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David Schoenbaum (born 1935, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American social scientist
and historian.
He is teaching as a professor of History at the University of
Iowa. Schoenbaum received his BA at the University of
Wisconsin–Madison. In 1965, he was awarded a D.Phil at Oxford
University.
Schoenbaum is best known for his 1966 social history book, Hitler’s Social
Revolution, where Schoenbaum challenged the then prevailing
notion that the National Socialist regime was a backwards
looking, reactionary anti-modernizng dictatorship, and instead
argued that in effect at least, the Nazi regime was a modernzing
dictatorship[1
]. Schoenbaum argued that the Nazi revolution was
a "double revolution...of means and ends"[1
]. In order to accomplish its foreign policy
goals, namely war, the Nazi regime was forced to encourage modernization and
industrization, despite the anti-modernist nature of Nazi
ideology[1
]. Schoenbaum wrote that "The revolution of ends
was ideological-war against bourgeois and industrial society. The
revolution of means was its reciprocal. It was bourgeois and
industrial since in a industrial age, even a war against industrial
society must be fought with industrial means and bourgeois are
necessary to fight the bourgeoise"[2].
In Schoenbaum's view, there were two sorts of social realities,
namely "objective" and "interpreted social reality"[3].
By "objective social reality", Schoenbaum argued the Nazi regime
had achieved greater degree of industrialization and urbanization,
while by "interpreted social reality", the Nazi regime was able to
break down the traditional lines of class, religion and regional
loyalties to achieve an unparalleled degree of unity amongst the
German people[3].
In particular, Schoenbaum argued that the Nazi regime was able to
destroy the traditional class barriers that had divided German
society, and for most Germans, the increased social mobility
offered by the Nazi regime was sufficient compensation for the
destruction of democracy[3].
Schoenbaum's book proved to be highly influential, and set off an
important debate about both the intentions and the effects of Nazi
social policies, and the nature of social change during the Nazi
period[4]. Some
historians such as Ian
Kershaw have criticized Schoenbaum's work for placing too much
reliance on what Kershaw considers to be subjective and
impressionistic evidence[5].
Schoenbaum has written books about other aspects of modern
German history. In 1968, Schoenbaum publisehd a book about the Spiegel Affair
scandal of 1962, in which sought to set the affair into the context
of the history of the Federal Republic and the wider context of
German history. His 1982 book Zabern 1913 concerned the
political fall-out from the Saverne Affair in 1913. Scoenbaum argued
that the affair revealed different aspects of the Second
Reich, and argued that the Zabren Affair was the exception
that proved that the rule that the Second Reich was no more or less
liberal or illiberal then other Western nation[6]. In
1996, Schoenbaum wrote a highly critical book review in the National
Review of Daniel Goldhagen's bestseller
Hitler's Willing Executioners where he charged Goldhagen
with grossly simplifying the question of the degree and virulence
of German Antisemitism, and of only selecting
evidence that supported his thesis[7].
Furthermore, Schoenbaum complained that Goldhagen did not take a
comparative approach with Germany placed in isolation, thereby
falsely implying that Germans and Germans alone were the only
nation that saw widespread anti-semitism[8].
Finally, Schoenbaum argued that Goldhagen failed to explain why the
anti-Jewish boycott of April 1, 1933 was relatively ineffective or
why the Kristallnacht needed to be organized
by the Nazis as opposed to being a spontaneous expression of German
popular anti-semitism[9].
Using an example from his family history, Schoenbaum wrote his
mother in law, a Polish Jew who lived in Germany between 1928-1947
never considered the National Socialists and the Germans
synonymous, and expressed regret that Goldhagen could not see the
same[9].
One of Schoenbaum's few works outside of German history is
The United States And The State of Israel, a diplomatic history of relations between Israel and the United States from
1948 to 1993.
Work
- The German Question and Other German Questions, New
York : St. Martin’s Press ; Oxford : In association
with St. Antony’s College, 1996, ISBN 0312160488.
- "Ordinary People?" pages 54–56 from National Review,
Volume XLVIII, Issue # 12, July 1, 1996.
- The United States And The State of Israel, New
York : Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0195045777.
- Review of Das deutsche Gymnasium, 1780-1980 by Margret
Kraul pages 132-133 from The American Historical Review,
Volume 91, No. 1 February 1986.
- "Review: The Wehrmacht and G.I. Joe: Learning What from
History?: A Review Essay" Review of Fighting Power: German and
U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945 by Martin van
Creveld pages 201-207 from International Security,
Volume 8, Issue # 1, Summer, 1983.
- Zabern 1913 : Consensus Politics In Imperial
Germany, London : George Allen & Unwin, 1982, ISBN
0049430254.
- Co-written with John J. Mearsheimer “Clausewitz and the British
Generals” pages 223-229 from International Security,
Volume 6, No. 3 Winter, 1981-1982.
- “Dateline Bonn: Uneasy Super-Ally” pages 176-191 from
Foreign Policy, No. 37, Winter, 1979-1980.
- Review of Hitler aus nächster Nähe: Aufzeichmunger eines
Vertrauten, 1929-1932 by Henry Ashby Turner page 1082 from
The American Historical Review, Volume 84, No. 4, October
1979.
- “Passing the Buck(s)” pages 14–20 from Foreign Policy,
No. 34 Spring, 1979.
- “...Or Lucky?” pages 171-181 from Foreign Policy, No.
10, Spring 1973.
- Review of The Nazi Persecution of the Churches,
1933-45 by J.S. Conway pages 458-461 from The Journal of
Modern History, Volume 42, No. 3, September 1970.
- Review of Arbeitsdienst in Deutschland Pläne und
Verwirklichungsformen bis zur Einführung der Arbeitsdienstpflicht
im Jahre 1935 by Hennings Köhler & Wolfram Fischer pages
113-114 from The Journal of Modern History, Volume 42,
Issue # 1, March 1970
- “Elections in West Germany” pages 265-271 from Polity,
Volume 3, No. 2,Winter, 1970.
- Review of Revolutionary Hamburg: Labor Politics in the
Early Weimar Republic by Richard A. Comfort pages 637-638 from
The Journal of Modern History, Volume 41, Issue # 4,
December 1969.
- Review of The Outlawed Party: Social Democracy in Germany,
1878-1890 by Vernon L. Lidtke pages 702-704 from The
Journal of Economic History, Volume 28, Issue # 4, December
1968.
- The Spiegel Affair, Garden City, New York: Doubleday,
1968.
- Hitler’s Social Revolution; Class and Status in Nazi
Germany, 1933-1939, Garden City, N.Y. Doubleday, 1966
References
- Aruri, Naseer "Trouble in Paradise?" Review of The United
States and the State of Israel pages 113-115 from Journal
of Palestine Studies, Volume 24, Issue # 4, Summer, 1995.
- Berghahn, V.R. Review of Zabern 1913. Consensus Politics in
Imperial Germany pages 928-929 from The English Historical
Review, Volume 99, No. 393, October 1984.
- Divine, Donna Robinson Review of The United States and the
State of Israel pages 486-487 from AJS Review, Volume
20, Issue # 2, 1995.
- Fergusson, Gilbert Review of Hitler's Social Revolution:
Class and Status in Nazi Germany 1933-1939 pages 71–73 from
International Affairs, Volume 44, Issue # 1, January
1968.
- Hahn, Peter Review of The United States and the State of
Israel pages 692-693 from The American Historical
Review, Volume 99, No. 2, April 1994.
- Heckart, Beverly Review of Zabern 1913: Consensus Politics
in Imperial Germany pages 131-132 from The American
Historical Review, Volume 88, No. 1, February 1983.
- Herwig, Holger Review of Zabern 1913: Consensus Politics in
Imperial Germany pages 603-604 from German Studies
Review, Volume 6, Issue # 3, October 1983
- Kerhsaw, Ian
The Nazi Dictatorship : Problems and Perspectives of
Interpretation, London : Arnold ; New York :
Copublished in the USA by Oxford University Press, 2000.
- McKenzie, Mary Review of The German Question and Other
German Questions pages 392-393 from German Studies
Review, Volume 21, Issue # 2 May 1998.
- Mengelberg, Kaethe Review of Hitler's Social Revolution:
Class and Status in Nazi Germany, 1933-1939 pages 619-620 from
Political Science Quarterly, Volume 83, No. 4 December
1968.
- Morgan, Roger Review of The German Question and Other
Questions page 383 from International Affairs, Volume
73, Issue # 2, April 1997
- Paret, Peter
Review of Zabern 1913: Consensus Politics in Imperial
Germany pages 577-579 from The Journal of Modern
History, Volume 55, No. 3, September, 1983.,
- Quandt,
William Review of The United States and the State of
Israel page 741 from Political Science Quarterly,
Volume 108, No. 4, Winter, 1993-1994
- Schweitzer, Arthur Review of Hitler's Social Revolution:
Class and Status in Nazi Germany, 1933-1939 pages 171-180 from
Journal of Social History, Volume 3, No. 2, Winter,
1969-1970.
- Silverman, Dan Review of Zabern 1913 Consensus Politics in
Imperial Germany pages 96 from Military Affairs,
Volume 47, No. 2, April 1983.
- Snyder,
Louis L. Review of Hitler's Social Revolution: Class and
Status in Nazi Germany 1933-1939 pages 1188-1189 from The
American Historical Review, Volume 73, Issue # 4, April
1968.
Endnotes
- ^ a
b
c
Kerhsaw, Ian The Nazi Dictatorship : Problems and
Perspectives of Interpretation, London : Arnold, 2000
pages 166-167.
- ^
Kerhsaw, Ian The Nazi Dictatorship : Problems and
Perspectives of Interpretation, London : Arnold, 2000
page 166.
- ^ a
b
c
Kerhsaw, Ian The Nazi Dictatorship : Problems and
Perspectives of Interpretation, London : Arnold, 2000
page 167.
- ^
Kerhsaw, Ian The Nazi Dictatorship : Problems and
Perspectives of Interpretation, London : Arnold, 2000
pages 168-169.
- ^
Kerhsaw, Ian The Nazi Dictatorship : Problems and
Perspectives of Interpretation, London : Arnold, 2000
page 177.
- ^
Schoenbaum, David Zabern 1913, London : George Allen
& Unwin, 1982 page 184.
- ^
Schoenbaum, David "Ordinary People?" pages 54-56 from National
Review, Volume XLVIII, Issue # 12, July 1, 1996 pages
54-55.
- ^
Schoenbaum, David "Ordinary People?" pages 54-56 from National
Review, Volume XLVIII, Issue # 12, July 1, 1996 page 55.
- ^ a
b
Schoenbaum, David "Ordinary People?" pages 54-56 from National
Review, Volume XLVIII, Issue # 12, July 1, 1996 page 56.
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