Includes bibliographical references (pages 545-584) and index.
CONTENTS NOTE
Text of Note
Ch. 1. The Fall of the German Empire -- Ch. 2. The German Revolution -- Ch. 3. Founding a Democracy -- Ch. 4. The Inner Rejection of the Peace -- Ch. 5. Saving the Parliamentary System -- Ch. 6. Reconstruction at Home and Abroad -- Ch. 7. The Extraparliamentary Offensive -- Ch. 8. Dissolution of the Parliamentary System -- Ch. 9. The Nazi Breakthrough -- Ch. 10. Government in Crisis -- Ch. 11. The Road to Presidential Dictatorship -- Ch. 12. Government by the Threat of Coup d'Etat -- Ch. 13. From Authoritarian to Fascist Dictatorship.
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SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
"In this definitive analysis of the Weimar Republic, Hans Mommsen surveys the political, social, and economic development of Germany between the end of World War I and the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor in 1933. His assessment of the German experiment with democracy challenges many long-held assumptions about the course and character of German history. Mommsen argues persuasively that the rise of totalitarianism in Germany was not inevitable but was the result of a confluence of specific domestic and international forces. As long as France and Britain exerted pressure on the new Germany after World War I, the radical Right hesitated to overthrow the constitution. But as international scrutiny decreased with the recognition of the legitimacy of the Weimar regime, totalitarian elements were able to gain the upper hand. At the same time, the world economic crisis of the early 1930s, with its social and political ramifications, further destabilized German democracy"--Book cover.