This 1995 book contributes to both modern German history and to the sociological understanding of crime in modern industrial and urban societies. Its central argument is that cities, in themselves, do not cause crime. It focuses on the problems of crime and criminal justice during Germany's period of most rapid urban and industrial growth - a period when Germany also rose to world power status. From 1871 to 1914, German cities, despite massive growth, socialist agitation and non-ethnic German immigration, were not particularly infested with crime. Yet the conservative political and religious elites constantly railed against the immoral nature of the city and the German governmental authorities, police, and court officials often overreacted against city populations. In so doing, they helped to set Germany on a dangerous authoritarian course.

"...important and often fascinating..." Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"...a very impressive array of official criminal statistics." Gabriel Finder, American Journal of Sociology

"...Johnson's book is a gold mine of information...." Central European History

"In this rich volume, Eric A. Johnson undertakes a task that historians far too often overlook: the painstaking reexamination of received scholarly wisdom....Johnson's book is not only of value to german specialists, but it should help frame the discussion about the history of crime in industrialized society." Kenneth F. Ledford, The Historian

"...exceptional and very persuasive study of crime and criminal justice in Germany during the late nineteenth and erly twentieth centuries...." Kevin F. Ryan, International Criminal Justice Review