The Weimar Republic [Paperback]

Detlev J. K. Peukert (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0809015560 | ISBN-13: 978-0809015566 | Publication Date: September 1, 1993

The nature of Weimar's terminal crisis - how a politically liberal and culturally progressive society could succomb to fascism - remains one of the central historical questions of our century. In this major work, Detlev J.K. Peukert offers a stimulating interpretation that not only places Weimar in the history of twentieth-century Germany but also reveals it as an archetype of the ambivalences and pathologies of advanced industrial society.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Born out of national defeat in 1918, the Weimar Republic launched Germany on an experiment in modernity under the least propitious circumstances. In an outstanding scholarly study that is likely to spark controversy, late German historian Peukert ( Inside Nazi Germany ) claims that the distinctive national characteristics of German history and of Weimar do not all point in a direct line to the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. Weimar's fragile attempt at democracy, he contends, was destroyed by a steady retreat from political compromise and by a continuous shrinking of the material and economic base, which prevented the liberal government, with its welfare structure, from gaining real legitimacy in the eyes of the German people. Interpreting Weimar as a brief, headlong tour of the fateful choices made possible by the modern world, this rigorous history explores the paradox of a society that spawned avant-garde cultural breakthroughs amid bleak poverty and political breakdown.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This relatively brief history appeared first in German in 1987, three years before the author's death. Now in a sound English translation, it offers a wide-ranging social, political, and economic analysis. While not arguing that the Weimar experiment in democracy was doomed to fail, Peukert ( Inside Nazi Germany , Yale, 1989) clearly suggests that a general "crisis of modernity" rendered a happy outcome most unlikely. Especially good at describing the era's economic problems and class struggles, he fails to do full justice to such social themes as gender and age conflict, which he introduces only to pass over too quickly. Based almost entirely on secondary works in German, the book contains occasional broad generalizations that, together with an overuse of the passive voice, result in imprecision. Nonetheless, it is well-crafted, sober, and succinct, well suited to its intended audience of undergraduate readers and the informed general public. -- James B. Street, Santa Cruz P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Hill and Wang (September 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809015560
• ISBN-13: 978-0809015566
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise, Precise and free of Jargon, May 29, 2001

By 

Andrew Hingston (Saint Helena, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Weimar Republic (Paperback)

I'm doing some research into the years immediately prior to WW2 and needed a good recap of Weimar for context. This book was superb for the purpose. Not long after starting it I concluded that I might as well save my yellow hi-lighter and simply dip the whole book in florescent yellow ink. There is hardly a page that is not a superbly concise rendering of an important point. Peukert, who died at age 39, was a star of German history of the 20th century, and this book, intended as both a primer and a summary, shows why. Excellent grasp and presentation of both statistics and economics. Few if any hacknied answers to banal questions, but rather a probing for new questions as well as new answers. A willingness to say "I don't know" when that is the proper thing to say. Peukert's intellectual honesty shines through, and all his traits inspire confidence. This book is not, however, a delightful read, being so thoroughly boiled-down to its essence. It contains very little in the way of flowing narrative, witty vignette, or deft portraiture -- mostly it sticks pretty close to what might, with a wink and a nod, be called the "objective facts" of Weimar. It is nonetheless well written, crammed with information, and free of jargon (this last point not to be taken for granted in academic writing of the 70s and 80s) -- and apparently well-translated. A very good job of what it sets out to do. That said, I got very little in the way of the "flavors" of Weimar from it, and now feel the need to read something else for that -- perhaps Doblin's "Berlin Alexanderplatz" will provide that.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, well-written, informative book for layman or professional, June 8, 2008

By 

Paul B. Dunlap - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Weimar Republic (Paperback)

I completely disagree. with galwaygirl's review I am just an amateur student of history, with no considerable prior knowledge of this period or Germany in general, and I found Peukert's book very understandable, concise and informative. Yes, it is dense, as any detailed history book has to be to do justice to its subject. As a reader, I did find I had to stop periodically and work to consolidated my thoughts to retain comprehension, but of course that's to be expected. Bottom line, I learned alot, and did not lose patience with the writing, and I am not the most patient fellow on earth.

Also, it is correct that this book focuses alot on social-economic conditions, but its discussion of politics is by no means destitute. Perhaps the reviewer meant that Peukert doesn't discuss personal politics and party politics in minutia, which is true, but the discussion of general political trends, their causes and effects is excellent.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Hitler Happened, December 21, 2000

By 

Christopher D. Helmkamp (Falls Church, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Weimar Republic (Paperback)

Detlev Peukert's analysis of Weimar Germany exceeds any other in breadth and readability. His book not only examines the experiment of Weimar democracy from social, economic, political, and cultural angles, but provides an interesting thesis for why Weimar democracy failed, namely that Weimar Germany epitomized the crisis of classical modernity. I have read many books on Weimar Germany, most of which focus on one particular aspect. Peukert synthesizes all of the most important aspects into one, offering a clear account of why Hitler happened.