Imperial German Criminal Code

The German Criminal Code (Reichsstrafgesetzbuch) was ratified by the newly-formed German Empire on 16 April 1871. It is a remarkable work of synthesis drawn mostly from the Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1532), the Code Napoleon (1804), Feuerbach's Bavarian Criminal Code (1813) and the Prussian Penal Code (1851), which was influenced by the Code Napoleon. Its value lay not just in its establishment of uniform federal law but, as Drage notes in his excellent commentary, in its catholicity of historical and contemporary sources. Drawing on the idea of German unity, underscored in this case by the consensus-forming might of Prussian arms, the criminal code remained in force, despite various efforts at reform, until the triumph of National Socialism.

The history of criminal justice in modern Germany has become a vibrant field of research, as demonstrated in this volume. Following an introductory survey, the twelve chapters examine major topics in the history of crime and criminal justice from Imperial Germany, through the Weimar and Nazi eras, to the early postwar years. These topics include case studies of criminal trials, the development of juvenile justice, and the efforts to reform the penal code, criminal procedure, and the prison system. The collection also reveals that the history of criminal justice has much to contribute to other areas of historical inquiry: it explores the changing relationship of criminal justice to psychiatry and social welfare, analyzes representations of crime and criminal justice in the media and literature, and uses the lens of criminal justice to illuminate German social history, gender history, and the history of sexuality.

This eBook edition of "Imperial Germany & the Industrial Revolution" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. The book was published in 1915, after the First World War began. Veblen considered warfare a threat to economic productivity and contrasted the authoritarian politics of Germany with the democratic tradition of Britain, noting that industrialization in Germany had not produced a progressive political culture. Imperial Germany and the Industrial Revolution is in major part a study of the deviations in cultural and social growth between the English and the German. It deals with the consequences those differences created in social, economic and other domains. Veblen here describes, through the study of German culture, historical and social aspect, how it came to forming of the Third Reich, even before it was formed. He suggests that the Germany's autocracy was an advantage compared to democratic countries. After it was censored during the war, it was later released and it represents a substantial contribution in its sphere of influence. Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) was an American economist and sociologist. He is well known as a witty critic of capitalism. Veblen is famous for the idea of "conspicuous consumption." Conspicuous consumption, along with "conspicuous leisure," is performed to demonstrate wealth or mark social status. Veblen explains the concept in his best-known book, The Theory of the Leisure Class. Within the history of economic thought, Veblen is considered the leader of the institutional economics movement. Veblen's distinction between "institutions" and "technology" is still called the Veblenian dichotomy by contemporary economists.

German substantive criminal law has been influential in many civil law countries, most notably in the Hispanic world. In the common law countries, not surprisingly because of the systemic differences in approach, its impact has been much less, if not negligible. This may be largely explained as a result of the language barrier. An up-to-date and reliable English translation of the German Criminal Code has been conspicuously missing for some time. This book presents a new English translation of the Strafgesetzbuch, (the Criminal Code), in its most recent amended form of August 2007. The Code is the centrepiece of German substantive criminal law and informs the interpretation and application of any other criminal provisions which can be found in specific legislation. The translation thus affords an opportunity to profit from a legal tradition that has had a major influence over history and has a rich experience of doctrinal analysis. The translation adheres as closely as possible to the textual structure of the original, but has been made palatable to an English ear. It is intended as a companion to the author's Principles of German Criminal Law which was published in December 2008. Please click on the link below for further details. www.hartpub.co.uk/books/details.asp?isbn=9781841136301.