Written by: Frank McDonough
Established in 1918–19, in the wake of Germany’s catastrophic defeat in the First World War and the revolution that followed swiftly on its heels, the Weimar Republic ushered in widespread social reform, a radical cultural flowering and the most democratic conditions the German people had ever known.
The Weimar Years is an interesting book; it gives a year by year description of Germany and the new Weimar Republic: the various German governments, the aftermath of World War I, the heavy burden caused by the Versailles Treaty, and the building of the NSDAP and the rise of Hitler.
At the end of the book, the author makes a cautionary statement: The Weimar years are a warning sign of how a democracy under poor leadership can drift toward a form of authoritarian rule that ultimately destroys it, under the pressure of economic crises and unrelenting political instability.
