The scope of this paper is twofold: On the one hand, it offers an empirical based insight into the developments of public opinion in Germany in the 19 th and 20 th century. On the other hand, it reflects theoretically on problems concerning the interpretation of historical sources related to public opinion (theory). The article concentrates on German history between 1866 and 1945, a period serviced by a huge amount of historical sources and archival material. The starting point of 1866 marks

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... beginning of German unification while 1945 marks the end of this era. For the empirical insight into developments in public opinion, the findings presented here indicate that public opinion was deeply influenced by a set of socio economic variables. This paper assesses variables of intervening impact such as trust, tradition, information costs and external costs, while the article also considers the measurability of media impact on public opinion in the past. Furthermore, the paper offers explanations for the interdependence of public opinion and election results. For the theoretical considerations of interpretational problems, this article reflects the fabrication both of public opinion and of public opinion sources. Furthermore, it tries to isolate ingredients of frames in public opinion theory. In doing so it forwards a new notion, namely that "public mood" is derived from the historical sources. The paper also tries to integrate the public mood concept in public opinion theory. The empirical findings share with the theoretical framing the fact that both the theory and reality of public opinion can sometimes be easily explained, as sometimes they provide strange loops of interwoven causes and consequences.