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Eric D. Weitz, Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007. Pp. xi + 425. $29.95.
Sandwiched in between the glittering world of the Second Reich and the nightmare that was the Third Reich, the Weimar Republic continues to fascinate students of modern European history. The perennial interest is due in large part to the belief that much of what became characteristic of "modernism" blossomed during the brief life of this ill-fated experiment in republican government. Although much of what became known as "Weimar culture" was merely latent during the Wilhelmine period and simply burst forth once me oppressive atmosphere yielded to the fresh air of the postwar republic, it cannot be denied that Weimar Germany was one of those unusual periods in history when the creative spirit of a people gives birth to what may rightly be termed a golden age. In this case, what followed the golden age was such an antithesis that the memory of its brief life continues to haunt us, not unlike that of the mythical Atlantis.
Professor Eric D. Weitz is particularly well-suited to present us with this new and wellwritten history of Weimar Germany. He has researched and published extensively in the area of twentieth-century German history. The narrative itself, as well as the notes and bibliography, testify to the fact that Professor Weitz has done his homework.
Weimar Germany is a survey of the history of the Weimar Republic, not...