Reluctant Meister ― How Germany's Past Is Shaping Its Future

The Euro crisis has served as a stark reminder of the fundamental importance of Germany to the larger European project. But the image of Germany as the dominant power in Europe is at odds with much of its recent history. Reluctant Meister is a wide-ranging study of Germany from the Holy Roman Empire through the Second and Third Reichs, and asks not only how such a mature and developed culture could have descended into the barbarism of Nazism but how it then rebuilt itself within a generation to become an economic powerhouse. Perhaps most important, Stephen Green examines to what extent Germany will come to dominate its relationship with its neighbors in the European Union, and what that will mean.

Stephen Green served as Group Chairman of HSBC from 2005 to 2011. He has been a trustee of the British Museum and was Minister of State for Trade and Investment in the British government, retiring in 2013.