Book excerpt: This is the first English-language collection of essays on modern German history with a generational theme. It analyzes the origins and impact of generation conflict from the eighteenth century to the 1960s student revolts. It adds to our understanding of generations as historical phenomena and elucidates why so often in modern German history generation conflict has overshadowed class conflict. It addresses the generational roots of National Socialism, and pays particular attention to gender and the development of East German society.