Overview

"The great Austrian writer Stefan Zweig confided in his autobiography: ""I have a pretty thorough knowledge of history, but never, to my recollection, has it produced such madness in such gigantic proportions."" He was referring to Germany in 1923, a ""year of lunacy,"" defined by hyperinflation, violence, a political system on the verge of collapse, the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and separatist movements threatening to rip apart the German nation. Most observers found it miraculous that the Weimar Republic-the first German democracy-was able to survive, though some of the more astute realized that the feral undercurrents unleashed that year could lead to much worse. Now, a century later, best-selling author Volker Ullrich draws on letters, memoirs, newspaper articles, and other sources to present a riveting chronicle of one of the most difficult years any modern democracy has ever faced-one with haunting parallels to our own political moment."

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9781324093466

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"Well researched and clearly written, recounting the putsch and the events leading up to it with authority and verve . . . [Ullrich] writes in enviably engaging and flowing prose (ably translated here by Jefferson Chase) and makes excellent use of a rich range of diaries and memoirs covering the events.--Richard J. Evans ""The Nation"" What readers will find is a warning from the past with lessons still apposite today: crisis breeds crisis; democracy is hard work; scapegoating needs to be addressed early; norms, once broken, are hard to repair; the socio-economic effects of inflation can be deadly.--Charles Emerson ""Financial Times"" Ullrich shows that the psychological and political effects of hyperinflation were profound. Reality seemed to be breaking down . . . . Conservatives believed that they could invite Hitler into their governing coalition and benefit accordingly. Such opportunism was breathtakingly cynical--and horrifically na�ve. As Ullrich puts it at the end of his book, 'The notion that they could harness the Nazi leader for their own reactionary interests and control the dynamic of his movement would be revealed as a tragic illusion.'--Jennifer Szalai ""New York Times"" An exemplary, sober book about an intoxicating time: Volker Ullrich brings order to the historical chaos of a year that fascinates as well as frightens--and is closer to us than we might like it to be. Formidable.--Norman Ohler, New York Times best-selling author of Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich Comprehensive . . . this captivating account sheds much light on a complex and consequential era. WWII history buffs should take note.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" An exemplary book of history with no lack of uncomfortable lessons for today.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"""

"An exemplary, sober book about an intoxicating time: Volker Ullrich brings order to the historical chaos of a year that fascinates as well as frightens--and is closer to us than we might like it to be. Formidable.--Norman Ohler, New York Times best-selling author of Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich Comprehensive . . . this captivating account sheds much light on a complex and consequential era. WWII history buffs should take note.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" An exemplary book of history with no lack of uncomfortable lessons for today.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"""

"Comprehensive . . . this captivating account sheds much light on a complex and consequential era. WWII history buffs should take note.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" An exemplary book of history with no lack of uncomfortable lessons for today.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"""

Author Information

Volker Ullrich is a German historian and the award-winning author of Eight Days in May: The Final Collapse of the Third Reich. He lives in Germany. Jefferson Chase has translated works by Thomas Mann and Wolfgang Schivelbusch, among others. He lives in Berlin.

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