what is 'sonderweg'?
Many historians have emphasized the central importance of a German or "special path" (or "exceptionalism") as the root of Nazism and the German catastrophe in the 20th century.
German Empire
Many historians have emphasized the central importance of a German or "special path" (or "exceptionalism") as the root of Nazism and the German catastrophe in the 20th century. 
paragraph 231 of the versailles treaty dealt with It was the opening article of the reparations section of the Treaty of Versailles, which ended the First World War between the German Empire and the Allied and Associated Powers. who wrote it? Norman Davis and John Foster Dulles which countries were part of this empire? The empire  consisted of 26 states, most of them ruled by royal families. which languages did they speak? German, Polish, Danish, Dutch and Frisian etc and which religions did they follow? Christianity, protestants, Muslims etc
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German Empire [SEP] Sonderweg
Many historians have emphasized the central importance of a German or "special path" (or "exceptionalism") as the root of Nazism and the German catastrophe in the 20th century. According to the historiography by Kocka (1988), the process of nation-building from above had very grievous long-term implications. In terms of parliamentary democracy, Parliament was kept weak, the parties were fragmented, and there was a high level of mutual distrust. The Nazis built on the illiberal, anti-pluralist elements of Weimar's political culture. The Junker elites (the large landowners in the east) and senior civil servants used their great power and influence well into the twentieth century to frustrate any movement toward democracy.