Automation In Practice: #113 - Book "The shortest history of Germany" written by James Hawes

Driven by the curiosity to understand a bit more about the history of Germany and to learn some of the elements that contributed to its current success, I just read the book "The shortest history of Germany" written by James Hawes. This bestseller is written in a chronological order starting with the Roman Empire age and ending with the current Chancellor Angela Merkel times. In a bit more than 200 pages, the author succinctly highlighted several events that have marked the history of this great country and reshaped Europe over more than 2000 years.

Undoubtedly, Germany is today one of the most advanced countries that has a leading role not only in the European politics and economics but also at global scope. Germany has been a member of the Group of Seven (G7) since its creation in 1975 [1]. Last year, 2019, Germany has ranked the 7th most competitive country [2], including the winner of the best innovation capabilities, and it achieved the 4th largest GDP [3].

"Made in Germany" is recognized around the world as a quality of excellence. There are several German leading companies in different sectors such as Chemical, Automotive, Engineering, among many others. One benchmark that is correlated to the advancement of the manufacturing capabilities is the robotics density per 10,000 employees. In this metric, Germany got the 4th place last year, 2019, [4] and the average age of the machines in the manufacturing industry is 4 years, which is very good compared to 7 years in the US and 17 years in Brazil [5]. In addition, Germany has led for many years the solar energy production in the world and is now in the top 5 position [6].

Despite having lost the 2 World Wars (WW), with the dark years of Nazism in between, and being split after WWII into 2 opposite economical models for decades, Germany was able to rebuilt itself multiple times and to thrive in different domains. An important step in the history of this country, which is well covered in the book, is the process of unification led by Otto von Bismarck concluded in 1871. The book details the relationship and core differences between Germany and other powerful states of that time, such as France, England and Russia, as well as its internal conflicts and divergences.

Several graphical techniques are used in the book, and they help to clarify, in a friendly way, complex events with maps, images as well as satirical strips from old newspapers. In addition, some comparisons with the modern times are done. One example is the economic situation of Germany after WWI with its debts, high inflation rate, currency devaluation, unemployment, loan of money from the US, that is compared to the situation faced by Greece during the economic crisis in 2009.

Another point that is extensively argued through this book is the internal divisions that this country has had in terms of religion, society, values and economic development. This fragmentation is not exclusively to the past centuries, but in fact it has been present since over a thousand years. According to the author, the West Germany (1949-1990) was extraordinarily similar to the Germania as planned by Caesar Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, to East Francia at the Treaty of Verdun in 843, and to the Confederation of the Rhine in 1808. Today the divergences between West and East Germany, in particular the East side of the River Elbe, are still strong. This is one of the main challenges that Germany has and has had over history. In practice, today these divergences are marked in the East side of Germany by a lower economic development compared to the rest of the country, the rise of political extremism, both in hard-left and hard-right, and the distance from the Western political and economical model.

Although the book does not explore in enough depth, in my opinion, some areas where Germany has thrived over the centuries, such as arts, philosophy, psychology, science, engineering, among many others, in a succinct manner it tells a summarized history of this country. I believe that this is exactly the goal of the author and the scope of this short book, as the title suggests. For those wanting to explore in more details a specific event or subject related, which I highly recommend, this book is an easy and fast to read introduction.

References:

[1] https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/EN/Standardartikel/Topics/world/G7-G20/Group-G7-G8.html

[2] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf

[3] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=DE&most_recent_value_desc=true

[4] https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/record-2.7-million-robots-work-in-factories-around-the-globe

[5] http://www.abimaq.org.br/site.aspx/Abimaq-Informativo-Mensal-Infomaq?SumarioClipping=47

[6] https://www.woodmac.com/our-expertise/focus/Power--Renewables/global-solar-pv-market-outlook-update-q1-2019/

Further readings:

Books:
"Made in Germany" (1896), by Ernest Edwin Williams

"Germany: Memories of a Nation", by Neil MacGregor

Web content:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/24/the-shortest-history-of-germany-review-james-hawes-mystery-heart-of-europe