1415年，普鲁士王国的前身勃兰登堡选侯国，还是神圣罗马帝国所有选侯国中最不起眼的一个；500年后的“一战”前夕，它已崛起为争夺世界霸主之位的欧洲强国。它是如何一步一步做到的？ 在崛起的过程中，普鲁士曾经历了四次衰退期，还一度面临亡国的危险，但在历史紧要关头，大选帝侯、腓特烈大帝、施泰因和沙恩霍斯特、俾斯麦等伟人横空出世。他们是如何力挽狂澜、扭转国运的？ 普鲁士500年的崛起史，也是一部霍亨索伦家族的奋斗史。这个统治家族是通过怎样的奋斗，让普鲁士不断崛起的？ 在《帝国的崛起：从普鲁士到德意志》这部由英国著名历史学家、牛津大学近现代史导师约翰·马里奥特和格兰特·罗伯逊合著的经典作品中，这些问题和思索都得到了精彩解答。

2012 film by Christian Petzold

In the last moments of World War II, a secret Nazi space program evaded destruction by fleeing to the Dark Side of the Moon. During 70 years of utter secrecy, the Nazis construct a gigantic space fortress with a massive armada of flying saucers.

德国人会永远活在希特勒的阴影下吗？两德统一并没有驱散希特勒的阴影，统一后的德国，纳粹时代依然是一个被回避的话题。除了1933和1945年，目前德国回避的话题中又多了一项内容：1989/1990。为什么会这样？“德国问题”到底意味着什么？这正是本书中某些文章思考的主题，所收录的文章，从18世纪开始，探讨当时对德国后世影响深远的自由和专制体制。作者的着眼点并不仅仅是德国历史，还有作为德国历史参照体系的欧洲的历史和整个西方史。只有放在这一体系中，衡量德国历史的标准才会清晰起来：那是西方世界的标准，历史中的德国曾经是西方的一分子，德国参与构建了西方世界，却不止一次地游离西方之外，最后一次游离引发了世界历史上的一场大灾难。

A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

In 1943, as Hitler continues to wage war across Europe, a group of college students mount an underground resistance movement in Munich. Dedicated expressly to the downfall of the monolithic Third Reich war machine, they call themselves the White Rose. One of its few female members, Sophie Scholl is captured during a dangerous mission to distribute pamphlets on campus with her brother Hans. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to the White Rose, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility.

2002 film by Costa-Gravas

In 1983 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.