Democracies are fragile. Freedoms that seem firmly established can be squandered. Few historical events illustrate this as vividly as the failure of the Weimar Republic. Volker Ullrich recounts one of the greatest dramas in world history vividly, excitingly and close to the people involved. A read that reveals disturbing parallels with the present day. The birth of the Weimar Republic was marked by the most unfavourable of circumstances. The German Empire had lost the World War in a crushing defeat. The Treaty of Versailles imposed harsh conditions on the defeated country. A never-ending chain of crises interrupted only by a phase of apparent stabilisation in the mid-1920s shook the republic. But despite all the pressures, the experiment of the first German democracy was not doomed to an inglorious end from the outset. In his gripping book, the renowned historian and journalist shows that there were always opportunities to set a different course, from the founding phase of the republic to January 1933. It depends on the concrete actions of individuals then as now. Ullrich's book is thus also a powerful reminder: it is up to us whether democracy triumphs or fails.
Group
Books (first-hand)
Author
Ullrich, Volker
Title
Schicksalsstunden einer Demokratie
Details
Paperback. 383 pages.
State
new
Subtitle
Das aufhaltsame Scheitern der Weimarer Republik
Verlag C. H. Beck oHG Wilhelmstr. 9 80801 München Deutschland
