# The Germans — Last and First Men character guide

> The Germans in Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the chastened Germans, the Germans, The Germans

**First appearance:** 0004-i-the-european-war-and-after

## Snapshot

Courageous systematizers whose passion for order built European thought and, unchecked, helped wreck it.

## Who they are

The Germans are the great metaphysical engineers of the West, brilliant at erecting ingenious ladders to the stars on foundations that will not quite hold. Their flaw is a lack of self-criticism: sentimentalism and pomposity that erupt now and then into ludicrous brutality, or get compensated for by ceaseless, brilliantly successful commerce. In the early arc of the book they stand as the cautionary case of a gifted people whose hunger for a systematic reality behind appearances makes them dangerous to themselves and to Europe.

## In the story

### [I: Balkan Europe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/i-balkan-europe)

Romantic and systematic thinkers, leading Europe after the eclipse of France and England.

### [The European War and After](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/i-the-european-war-and-after)

One of the antagonists in the European War, noted for their government's brutal gestures.

### [II: The Anglo-French War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/ii-the-anglo-french-war)

Mentioned as becoming pacifist after the European War.

### [III: Europe After the Anglo-French War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/iii-europe-after-the-anglo-french-war)

Their romantic and systematic nature, while brilliant, lacked the scepticism needed for self-criticism.

### [IV: The Russo-German War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/iv-the-russo-german-war)

Aggrieved by American economic encroachment in Russia, they initiate a war based on a provocative book and suffer from the poison gas they unleashed.

### [I: Europe and America](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/i-europe-and-america)

Germany speaks for Europe after the Anglo-French War, but its criticism is too pedantic to influence America.

### [The Rivals](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/i-the-rivals)

The Russo-German War is mentioned, with Germany favored by China against Russia.

### [The Conflict](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/ii-the-conflict)

The Germans are mentioned as part of the European context, but their specific role in this chapter is not detailed.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/characters/the_germans
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/last_and_first_men_se/characters