ABSTRACT
German Expressionism was as much of a European as of a German trend. Ideas flowed freely; few foreign writers, whether Russian, French, English, American, Scandinavian or others escaped the attention of Germany's publishers. The country's population had risen from forty million in 1871 to sixty-seven in 1914. Not only that, but there also was a pulling up of roots; the shift from country to city was in full swing. It was a nation on the move—as the reign of Wilhelm II opened, only half the population of Germany’s cities was born where they lived. Eleanor Turk presents a fine case study of that in her discussion of the proposed anti-Socialist legislation of 1899. The emperor had his heart set on it, and was unwilling to recognize the foolishness of introducing an anti-strike bill of Germany's development.
