Die zankende Zunft

History research in Germany has repeatedly given rise to broader public debates. Fritz Fischer´s writings about World War I, for example, published in the early 1960s, broke the ground for a critical treatment of German national history. The “historian dispute” of the 1980s, on the other hand, concerned the uniqueness of the Holocaust and brought the internal quarrel of the experts to the forefront of public discussion. The later debate concerning the reunification of Germany and the controversy surrounding Goldhagen´s book “Hitler´s Willing Executioners” were proof of how modern historians can become catalysts for broad public discussions.The major historical controversies in the recent past have changed the political landscape of Germany. At the same time they have made contemporary history more amenable to critical questioning and innovations. This volume discusses the most important debates and puts each of them in the respective context of expert discussion and media-led communication. It is thus also a sort of introduction to the history of the discipline via the most important issues in recent times.