The standard work - now with a chapter on the war in Ukraine

Gerd Koenen has researched the largely forgotten history of German orientations towards the East during the World War era between 1900 and 1945 and presented it comprehensively for the first time in his award-winning book. In the tension between feelings of superiority and inferiority, as well as fascinations and phobias, disastrous totalitarian ideologies emerged, alongside remarkable cultural achievements. This "Russia complex" was also an expression of a detachment from the West, which was only finally overcome after 1945. Koenen has now expanded the standard work with a chapter on the war in Ukraine.

New edition with a current afterword
Gerd Koenen sheds light on the ambivalent relationship between Germans and Russia.