'This is one of the most gripping accounts of an era spanning war defeat humiliation and
failed revolution in 1918 to the violence intimidation and propaganda of the Nazis' rise to
power in 1933. It contains many lessons for the world now.' - John Kampfner bestselling author
of Why The Germans Do It Better'Vertigo is outstanding. Harald Jähner's gift for illuminating
the big picture with telling detail gives the reader an uncanny sense of what it was actually
like to be present in Germany during the Weimar Republic. This is history at its very best.' -
Julia Boyd bestselling author of Travellers in the Third Reich Germany 1918: a country in
flux. The First World War is over the nation defeated. Revolution is afoot the monarchy has
fallen and the victory of democracy beckons. Everything must change with the times. Out of the
ashes of the First World War Germany launches an unprecedented political project: its first
democratic government. The Weimar Republic is established. The years that follow see political
extremism economic upheaval revolutionary violence and the transformation of Germany.
Tradition is shaken to its core as a triumphant procession of liberated lifestyles emerges.
Women conquer the racetracks and tennis courts go out alone in the evenings cut their hair
short and cast the idea of marriage aside. Unisex style comes into fashion androgynous and
experimental. People revel in the discovery of leisure filling up boxing halls dance palaces
and the hotspots of the New Age embracing the department stores' promise of happiness and
accepting the streets as a place of fierce political battles. In this short burst of life
between the wars amidst a frenzy of change comes a backlash from those who do not see
themselves reflected in the new Republic. Little by little deep divisions begin to emerge.
Divisions that would bring devastating consequences altering the course of the twentieth
century and the lives of millions around the world. Vertigo is a vital kaleidoscopic portrait
of a pivotal moment in German history. Praise for Aftermath by Harald Jähner: 'Exemplary [and]
important... This is the kind of book few writers possess the clarity of vision to write' - Max
Hastings Sunday Times 'A masterpiece' - Spectator 'Magnificent... There are great lessons in
the nature of humanity to be learnt here' - Rupert Christiansen The Telegraph 'Jähner is
masterly in telling the tragic despicable comedic and uplifting stories of those who were
there' - Katja Hoyer The Times 'Thought-provoking... Jähner's unflinching account is a
reminder that historical truths are rarely simple and always nuanced' - Daily Mail 'A reminder
that the German experience will always stand apart' - Economist
