The prequel to Frank McDonough's bestselling Hitler Years series covering the dramatic period
of German history that led to the rise of Hitler in 1933. Established in the wake of Germany's
catastrophic defeat in the First World War the Weimar Republic ushered in widespread social
reform vibrant culture and the most democratic conditions the German people had ever lived
under. At its beginning in 1919 it was a regime that held hope for democracy stability and
prosperity in Germany. But it was also beset by economic upheaval and political violence on the
left and the right. Ultimately it led to the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor who
created a one-party dictatorship that abandoned the rule of law democracy and civil rights. In
Gustav Stresemann's words Weimar democracy was 'dancing on a volcano'. The Weimar Years is a
vivid and compelling history of the period 1918-1933. Year by year Professor Frank McDonough
covers the major personalities events in foreign policy and the music art theatre and
literature that flourished during this era. McDonough also places particular focus on the
unknown parliamentary history of Weimar arguing that it was the failure of parliamentary
democracy to bring stability that eroded public confidence and allowed the power of the elected
Reichstag to gradually diminish resulting in Hitler's appointment in January 1933. The Weimar
Years is a story of rise and fall as well as a warning sign of how under poor leadership
economic pressure and unrelenting political instability a democracy can drift towards a form
of authoritarian rule that eventually destroys it.
