How could the same nation that gave birth to Beethoven, Goethe, and Kant have been the source of the some of the worst atrocities in all of human history? How could a seemingly insignificant and infinitely divided number of small principalities unite into a state that threatened the balance of world power not only once, but twice in the 20th century? Through this course, I hope to provide an introduction to the most important developments in German history over the past two centuries, and examine the role that Germany and the Germans played in shaping not only the political and economic order of the world today, but also European and American intellectual and cultural life. I will discuss both the political, social, and military developments that are taught in standard history courses and also subjects like classical music and philosophy that are often excluded from standard high school courses. While I hope to move at a quick pace, I will also leave plenty of time during and after the lecture for questions, and will not presume that students have a high degree of familiarity with 19th and 20th century European history.