The Weimar Republic: Germany 1918-33

The Weimar Republic was eastablished after Germany's defeat in 1918, and maintained a fragile but vibrant democracy until its overthrow by Hitler in 1933. Characterized as a period of hyper-inflation, insurgency and intrigue, it is conventional to view Weimar as a period in which the seeds of National Socialism were sown, and where historians anxiously seek the explanation, even justification, of the Nazi regime. In this analytical narrative, Helmut Heiber cuts through the accepted wisdom and presents the era in its own terms. He focuses on the succession of social and political events, and sorts through problems - such as the cause and effect of hyper inflation - with careful attention to recent research. He traces the internecine activities of the Communist and National Socialist parties, and reassesses the role and demise of the Social Democratic party.