An innovative study of the coalition between Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary during the First World War. Jan Vermeiren pays particular attention to the cultural and social dimension of the special relationship between Berlin and Vienna and investigates the impact of the wartime alliance on German national identity. Focusing on the attitudes taken by governmental circles, politically active groups, and the broader public towards their 'fellow' Germans in the Habsburg Monarchy, Vermeiren provides a reassessment of German war ideology and nationalism and also presents many new insights into German-Slav and German-Hungarian relations in the period. Based on an impressive array of primary sources, the book is a valuable addition to the field of international history and will appeal to scholars of German and Central European history, historians of the First World War, and readers with an interest in the complex relationship between war and society.

Jan Vermeiren is Lecturer in Modern German History at the University of East Anglia.

Introduction; 1. The concept of the German nation, 1871-1914; 2. The Dual Alliance and the outbreak of war; 3. The idea of Austria-Hungary; 4. The Habsburg Monarchy in German history; 5. Mitteleuropa and the war aims debate; 6. The Hungarian alliance partner; 7. The Polish problem; 8. The nationality question in Austria; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.