The history of Europe as a continent of refugees European history has been permeated with refugees. The Outsiders chronicles every major refugee movement since 1492, when the Catholic rulers of Spain set in motion the first mass flight and expulsion in modern European history. Philipp Ther provides needed perspective on today's "refugee crisis," demonstrating how Europe has taken in far greater numbers of refugees in earlier periods of its history, in wartime as well as peacetime. His sweeping narrative crosses the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, taking readers from the Middle East to the shores of America. In this compelling book, Ther examines the major causes of mass flight, from religious intolerance and ethnic cleansing to political persecution and war. He describes the perils and traumas of flight and explains why refugees and asylum seekers have been welcomed in some periods-such as during the Cold War-and why they are rejected in times such as our own. He also examines the afterlives of the refugees in the receiving countries, which almost always benefited from admitting them. Tracing the lengthy routes of the refugees, he reconceptualizes Europe as a unit of geography and historiography. Turning to the history of refugees in the United States, Ther also discusses the anti-refugee politics of the Trump administration, explaining why they are un-American and bad for the country. By setting mass flight against fifteen biographical case studies, and drawing on his subjects' experiences, itineraries, and personal convictions, Ther puts a human face on a global phenomenon that concerns all of us.

Unity brought diversity - freedom, but also insecurity. 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany, it is time to re-measure the various upheavals and developments. They shape - and burden - the political and social present and pose enormous challenges, especially for contemporary historical research. How has Germany changed since 1990? What balance can be drawn with regard to the political, social and cultural consequences of the association? And how are these related to developments in Europe and the world? Marianne Birthler, Norbert Frei, Philipp Ther and Ton Nijhuis will debate this, introduced and commented on by Christina Morina and Konrad H. Jarausch. The volume forms the prelude to the "Past Present" series, which takes up central themes and controversies in contemporary history, discusses them with many voices and adds new perspectives.