Reviewed by:

• Wege in die Digitale Gesellschaft: Computernutzung in der Bundesrepublik 1955-1990 [Towards a digital society: Computer use in West Germany 1955-1990] ed. by Frank Bösch
• Corinna Schlombs (bio)

The volume unites contemporary history scholarship with the history of computing, technology, and business. The result is a densely researched compilation of studies on computerization in West Germany, in areas such [End Page 1248] as law enforcement and the military, banking, insurance, local utility companies, the printing industry, computer networking, and personal computer uses by hackers, crackers, and chess players. The contributing authors provide original insights into the histories of data security and automation, also raising important comparative questions internationally and between the two Germanies. They paint a picture of a slow but steady diffusion of computing, not a revolutionary overhaul.

The authors provide a compelling historicization for current debates about national security and privacy by investigating computing in law enforcement. Contextualizing their studies in West Germany's student protests and the Red Army Faction's left-wing domestic terrorism in the late 1960s and 1970s, they expand the historiography of computing that so far has mostly discussed the counter culture movement as an inspiration for personal computing. In their chapter on data sharing systems in West Germany and the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, Constantin Goschler, Christopher Kirchberg, and Jens Wegener ask how the use of data files versus paper records affected transparency practices in democratic states in light of perceived national security threats. Rüdiger Bergien reveals that in West Germany from 1967 to 1989, federal law enforcement agencies accessed civilian databases including health insurance, unemployment offices, and motor vehicle records. But while new data security officers objected to the misappropriation of data for unintended purposes, law enforcement officers standardized data to overcome technical obstacles, caused for example by different formats for names in various databases. The studies disclose a history of conflict between data privacy and national security.

In addition, the volume addresses the effects of computer automation on work, particularly in offices. In a notable chapter on computing in the printing industry in the 1960s and 1970s, Kim Priemel examines union responses to technological change. He contributes to growing evidence that union leaders were more supportive of new technologies than the rank-and-file union members who feared for their jobs and in some cases voted down conciliatory union contract proposals. Several chapters allude to the essential role of data entry for computerization: Janine Funke explores how insufficient data impacted the reliability of military simulations; Thomas Kasper argues that lacking data entry hindered the computerization of pension insurance; and Kim Priemel shows how unskilled typists (women) and electronic technicians threatened to replace skilled printers and typesetters (men). These observations invite further studies on labor, gender, skills, and control in computer automation.

Finally, the authors contribute to the internationalization of computing history by decentering the United States as the model of computerization. Like Eden Medina in her seminal work on computing in Chile, they examine local conditions where computers were introduced. As Frank Bösch points out, West Germany was among the countries where civilian organizations [End Page 1249] played a more eminent role in computerization than the military-industrial-academic complex. Even the army, as Janine Funke reveals, used its first computers for materials logistics, and only later integrated computers into weapons systems and operations research, mostly through NATO cooperation. The West German legacy of state monopoly and government regulation in telecommunications also impacted computer networking. As Matthias Röhr shows, the postal service favored the hierarchically organized BTX and OSI services and standards over the internet and its de facto standard protocol TCP/IP, rendering computer networking costly to West Germans and delaying its wider use.

While the international comparisons highlight local differences, East and West Germany had surprising similarities. Martin Schmitt argues that computerization in savings banks was centralized in both Germanies, albeit for different reasons. And Julia Erdogan finds similar subcultures of young male hobbyists...

审核人：

• 在Digitale Gesellschaft中进行编辑：1955-1990年在Bundesrepublik中的Computernutzung [迈向数字社会：1955-1990年在西德使用计算机] ed。由FrankBösch
• Corinna Schlombs（生物）

该书将当代历史奖学金与计算机，技术和商业的历史结合在一起。结果是对西德的计算机化研究进行了密集的研究汇编，涉及的领域包括[执法机构]以及军事，银行，保险，本地公用事业公司，印刷业，计算机网络和个人计算机使用等[End Page 1248]。黑客，饼干和国际象棋玩家。特约作者提供了有关数据安全性和自动化历史的独到见解，还提出了国际上以及两个德国之间的重要比较问题。他们描绘了缓慢而稳定的计算扩散，而不是革命性的大修。

通过调查执法中的计算机，作者为当前有关国家安全和隐私的辩论提供了令人信服的历史化信息。在1960年代末和1970年代末，他们在西德的学生抗议活动和红军内部的左翼家庭恐怖主义中研究了他们的研究背景，他们扩展了计算机的历史学，到目前为止，大多数都将反文化运动作为个人计算机的灵感来讨论。在1970年代和1980年代西德和美国的数据共享系统一章中，Constantin Goschler，Christopher Kirchberg和Jens Wegener问道，根据公认的国民，数据文件与纸质记录的使用如何影响民主国家的透明度实践安全威胁。RüdigerBergien透露1967年至1989年在西德，联邦执法机构访问了民用数据库，包括健康保险，失业办公室和机动车记录。但是，尽管新的数据安全人员反对出于非预期目的盗用数据，但是执法人员对数据进行了标准化，以克服技术障碍，例如，由于各种数据库中名称的格式不同而引起的技术障碍。这些研究揭示了数据隐私与国家安全之间冲突的历史。

此外，该卷还解决了计算机自动化对工作的影响，特别是在办公室中。在1960年代和1970年代关于印刷行业计算的著名章节中，金·普里梅尔考察了工会对技术变革的反应。他提供了越来越多的证据，表明工会领袖比那些担心自己的工作的工会会员更支持新技术，在某些情况下，工会会员反对调解性的工会合同提案。有几章提到数据输入对于计算机化的重要作用：Janine Funke探索数据不足如何影响军事模拟的可靠性；托马斯·卡斯珀（Thomas Kasper）认为，缺乏数据输入会阻碍养老保险的计算机化。金·普里梅尔（Kim Priemel）展示了非熟练的打字员（女性）和电子技术人员如何威胁要更换熟练的印刷机和排字工人（男性）。这些观察结果要求对计算机自动化中的劳动，性别，技能和控制进行进一步的研究。

最后，作者通过将美国作为计算机化的模型而偏心，为计算历史的国际化做出了贡献。就像伊甸园·麦地那（Eden Medina）在智利的开创性工作中一样，他们研究了引入计算机的当地条件。正如弗兰克·博希（FrankBösch）所指出的那样，西德是民间组织的国家之一[结束1249页]在计算机化方面起着比军事工业学术综合体更重要的作用。正如简宁·冯克（Janine Funke）所揭示的那样，甚至连军队都使用其第一台计算机进行物资物流，后来才将计算机集成到武器系统和作战研究中，这主要是通过北约的合作进行的。西德的国家垄断和政府对电信的管制也影响了计算机网络。正如MatthiasRöhr所显示的那样，邮政服务偏爱互联网上的分层组织的BTX和OSI服务和标准及其事实上的标准协议TCP / IP，这使西德人的计算机网络成本高昂，并延迟了其广泛使用。

国际比较突显了当地差异，而东德和西德却有着惊人的相似之处。马丁·史密特（Martin Schmitt）认为，储蓄银行的计算机化集中在两个德国人，尽管出于不同的原因。朱莉娅·埃尔多安（Julia Erdogan）发现了年轻的男性业余爱好者类似的亚文化...