Poor Relief and Welfare in Germany from the Reformation to World War I (review)

Frohman's Poor Relief and Welfare in Germany is remarkable in several respects—for one, its enormous chronological scope. Although the focus of the book is on the nineteenth century, the first chapters reach well back into the early modern era, and the closing chapters treat World War I, which Frohman sees as the decisive catalyst for the shift in "assistential regimes" that he examines. Frohman is able to do justice to this grand chronological framework because he has undertaken a massive work of synthesis, drawing with discrimination and intelligence from the voluminous literature about poor relief, charity, welfare, and social insurance in Germany (and wherever else is conceptually useful), as well as more selectively on the literature about political economy, class formation and culture, social history, and economic history. Particularly (but not exclusively) for the period after about 1870, this impressive command of the literature is matched by an equally impressive knowledge of the primary sources. Given the scope of the book, Frohman relies primarily on published material, but he consults the archives when discussing particular details of policy and policy debates. The book is a tour de force of synthesis and interpretation, but it also makes a substantial empirical contribution.

Displaying a masterful strategic sense, Frohman refers to the key articulations of multiple groups (Protestants, Catholics, socialists, liberals, men, and women in multiple regions of Germany), underlining or challenging the findings of other scholars and presenting his own distinctive interpretive perspective incisively and cogently. Frohman's account evinces a sophisticated understanding of the dynamic relationship between context (social, economic, and political) and institutional development. Though critically engaged with social theory, Frohman steers clear of teleology and over-theorization, offering neither a dark vision of the frightful logic of social discipline nor a Whiggish account of progress; his subjects are neither manipulative villains nor idealistic heroes. His narrative is coherent without discounting contingency.

The strong linkage in this book between broader patterns in political economy and the specifics of institutional development seems likely to become an influential model for future work on the rise of the welfare state. The book's chronological sweep also foregrounds the radical shift in "assistential regimes" that had taken place by the end of World War I. Frohman's rooting of his story in the early modern period highlights not only continuities but also the transformations at the turn of the century that lie at the heart of the study. This book will help to shape the agenda of historians working not only in the history of German social assistance but also in the history of European welfare systems generally.