Germany 1923: Hyperinflation, Hitler's Putsch, and Democracy in Crisis

The year 1923 was a decisive year in German history. Starting with the French occupation of the Rhineland and followed by an horrendous hyperinflation, it was also a year that saw the rise of separate movements as well as right-wing groups culminating in Hitler's failed Beerhall Putsch. During this time, the pro-democracy forces in the Weimar government were hanging on by the skin of their teeth having to deal with a fractious set of political parties.

Volker Ullrich makes the events of this year understandable for the general reader although it helps if the reader is already familiar with the key events of that year. He cleverly decided to structure his book according to themes rather than following a strict timeline where all events show more overlap. This helped make the book easier to read.

The book spends many pages explaining the political balancing act by the politicians trying to keep a functional democratic government in place. Reading this in October 2023 during the chaotic attempts to to elect a new speaker of the House in the US Congress, the parallels to events then jumped out.

This is an ideal book to read this year since the events it described took place exactly one hundred years ago. show less

This was a very well-written and engaging book, and I found it to be very informative. Ullrich does a very well job of writing about the events of the Weimar Republic in 1923, providing detailed descriptions of the events going on. While the political, international, and economic events were the primary focus, other areas, such as culture, were examined as well. Furthermore, the author did a reasonably good job at personalizing the events to a degree through providing personal accounts of people being affected by the events. Finally, the book examines how WWI and its aftermath helped to impact Germany, and what much of the fallout was. Overall, definitely worth reading.