What does it mean to see oneself as free? And how can this freedom be attained in times of conflict and social upheaval? In this ambitious study, Moritz Föllmer explores what twentieth-century Europeans understood by individual freedom and how they endeavoured to achieve it. Combining cultural, social, and political history, this book highlights the tension between ordinary people's efforts to secure personal independence and the ambitious attempts of thinkers and activists to embed notions of freedom in political and cultural agendas. The quest to be a free individual was multi-faceted; no single concept predominated. Men and women articulated and pursued it against the backdrop of two world wars, the expanding power of the state, the constraints of working life, pre-established moral norms, the growing influence of America, and uncertain futures of colonial rule. But although claims to individual freedom could be steered and stymied, they could not, ultimately, be suppressed.

‘Moritz Föllmer explores the wide-ranging yearning for individual freedom in the twentieth century, beyond what any particular abstract theory or political position advocates. The result is a beautifully written and engaging book. The Quest for Individual Freedom is original, the writing is unlike most history that I read, and the topic is extremely important.'

Peter C. Caldwell - author of Democracy, Capitalism, and the Welfare State: Debating Social Order in Postwar West Germany, 1949–1989

‘This imaginatively conceived and remarkably wide-ranging account explores both the spiritual and physical quest for freedom in our times, one which battled conformity and solitude. Föllmer also takes up the flight to freedom under the adverse conditions of the twentieth century: war, labor, and state repressiveness. In this sympathetic book, individuals stand out – in their frailty.'

Peter Fritzsche - author of Hitler's First Hundred Days: When Germans Embraced the Third Reich

‘A tour de force on how ordinary Europeans negotiated the meanings of freedom amid adversity. Elegantly written, Föllmer weaves together the twentieth century's history and political currents in entirely new ways. The story of the gains and setbacks in the struggle to live freely are riveting. A must read for scholars and students.'

Rosemary Wakeman - author of A Modern History of European Cities: 1815 to the Present