Germany Reports. Pp. 367. Germany: Press and Information Office of the Ger man Federal Government (original publi cation date, 1953). No date for English translation. $3.00

• Author: Eli E. Nobleman
• DOI: 10.1177/000271625530000169
• Date: 01 July 1955
• Published date: 01 July 1955
• Subject Matter: Articles

171
It contains, nevertheless, an excellent sur-
Germany Reports is a well-documented
vey of the rise of the Social Democratic
account of developments in Western Ger-
party since its founding in 1889. Socialism
many from May 1945 through September
is a foreign importation which took root in
1953. Issued by the Press and Information
Sweden and grew like a strong indigenous
Office of the Federal Republic of Germany
pine. The steady accretion of strength is
as an official account of its accomplishments
traced to 1917, when the socialists first
and objectives, it is based upon information
took part in the administration, and on to
compiled by appropriate governmental de-
1954, a period in which the party has held
partments and contains thirty-two chapters,
sole or martial responsibility for twenty-
eighty-one charts, eighty-four statistical
eight of the thirty-seven years. If the au-
tables, and forty-six full-page photographs.
thor has a thesis, it is that &dquo;political parties
It deals with virtually every phase of Ger-
strongly organized are not an obstacle but
man life.
rather the prerequisite of an efficient de-
The book opens with a chapter which
mocracy&dquo; (p. 309).
summarizes Germany’s major geographic
The author uses English and American
features: economy and raw materials, his-
literature in political science, but his real
tory, area, and population. This is fol-
contribution comes from his study of the
lowed by chapters dealing with foreign
literature and archives of the Social Dem-
policy developments, Germany’s relation-
ocratic party itself. He marshals statistical
ship with other governments, problems in-
data for such purposes as charting the
volving the continuity of the Reich, state
party strength in different parts of the
and local government, the Berlin situation,
country, studies of the median age and
regeneration of the law, the internal safe-
occupational background of members of
guarding of a democratic state, public opin-
...