From Weimar to Hitler
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: September 3, 1993
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 386
ISBN-13: 9780333274668
Subjects: European history: from c 1900 -; Inter-war period, 1918-1939; POLITICS & GOVERNMENT; 1918-1933; Germany; National socialism; Politics and government
Description: Weimar has become synonymous with catastrophic political failure, the prelude to the greatest moral and material disasters of the twentieth century. This book shows that such failure was never inevitable and that options remained tantalisingly open right up to Hitler's assumption of power. The democratic regime was saddled with heavy burdens stemming from defeat and never enjoyed general acceptance and legitimacy. On the other hand, it encouraged for the first time in German history expectations of a high level of welfare, individual rights and modern social practices, which were at least partially fulfilled. The period of relative prosperity was, however, too short, the return of crisis too severe and the resulting demoralisation too profound to save democracy. The author draws a compelling picture of a society frequently in turmoil, yet remarkably creative and innovative, but finally overwhelmed by a tide of irrationality and barbarism. He makes full use of the extensive sources and secondary literature available in German.