"It could have turned out differently" - from this perspective, the volume looks at fourteen caesuras in German history between 1848 and 1989. Here the real and crucial historical events are considered against the backdrop of other historical developments that were always possible - developments inherently present in decisive, often dramatic turning points. In this way new light is shed on what is already known, the essential openness of history made evident.What would have happened if the East German security services had violently turned on the demonstrators in 1989? If the USA had dropped atomic bombs on Germany in 1945? How would Germany have turned out if the effort to establish a constitutional monarchy had succeeded in 1848? This book accompanies the exhibition "Roads not Taken" in the Deutsches Historisches Museum, whose titel has a programmatic dimension: following a concept of the historian Dan Diner, he and the other authors focus on possible historical alternatives. What unexpected coincidences might have altered the real historical events? What role did the personalities involved play in their unfolding? Themes such as Germany's Ostpolitik, the Berlin Wall, the Cold War, the Nazi rise to power, revolution and democratization in Germany are newly evaluated in this way.

PrefaceRaphael GrossRoads not TakenOder: Es hätte auch anders kommen könnenA Talk with Dan Diner on the Exhibition Concepts1989Stroke of Luck ¿ RevolutionWhat If: The Protests and Demonstrations Are Brutally CrushedJulia Franke1972Détente ¿ OstpolitikWhat If: Willy Brandt Is Voted Out of Office as ChancellorStefan Paul-JacobsApril 1972: Rainer Barzel Becomes ChancellorBernd Rother1961Fear ¿ The Berlin Wall Goes UpWhat If: The Berlin Crisis Triggers a Nuclear DisasterStefan Paul-JacobsIn the Government Bunker¿ The First Days of the Third World WarJörg Diester1952Lures ¿ The Stalin Notes What If: The Path Leads to ReunificationStefan Paul-JacobsPictorial Space and Pictorial Time in a Socialist Utopia: Walter Womackäs Mosaic Our Life on the Haus des Lehrers in BerlinOliver Sukrow1948/49Systems ¿ Cold WarWhat If: The Berlin Blockade Leads to WarStefan Paul-Jacobs1945Escaped ¿ Atomic BombWhat If: Ludwigshafen Is Struck by an Atomic BombStefan Paul-Jacobs1944Assassination Attempt ¿ 20 JulyToo Late! Attempted Coup and HolocaustJulia Franke1936Va Banque ¿ RhinelandWhat If: France Prevents Hitler¿s ExpansionStefan Paul-Jacobs1933¿A Miracle¿ ¿ 30 JanuaryWhat If: Military Dictatorship Instead of Nazi Dictatorship?Lili ReyelsThe Avoidable Catastrophe: 30 January 1933Heinrich August Winkler1929Hardship ¿ Economic CrisisWhat If: Brüning Succeeds in His Policy ChangeLili ReyelsEconomic Policy Debate in the Journal Der deutsche Volkswirt during the Great DepressionRoman Köster1918Unstable? WeimarWhat If: A Monarchy Provides the Footing for a Democratic ConstitutionLili Reyels¿But the Firm ¿ Can and Must Be Retained¿: The SPD and the Question of Monarchy versus RepublicWalter Mühlhausen1914Abyss ¿ AugustWhat If: Can the Social Democrats Prevent the War?Stefan Paul-JacobsStreet Protests against the War in July 1914Stefan Paul-Jacobs1866Empire ¿ In the MidstWhat If: A ¿Third Germany¿ RisesStefan Paul-Jacobs1848/49Failure ¿ RevolutionWhat If: A Dream Comes TrueLili ReyelsKarl Biedermann¿s Account of the Journey of the Frankfurt DeputationMonika WienfortAppendixLiteratureAuthorsLending institutions and licensersThanksIllustration creditsCredits