It is far too early to write the history of the pandemic or to gauge its social consequences. But it is time for the first explorations, for test drilling, as carried out in the fifteen essays of this thematic booklet on History and Society. How does the relationship between closeness and distance change, what does the crisis mean for the state, for democracy and civil rights, for social policy and social inequality? How are the weights shifting in Europe, and which global experiences and upheavals should we consider, from China to Latin America? Historians are experts not only for the past, but also for the course of time, for crisis-ridden transformations, for the tension between breaks and continuities. The renowned authors write with their technical competence, empirically founded and strong in theses. At the same time, they reveal themselves as committed contemporary witnesses: within a great shock: That is what makes this band so special.
