History: New Perspectives on the Weimar Republic, 1918 – 1933 with Professor Benjamin Ziemann from The University of Sheffield

The Weimar Republic has traditionally been interpreted from the perspective of a permanent crisis that led to ultimate failure. Political violence, hyperinflation, Great Depression and the appeal of the Nazis are the keywords of this approach. In this view, the polity that emerged amidst the collapse of Imperial Germany in late 1918 was not much more than the stage for the rise of the Nazis and their seizure of power in 1933.

Against this backdrop, the lecture will engage and elaborate a number of themes that allow us to re-evaluate the history of the first German Republic. It will discuss the achievements of the revolution and of the constitutional settlement, chart the performative politics of pro-republican activists and consider the impact of the First World War on culture and politics since 1918. Thus, the lecture will outline how a series of new questions and themes allows us to explore new aspects of German history from 1918 to 1933.