This book contributes to modern German history and to the sociological understanding of crime in urban societies. Its central argument is that cities do not cause crime. It focuses on crime during Germany's period of most rapid growth. From 1871-1914, German cities, despite massive growth, socialist agitation, non-ethnic immigration, and the censure of conservative elites, were not particularly crime-infested. Nevertheless, governmental authorities often overreacted against city populations, helping to set Germany on a dangerous authoritarian course.