The Weimar Republic, synonymous with German culture, idealism, and artistic brilliance, has become a common trope in the 21st century, as everyday politics becomes more polarised across Europe. Is Germany’s journey from fragile optimism to fascist collapse a warning we ought to be heeding today?

Joining ⁠Phil Craig⁠ on the ⁠⁠⁠Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast is historian Katja Hoyer, whose latest title, ⁠Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe⁠, offers an astute depiction of that period between 1919 and 1939 through the perspective of the small town and its residents. She explains the optimism of post-war democracy and the trajectory to economic despair, political radicalisation, and life lived in the shadow of Buchenwald concentration camp, all the while keeping an eye on the uncomfortable moral ambiguities that would come to shape daily life under Nazism.

Episode Links

Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe

Katja Hoyer Links

Website: https://www.katjahoyer.online/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/hoyer_kat⁠

Substack: https://www.katjahoyer.uk/

Phil Craig Links:

Phil on ⁠The Scandal Mongers Podcast

X/Twitter: https://x.com/philmcraig

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craig_phil

Aspects of History Links:

Website: www.aspectsofhistory.com

Email: history@aspectsofhistory.com