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'German Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democratic Renewal is fascinating, even revelatory. By bracketing the Cold War that soon supervened after World War II, Sean Forner recaptures how the world looked to contemporaries, and how many possibilities were seen to beckon.' Samuel Moyn, Harvard University, Massachusetts 'This book tells a gripping story about political regeneration in the immediate aftermath of Germany's abject military defeat. In doing so, Sean Forner's 'engaged democrats' are revealed as intellectuals of lasting significance for Europe as a whole. A major achievement.' A. Dirk Moses, European University Institute, Florence 'Sean Forner paints a brilliant, dynamic picture of intellectuals in East and West Germany, who grasped the Nazi defeat as an opening for a new kind of democratic culture - participatory, argumentative, and public. A brilliant contribution to post-1945 German history.' Peter C. Caldwell, Rice University, Houston 'Forner takes us inside the dilemmas of democratic reconstruction after 1945, in which he shows us a series of unlikely convergences on the part of strange bedfellows who made common cause around the reclaiming of democratic values. The vision pursued by these intellectuals emerges as a specifically German answer to broader post-war questions concerning the promises and perils of mass democracy.' Geoff Eley, University of Michigan 'This book is a highly original exploration of a network of antifascist intellectuals who sought to create a participatory democracy in defeated Germany between the front-lines of the Cold War.' Konrad H. Jarausch, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 'Meticulously researched, elegantly written and forcefully argued, this study analyzes how left-wing intellectuals breathed new life into ideas of equality and cvility in the most unlikely place, occupied postwar Germany, a polity in the shadow of genocide. This is a gem of a book of interest to anyone who cares about the fragile nature of democracy, past, present and future.' Till Van Rahden, Universite de Montreal

'German Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democratic Renewal is fascinating, even revelatory. By bracketing the Cold War that soon supervened after World War II, Sean Forner recaptures how the world looked to contemporaries, and how many possibilities were seen to beckon.' Samuel Moyn, Harvard University, Massachusetts 'This book tells a gripping story about political regeneration in the immediate aftermath of Germany's abject military defeat. In doing so, Sean Forner's 'engaged democrats' are revealed as intellectuals of lasting significance for Europe as a whole. A major achievement.' A. Dirk Moses, European University Institute, Florence 'Sean Forner paints a brilliant, dynamic picture of intellectuals in East and West Germany, who grasped the Nazi defeat as an opening for a new kind of democratic culture - participatory, argumentative, and public. A brilliant contribution to post-1945 German history.' Peter C. Caldwell, Rice University, Houston 'Forner takes us inside the dilemmas of democratic reconstruction after 1945, in which he shows us a series of unlikely convergences on the part of strange bedfellows who made common cause around the reclaiming of democratic values. The vision pursued by these intellectuals emerges as a specifically German answer to broader post-war questions concerning the promises and perils of mass democracy.' Geoff Eley, University of Michigan 'This book is a highly original exploration of a network of antifascist intellectuals who sought to create a participatory democracy in defeated Germany between the front-lines of the Cold War.' Konrad H. Jarausch, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 'Meticulously researched, elegantly written and forcefully argued, this study analyzes how left-wing intellectuals breathed new life into ideas of equality and cvility in the most unlikely place, occupied postwar Germany, a polity in the shadow of genocide. This is a gem of a book of interest to anyone who cares about the fragile nature of democracy, past, present and future.' Till Van Rahden, Universite de Montreal 'Sean Forner's book on a group of unlikely affiliates within the intellectual elite of postwar Germany offers a timely and original insight into the history of the prolonged 'zero hour.' ... The book graciously combines a specific interest in intellectuals' politics with a broader interest in the study of political cultures. ... Forner's book brings to life an era of intense intellectual engagement, reconstruct[ing] their networks, interactions, and exchanges ...' Christina Morina, H-Net

'German Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democratic Renewal is fascinating, even revelatory. By bracketing the Cold War that soon supervened after World War II, Sean Forner recaptures how the world looked to contemporaries, and how many possibilities were seen to beckon.' Samuel Moyn, Harvard University, Massachusetts 'This book tells a gripping story about political regeneration in the immediate aftermath of Germany's abject military defeat. In doing so, Sean Forner's 'engaged democrats' are revealed as intellectuals of lasting significance for Europe as a whole. A major achievement.' A. Dirk Moses, European University Institute, Florence 'Sean Forner paints a brilliant, dynamic picture of intellectuals in East and West Germany, who grasped the Nazi defeat as an opening for a new kind of democratic culture - participatory, argumentative, and public. A brilliant contribution to post-1945 German history.' Peter C. Caldwell, Rice University, Houston 'Forner takes us inside the dilemmas of democratic reconstruction after 1945, in which he shows us a series of unlikely convergences on the part of strange bedfellows who made common cause around the reclaiming of democratic values. The vision pursued by these intellectuals emerges as a specifically German answer to broader post-war questions concerning the promises and perils of mass democracy.' Geoff Eley, University of Michigan 'This book is a highly original exploration of a network of antifascist intellectuals who sought to create a participatory democracy in defeated Germany between the front-lines of the Cold War.' Konrad H. Jarausch, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 'Meticulously researched, elegantly written and forcefully argued, this study analyzes how left-wing intellectuals breathed new life into ideas of equality and cvility in the most unlikely place, occupied postwar Germany, a polity in the shadow of genocide. This is a gem of a book of interest to anyone who cares about the fragile nature of democracy, past, present and future.' Till Van Rahden, Universite de Montreal 'Sean Forner's book on a group of unlikely affiliates within the intellectual elite of postwar Germany offers a timely and original insight into the history of the prolonged 'zero hour.' ... The book graciously combines a specific interest in intellectuals' politics with a broader interest in the study of political cultures. ... Forner's book brings to life an era of intense intellectual engagement, reconstruct[ing] their networks, interactions, and exchanges ...' Christina Morina, H-Net 'What makes Forner's treatment of these diverse intellectuals special is his multidimensional analysis of their activities. Unlike Greven and Kiessling, he not only considers texts and ideas but also examines these individuals' networking, their interactions and their political initiatives.' Jens Hacke, German History 'Sean A. Forner's German Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democratic Renewal: Culture and Politics after 1945 joins a growing body of scholarship that offers a refreshing challenge to this story. It grippingly surveys a galaxy of scholars and journalists who spent the occupation years (1945-1949) crafting intellectual support for a new democratic society.' Udi Greenberg, American Historical Review

Author Information

Sean A. Forner is a historian of twentieth-century Europe and Germany interested in the intersections of intellectual history and the history of political culture. His primary focus is on post-war ideas and practices of democracy, especially in moments when debate and experimentation intensified (for example, around 1945, 1956, 1968 and 1989). He also has long-standing interests in memory and representation, social and political thought, and historical methods. His teaching ranges from surveys of the European Union and twentieth-century Europe to upper-level topical courses and a graduate seminar on social theory and historiography.

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