Weimar Germany; Democracy on Trial
New York, London: American Heritage Press, Macdonald, 1972. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. 127, [1] pages. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Illustrations (some in color). Maps. Chronology of Events. Index of main people, places, and events. Author's suggestions for further reading. This is one of the Library of the 20th Century. Denis Sefton Delmer (24 May 1904, Berlin – 4 September 1979, Lamarsh) was a British journalist of Australian heritage and propagandist for the British government during the Second World War. Fluent in German, he became friendly with Ernst Röhm, who arranged for him to interview Adolf Hitler in 1931. During the war, he led a black propaganda campaign against Hitler by radio from England. It was so successful that Delmer was named in the Nazis' Black Book for immediate arrest after their planned invasion of Britain. In the 1932 German federal election, Delmer traveled with Hitler aboard his private aircraft. He was "embedded with Nazi party activists" at this time. He was also present in 1933 when Hitler inspected the aftermath of the Reichstag fire. The Nazi leaders were convinced Delmer was a member of MI6; his denials of any involvement only served to strengthen their belief that he was not only a member, but an important one. In 1933, Delmer was sent to France as head of the Daily Express Paris Bureau. In 1936, Delmer married the artist Isabel Nichols. Delmer covered important events in Europe including the Spanish Civil War and the invasion of Poland by the Wehrmacht in 1939. He also reported on the German western offensive in 1940. The Weimar Republic officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclaimed itself, as the German Republic (Deutsche Republik). The state's informal name is derived from the city of Weimar, which hosted the constituent assembly that established its government. In English, the state was usually simply called "Germany", with "Weimar Republic" not commonly used until the 1930s. Following the devastation of the First World War (1914–1918), Germany was exhausted and sued for peace in desperate circumstances. Awareness of imminent defeat sparked a revolution, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, formal surrender to the Allies, and the proclamation of the Weimar Republic on 9 November 1918. In its initial years, grave problems beset the Republic, such as hyperinflation and political extremism, including political murders and two attempted seizures of power by contending paramilitaries; internationally, it suffered isolation, reduced diplomatic standing, and contentious relationships with the great powers. By 1924, a great deal of monetary and political stability was restored, and the republic enjoyed relative prosperity for the next five years. Under the Locarno Treaties of 1925, Germany moved toward normalizing relations with its neighbors, recognizing most territorial changes under the Treaty of Versailles and committing to never go to war. The following year, it joined the League of Nations, which marked its reintegration into the international community. Nevertheless, especially on the political right, there remained strong and widespread resentment against the treaty and those who had signed and supported it. The Great Depression of October 1929 severely impacted Germany's tenuous progress; high unemployment and subsequent social and political unrest led to the collapse of the coalition government. From March 1930 onwards, President Paul von Hindenburg used emergency powers to back Chancellors Heinrich Brüning, Franz von Papen and General Kurt von Schleicher. On 30 January 1933, Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor to head a coalition government; Hitler's far-right Nazi Party held two out of ten cabinet seats. Von Papen, as Vice-Chancellor and Hindenburg's confidant, was to serve as the éminence grise who would keep Hitler under control; these intentions badly underestimated Hitler's political abilities. By the end of March 1933, the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933 had used the perceived state of emergency to effectively grant the new Chancellor broad power to act outside parliamentary control. Hitler promptly used these powers to thwart constitutional governance and suspend civil liberties, which brought about the swift collapse of democracy at the federal and state level, and the creation of a one-party dictatorship under his leadership. Condition: Very good / Good.
Keywords: Weimar Republic, Germany, Treaty of Versailles, Frei Korps, Free Corps, Reparations, Beer Hall Putsch, Berlin, Hitler, Democracy, Auto-de-fe
ISBN: 0070162611
[Book #85018]
Price: $55.00