awakening as a product of the larger social changes that were re-shaping German society during the early decades of the nineteenth century. Theologically, Awakened Protestants were traditionalists. They affirmed religious doctrines that orthodox Protestants had professed since the confessional statements of the Reformation-era. Awakened Protestants rejected the changes that Enlightenment thought had introduced into Protestant theology and preaching since the mid-eighteenth century. However, Awakened Protestants were also themselves distinctly modern. Their efforts to spread their religious beliefs were successful because of the new political freedoms and economic opportunities that the Enlightenment had introduced. These social conditions gave German Protestants new means and abilities to pursue their religious goals. Awakened Protestants were leaders in the German churches and in the universities. They used their influence to found many voluntary organizations for evangelism, in Germany and abroad. They also established many institutions to ameliorate the living conditions of those in poverty. Adapting Protestantism to modern society in these ways was the most original and innovative aspect of the Awakening movement.

This volume introduces readers to the faith and work of four figures of the 19th century revival movement called the German Awakening: -- August Tholuck (1799-1871) -- Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808-1881) -- Theodor Fliedner (1800-1864) -- Friedrich von Bodelschwingh (1831-1910) The German Awakening engendered a spirituality that fostered human kindness, grounded it in awakened faith, and gave it the shape of loving service to society. This remarkable and unique scholarly contribution: -- translates the majority of its materials for the first time in English. -- includes a variety of spiritual genres -- sermons, hymns, commentaries, mission statements, etc.

From the closing decades of the eighteenth century, German theology has been a major intellectual force within modern western thought, closely connected to important developments in idealism, romanticism, historicism, phenomenology, and hermeneutics. Despite its influential legacy, however, no recent attempts have sought to offer an overview of its history and development. Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Vol. I: 1781-1848, the first of a three-volume series, provides the most comprehensive multi-authored overview of German theology from the period from 1781-1848. Kaplan and Vander Schel cover categories frequently omitted from earlier overviews of the time period, such as the place of Judaism in modern German society, race and religion, and the impact of social history in shaping theological debate. Rather than focusing on individual figures alone, Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Vol. I: 1781-1848 describes the narrative arc of the period by focusing on broader intellectual and cultural movements, ongoing debates, and significant events. It furthermore provides a historical introduction to each of the chronological subsections that divides the book. Moreover, unlike previous efforts to introduce this time period and geographical region, the volume offers chapters covering such previously neglected topics as religious orders, the influence of Romantic art, secularism, religious freedom, and important but overlooked scholarly initiatives such as the Corpus Reformatorum. Attention to such matters will make this volume an invaluable repository of scholarship and knowledge and an indispensable reference resource for decades to come.

Germany's Rude Awakening depicts the rise and fall of censorship in the age of the Brothers Grimm and Prince Metternich. Focusing on the Grimm's homeland of Hesse-Cassel, Frederik Ohles illustrates how censorship first awakened to the challenge posed by new political forces and literary forms, then lost its effectiveness as more and more Germans read and wrote what they wanted, finding ways to evade both censors and police. Ohles examines actual practices, looking beyond the legislation of the German Confederation and the pronouncements of Prince Metternich. He explores the effects of the laws on the censors' work, analyzes the political influence of Prussia and Austria on the Principality of Hesse (situated at the crossroads of the German Confederation), and interprets the results of censorship on literature, politics, the book trade, and public and private life. In telling the story of a momentous struggle between old and new views of politics and literature, he shows that while censorship became a public issue in eighteenth-century Germany, it failed as a policing institution. Ohles's extensive research includes police archives, early issues of the bookdealers' gazette published in Marburg, recollections of the Brothers Grimm, the Hessian collection of artistic and scholarly memoirs, and travelers' accounts. The result is a work that will appeal to specialists in nineteenth-century German history and literature as well as historians of censorship, publishing, and German political culture. It also complements current historical debates about communications, public culture, and the modernization of bureaucracy.