Thomas Adam. Philanthropy, Civil Society, and the State in German History, 1815–1989

Thomas Adam’s Philanthropy, Civil Society, and the State in German History, 1815–1989, presents a highly readable overview of philanthropic funding for a range of important institutions in modern German society, including museums (primarily of art), fellowships and stipends for university students and teachers, zoos, libraries, archaeological projects, research institutes, and affordable housing provision. The book combines concise and intelligent summary of the recent literature on the topic with judicious use of primary sources. The depth of Adam’s research and expertise is evident in the sovereign and elegant quality of the presentation. The book is primarily devoted to the Wilhelmine period, and the early chapters stress the essentially conservative social function of philanthropy. Chapter 1 presents a broad sketch of the role of philanthropy in German society in the nineteenth century, characterizing this as a period both of “struggle for cultural and social dominance within the German states” between the aristocracy and rulers on the one hand and the bourgeoisie on the other (13), and of active collaboration between the conservative state and bourgeois philanthropists. Bourgeois giving expanded steadily as a tool for achieving social prominence and prestige, and by the early twentieth century both municipal governments and corporate sponsors began to play a role as well, as these institutions expanded their social and political functions. Chapter 2 treats the social function of endowments in higher education, showing that they were used to secure family financial security, to foster religious communities (and to discriminate, particularly against Jews), and to assist the needy children of bourgeois families (for example, orphans). Chapter 3 uses two case studies to show that “by the eve of the First World War a mixed economy of funding for public projects and institutions had emerged” in which donors and governments actively collaborated (87).

Aristocracy (class) · Bourgeoisie · Civil society · Dominance (genetics) · Economic history · German · Political science · Politics · Prestige · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science) · Welfare state · European history and politics · European Political History Analysis · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law