Synopses & Reviews
Anthony McElligott's study challenges conventional approaches to the history of the Weimar Republic. Taking as its premise that neither 1918 nor 1933 constituted distinctive breaks in early 20th century German history, Rethinking the Weimar Republic stretches the chronological-political parameters of the republic from 1916 to 1936.
This longer period allows for a better understanding of the genesis of the politics of the republican state, the crises that it faced, and how these were eventually resolved under the Nazi-conservative collaboration from 1933. As well as rethinking topics of traditional concern for historians of the republic, such as the economy, foreign policy, Article 48, the Nazi vote and youth, McElligott also discusses hitherto neglected areas such as provincial life and politics, the role of law and republican cultural politics.
Based on both unpublished and published sources, this robustly-argued book offers its readers a new and incisive exploration of the day to day relationship between state and citizens that will become essential reading to all students of modern Germany.
Review
“More than 80 years after its demise, the Weimar Republic continues to fascinate. McElligott's own edited collection has enriched understanding of the republic's political instability and cultural dynamism. The chapter titled "Authority between Democracy and Dictatorship" is perhaps the volume's most compelling contribution, as McElligott discusses the Weimar constitution's inadequacies (or rather, the perception of such by contemporaries) and the widespread appeal during periods of acute crisis (1923, 1930-33) of dictatorship as a remedy for the failures of Germany's parliamentary democracy. A must read for any scholar interested in the origins of the Nazi dictatorship. Summing Up: Essential. Graduate students, faculty.” - K. C. O'Connor, Gonzaga University,
CHOICE
Synopsis
Most accounts of the Weimar Republic (formed in Germany at the end of World War I) begin in 1918 and end in 1933, when the Nazis took power. Rethinking the Weimar Republic extends the paramaters of the republic to the period from 1916 to 1936. This longer period allows for a better understanding of the genesis of the politics of the republican state, the crises it faced and how they were resolved.
Synopsis
Anthony McElligott's new study challenges conventional approaches to the history of the Weimar Republic. Taking as its premise that neither 1918 nor 1933 constituted distinctive breaks in early 20th century German history, Rethinking the Weimar Republic stretches the chronological-political parameters of the republic from 1916 to 1936. This longer period allows for a better understanding of the genesis of the politics of the republican state, the crises that it faced, and how these were eventually resolved under the Nazi-conservative collaboration from 1933. As well as rethinking topics of traditional concern for historians of the republic, such as the economy, Article 48, the Nazi vote and political violence, McElligott also discusses hitherto neglected areas such as provincial life and politics, the role of law and republican cultural politics. Based on both unpublished and published sources, this robustly argued book offers its readers a new and incisive exploration of the day to day relationship between state and citizens that will become essential reading to all students of modern Germany.
Synopsis
Anthony McElligott's new study challenges conventional approaches to the history of the Weimar Republic. Taking as its premise that neither 1918 nor 1933 constituted distinctive breaks in early twentieth-century German history, Rethinking the Weimar Republic stretches the chronological-political parameters of the republic from 1916 to 1936. This longer period allows for a better understanding of the genesis of the politics of the republican state, the crises that it faced, and how these were eventually resolved under the Nazi-conservative collaboration from 1933. As well as rethinking topics of traditional concern for historians of the republic, such as the economy, Article 48, the Nazi vote and political violence, McElligott also discusses hitherto neglected areas such as provincial life and politics, the role of law and republican cultural politics. Based on both unpublished and published sources, this robustly argued book offers its readers a new and incisive exploration of the day to day relationship between state and citizens that will become essential reading to all students of Modern Germany.
Synopsis
Anthony McElligott's study challenges conventional approaches to the history of the Weimar Republic. Taking as its premise that neither 1918 nor 1933 constituted distinctive breaks in early 20th century German history, Rethinking the Weimar Republic stretches the chronological-political parameters of the republic from 1916 to 1936. This longer period allows for a better understanding of the genesis of the politics of the republican state, the crises that it faced, and how these were eventually resolved under the Nazi-conservative collaboration from 1933. As well as rethinking topics of traditional concern for historians of the republic, such as the economy, Article 48, the Nazi vote and political violence, McElligott also discusses hitherto neglected areas such as provincial life and politics, the role of law and republican cultural politics. Based on both unpublished and published sources, this robustly-argued book offers its readers a new and incisive exploration of the day to day relationship between state and citizens that will become essential reading to all students of modern Germany.
Synopsis
“McElligott's impressive mastery of an enormous body of research guides him on a distinctive path through the dense thickets of Weimar historiography to a provocative new interpretation of the nature of authority in Germany's first democracy.” Sir Ian Kershaw, Emeritus Professor of Modern History at the University of Sheffield, UK
This study challenges conventional approaches to the history of the Weimar Republic by stretching its chronological-political parameters from 1916 to 1936, arguing that neither 1918 nor 1933 constituted distinctive breaks in early 20th-century German history.
This book:
- Covers all of the key debates such as inheritance of the past, the nature of authority and culture
- Rethinks topics of traditional concern such as the economy, Article 48, the Nazi vote and political violence
- Discusses hitherto neglected areas, such as provincial life and politics, the role of law and Republican cultural politics
About the Author
Anthony McElligott is Professor of History at the University of Limerick, Ireland.
Table of Contents
1. Rethinking the Weimar Republic, 1916-1936
2. '1918': reform, revolution, counter-revolution
3. A Weak republic? Article 48 and the state
4. Civic cultures and republican politics
5. The politics of harmony: the republic and its neighbors
6. Disciplined bodies and profligate budgets: the welfare state
7. The republic in denial: the Landrat and everyday life in the province
8. Altered landscapes: the cultural challenge
9. 'Money makes the world go around': the new consumerism and the old poverty
10. The politics of ambivalence: the bureaucracy and the judiciary
11. Politics at the extremes: Nazis and Communists
12. From Hegel to Hitler, 1930-36: the conservative reaction