Excellent writing — I’m really looking forward to the book. Of course, the short answer to the question of who was responsible is, the voters, who freely gave the National Socialists a plurality of seats in the March 1933 election that, combined with the deal with the supine Centre party, which traded its support for a worthless concordat with the Vatican, produced a majority in the Reichstag, even if the Communist deputies had not been driven away. It all starts with the German people, IMO …
It does, but they were also let down by their elected representatives. Chancellor Buning offered little but a harsh austerity programme, combined with messaging that basically told Germans they had brought this misery upon themselves. It was not a winning combination.
Fair points, but the voters had other choices, e.g., the SPD, and instead they voted in the NSDAP. I admit to being haunted by the rise of fascism in the 1920s and 1930s — I’m presently in eastern Hungary researching the roundup and swift deportation in 1944 of more than 430,000 Jews — but the present rise of popular electoral support for the ultra-right in Germany, France, the UK, the USA causes me a lot of anxiety.
Two copies came yesterday. One half consumed already, the other for a friend's (belated) birthday present on Saturday. Stanford Prison/Das Experiment, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, etc coming back to memory. The gossamer-thin veil between enlightenment and barbarism, good and evil. The crux when they are held simultaneously consciously (by leaders) and unconsciously (by the rest of us). As a small child, reading a graphic, pictorial history of The War in six volumes, fascinated until the volume for 1945, then disgusted to my heart's root. My late father never talking about his reasons for leaving his mother in Danzig, never to return to her or Gdańsk before the Wall came down. Never needing to. The whole story in those words and pictures.
I do hope "Weimar" reaches far beyond its core audience, lest we (try to) forget our legacy, and (try to) ignore our responsibility to the present and the future.
It was the German people who did it to themselves, just as it's we Americans who have done it to ourselves, whether or not (I didn't) one ever voted for the traitor in the White House who is now upending the world. And we did it after 4 years up close and personal the first time. "Yeah! More of that, please!"
I've ordered your great book, to be delivered to me June 9.
Thank you! Sorry for the delay in the US. As you know, I'm a bit uneasy about such direct comparisons, but there are certainly plenty of patterns and observations I came across when researching that reminded me of the present..
As a society, they have changed their outlook on that now. As an aside, I've been very pleased to see the first positive reactions to my book in Austria last week :)
Thanks for coming to my Blackwell's talk, Richard. Nice to put a face to the tiny icon on here :) And yes, my dad (who grew up in Thuringia) used to tell me stories about the exhibition during the GDR years. They had that lampshade on display!
Voters cannot avoid responsibility. In the UK Brsxit was the result of wilful ignorance of the facts. Today’s electorate is lazily condoning populist politicians who peddle dangerous fantasies. Looking forward to reading your book.
I feel there is responsibility on the other side, too, though. You can't keep offering the same thing that doesn't deliver solutions to people's concerns and expect them to keep voting for it time after time. A significant part of the population felt ignored and belittled. That leaves a lot of room for others to step into.
You are right, of course. The Brexit referendum was a weak response to discontent with the EU. Simple solution to a complex problem. Hitler was good at mis-using referenda, I think?
Today’s populist wave is partly a result of timidity by the Labour government.
It is difficult to read this without being physically sickened. This story must be told, especially now, over and over again. After reading, I watched a short video, in color no less, but soundless, of the Germans being paraded through Dachau at the end of the war. My father told me about this being done. He was in American military government in Munich until 1947 and participated in the denazification program. The forced visits to the camps were ordered by Eisenhower, so no one could deny that these things had happened. Thank you Katja. Can't wait to read the book.
I agree, Les. It's difficult reading / watching. The Death Mills is online and available as well if you're interested. The German faces at all the camp tours are fascinating to watch.
Congratulations on your book publication day, Katja! My copy is on its way from Blackwell's to the US west coast. I look forward to hearing about the conversations you have on your book tour, as we know they will be fascinating and complicated.
I read the review in Literary Review and promptly ordered the book. Will have to wait until next month. It will be arriving the same day as Andrea Wulf’s new book.
Yes, that was a lovely review! I was very happy about it, not least because it was written by Ritchie Robertson who knows a thing or two about Germany. I have Andrea's book at home and hope to get stuck in very soon.
A fascinating excerpt from the book, which gives a flavour of a mind set which claims to have known nothing, but in this case seems to accept culpability. I look forward to receiving - and consuming - my preorder copy. It’s in the post. Congratulations on what looks like a fine work, Katja.
It starts with Godlessness and the belief that human thought alone solves problems. So the Godless Hitler convinced, cajoled and threatened a severely weakened people to follow. And most did.
Congratulations on the positive reviews and the breadth of coverage. I was a commissioning editor in publishing until 18 months ago and still serve on a board and do seem freelancing. The production standards of the book are very high (like the map of Weimar), now I just have to find the time to read it!
Excellent writing — I’m really looking forward to the book. Of course, the short answer to the question of who was responsible is, the voters, who freely gave the National Socialists a plurality of seats in the March 1933 election that, combined with the deal with the supine Centre party, which traded its support for a worthless concordat with the Vatican, produced a majority in the Reichstag, even if the Communist deputies had not been driven away. It all starts with the German people, IMO …
It does, but they were also let down by their elected representatives. Chancellor Buning offered little but a harsh austerity programme, combined with messaging that basically told Germans they had brought this misery upon themselves. It was not a winning combination.
Fair points, but the voters had other choices, e.g., the SPD, and instead they voted in the NSDAP. I admit to being haunted by the rise of fascism in the 1920s and 1930s — I’m presently in eastern Hungary researching the roundup and swift deportation in 1944 of more than 430,000 Jews — but the present rise of popular electoral support for the ultra-right in Germany, France, the UK, the USA causes me a lot of anxiety.
Two copies came yesterday. One half consumed already, the other for a friend's (belated) birthday present on Saturday. Stanford Prison/Das Experiment, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, etc coming back to memory. The gossamer-thin veil between enlightenment and barbarism, good and evil. The crux when they are held simultaneously consciously (by leaders) and unconsciously (by the rest of us). As a small child, reading a graphic, pictorial history of The War in six volumes, fascinated until the volume for 1945, then disgusted to my heart's root. My late father never talking about his reasons for leaving his mother in Danzig, never to return to her or Gdańsk before the Wall came down. Never needing to. The whole story in those words and pictures.
I do hope "Weimar" reaches far beyond its core audience, lest we (try to) forget our legacy, and (try to) ignore our responsibility to the present and the future.
Thank you for sharing your own thoughts and background and for getting started on the book so quickly :)
As a fellow historian, congratulations, Katja.
It was the German people who did it to themselves, just as it's we Americans who have done it to ourselves, whether or not (I didn't) one ever voted for the traitor in the White House who is now upending the world. And we did it after 4 years up close and personal the first time. "Yeah! More of that, please!"
I've ordered your great book, to be delivered to me June 9.
Thank you! Sorry for the delay in the US. As you know, I'm a bit uneasy about such direct comparisons, but there are certainly plenty of patterns and observations I came across when researching that reminded me of the present..
Congratulations on another book - you have worked very hard these past few years - I look forward to reading it.
On a similar track - back in January you wrote a piece about Austrians’ claims to being ‘victims’ of Nazism. I looked into that question.
My conclusion was - possibly, but only if Germans could be seen as Hitler’s victims too…..
https://jwthedilettantepolymath.substack.com/p/the-austrian-nazi-who-did-rule-the
……the second part examines the career of Kurt Waldheim.
As a society, they have changed their outlook on that now. As an aside, I've been very pleased to see the first positive reactions to my book in Austria last week :)
I've been to the talks, got the book, looking to reading about Carl and all the other characters in this fascinating and extensively researched book.
Thanks for coming to the launch, Adie! Good to see you there!
Thoroughly enjoyed your presentation at Blackwell's yesterday, and great to get a signed copy!
I've twice been to Buchenwald - in 1981 and 2004. The DDR reading of responsibility for the atrocities was *very* different to that post-Wende.....
Thanks for coming to my Blackwell's talk, Richard. Nice to put a face to the tiny icon on here :) And yes, my dad (who grew up in Thuringia) used to tell me stories about the exhibition during the GDR years. They had that lampshade on display!
Looking forward to the book immensely!
Thank you, James!
Voters cannot avoid responsibility. In the UK Brsxit was the result of wilful ignorance of the facts. Today’s electorate is lazily condoning populist politicians who peddle dangerous fantasies. Looking forward to reading your book.
I feel there is responsibility on the other side, too, though. You can't keep offering the same thing that doesn't deliver solutions to people's concerns and expect them to keep voting for it time after time. A significant part of the population felt ignored and belittled. That leaves a lot of room for others to step into.
You are right, of course. The Brexit referendum was a weak response to discontent with the EU. Simple solution to a complex problem. Hitler was good at mis-using referenda, I think?
Today’s populist wave is partly a result of timidity by the Labour government.
It is difficult to read this without being physically sickened. This story must be told, especially now, over and over again. After reading, I watched a short video, in color no less, but soundless, of the Germans being paraded through Dachau at the end of the war. My father told me about this being done. He was in American military government in Munich until 1947 and participated in the denazification program. The forced visits to the camps were ordered by Eisenhower, so no one could deny that these things had happened. Thank you Katja. Can't wait to read the book.
I agree, Les. It's difficult reading / watching. The Death Mills is online and available as well if you're interested. The German faces at all the camp tours are fascinating to watch.
Congratulations on your book publication day, Katja! My copy is on its way from Blackwell's to the US west coast. I look forward to hearing about the conversations you have on your book tour, as we know they will be fascinating and complicated.
Indeed. A full week coming up right now. Thanks for your ongoing support, Laura! And nice solution to the US delay! :)
I read the review in Literary Review and promptly ordered the book. Will have to wait until next month. It will be arriving the same day as Andrea Wulf’s new book.
Yes, that was a lovely review! I was very happy about it, not least because it was written by Ritchie Robertson who knows a thing or two about Germany. I have Andrea's book at home and hope to get stuck in very soon.
Her Humboldt book was outstanding. I’ve recently picked up her book about Jena and Goethe, Hegel, etc. but have yet to delve into it.
A fascinating excerpt from the book, which gives a flavour of a mind set which claims to have known nothing, but in this case seems to accept culpability. I look forward to receiving - and consuming - my preorder copy. It’s in the post. Congratulations on what looks like a fine work, Katja.
Thank you, James! I hope you'll find it a useful read.
It starts with Godlessness and the belief that human thought alone solves problems. So the Godless Hitler convinced, cajoled and threatened a severely weakened people to follow. And most did.
It's interesting in that context how Protestant and Catholic Germans responded in different ways to Nazism.
And, anecdotally in that same religious context, from town to town.
I have been looking forward to this book for some time. Well done. I am off to read some of it just now! Thank you.
Thanks, John. Enjoy the read!
Congratulations on the positive reviews and the breadth of coverage. I was a commissioning editor in publishing until 18 months ago and still serve on a board and do seem freelancing. The production standards of the book are very high (like the map of Weimar), now I just have to find the time to read it!
Yes, I'm very happy with it, especially the cover and the endpapers.
My pre-ordered copy (US release) arrives June 12 and I am counting the days. This abstract is a well-written punch in the gut.
Thanks, Mark, and apologies for the delay!