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In recent years, the relevance of the long 1970s has been widely discussed in German historiography under the catchphrase ‘after the boom’. The term designates the end of the post-war period of continuous economic growth and full employment after the 1973 oil price crisis. Labour history in general and labour union history in particular had been considered old-fashioned for quite some time. However, a number of studies on the labour movement have been published lately, and research on labour unions in the 1970s and 1980s is on the increase. The book by Knud Andresen underlines this tendency. In his study, Andresen analyses the youth policy of the biggest industrial union in West Germany—the IG Metall—from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. The book, based on extensive archival research, is divided into four chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the IG Metall’s youth policy until the late 1960s. The second chapter outlines the politicization of many young people in the early 1970s, the emergence of a new youth culture and the obstacles young people faced within the fixed structure of the union. The author summarizes this trend in the fitting expression ‘Gebremste Radikalisierung’ (limited radicalization). The third chapter dwells on the years after the boom from the mid-1970s onwards characterized by rising youth unemployment and increasing political resignation. Finally, the last chapter examines how the IG Metall dealt with the new challenges of the early 1980s such as the peace movement and the unpopularity of labour unions among many young people.
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