Twenty Years Later: 1968 and the West German Republic

Twenty Years Later: 1968 and the West German Republic

Jürgen Habermas, one of Germany’s most important political and philosophical thinkers, gave an interview—conducted by Rainer Erd—to the Frankfurter Rundschau last March. Though it deals with specific events in West Germany, this interview should be of much interest to American readers, who will notice both parallels and divergences from our own situation. It will be included in Jurgen Habermas, The New Conservatism: Cultural Criticism and the Historians’ Debate, edited and translated by Shierry Weber Nicholson (MIT Press, 1989). We thank Professor Habermas for permission to use this text, as well as the MIT Press. Bracketed explanatory remarks are by the translator. In a few instances we have added explanatory footnot...