The Bismarck Debate
Bruce Waller looks at recent debate about modern Germany's greatest statesman.
Historians strive to accumulate and record the facts of the past: with diligence they can obtain a high degree of accuracy. They also attempt the more difficult task of interpreting that past; here certainty, if it is more than banal, is an ungrateful and resourceful captive, yearning to escape. We know a great deal about Bismarck, but each of us sees him differently. Our own individuality is important, but so is our place in time, in society or on the globe.
The Bismarck debate
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