{"product_id":"weimar-life-on-the-edge-of-catastrophe-9780241681244","title":"Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePlt;bPgt;From bestselling historian Katja Hoyer comes a gripping story of life during the rise and reign of Hitler through the eyes of the people of Weimar Plt;\/bPgt;  Weimar looms large in German history: a crucible of democracy and dictatorship. This ancient town nestled in the heart of the country was home to some of EuropeP#39;s greatest thinkers, Goethe and Schiller, Liszt and Nietzsche among them. It gave its name to the ambitious Weimar Republic crafted in the aftermath of the First World War. But it was also where fascism took hold. Where Bauhaus architects first experimented with new ways of living, Buchenwald was dug out of a beech forest.Plt;BRPgt;Plt;BRPgt;Plt;iPgt;Weimar Plt;\/iPgt;shows us a town and its people on the edge of catastrophe. Drawing on a wealth of new archival research, acclaimed historian Katja Hoyer takes us from 1919 to 1939 as she tells the stories of the men and women who lived through the new republic and HitlerP#39;s regime. We encounter a vividly drawn cast of characters, from bookbinder Carl Weirich and hotel owners Rosa and Arthur Schmidt, to Friedrich NietzscheP#39;s sister Elisabeth. Here are fascists and socialists, artists and workers, politicians and citizens, who, as the events of history swept them up, became witnesses, perpetrators, victims and bystanders.Plt;BRPgt;Plt;BRPgt;An unforgettable picture of lives and choices in extraordinary circumstances, Plt;iPgt;WeimarPlt;\/iPgt; takes us deep into the heart of the storm P#8211; to the town that dreamt of a better world, and woke up to tyranny.\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9780241681244\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 496\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 11 Aug 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Penguin Books Ltd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 24.3(H)x16.7(L)x4.3(W)916\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 916\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003ePlt;bPgt;Katja HoyerPlt;\/bPgt; is a German-British historian, journalist and the author of the international bestseller Plt;iPgt;Beyond the WallPlt;\/iPgt; as well as Plt;iPgt;Blood and IronPlt;\/iPgt;. A visiting Research Fellow at KingP#39;s College London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, she writes for Plt;iPgt;Bloomberg Plt;\/iPgt;and Plt;iPgt;Berliner Zeitung Plt;\/iPgt;and is a commentator on German current affairs for many British newspapers. She was born in Germany and is now based in the UK.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cb\u003eA leading historian offers the definitive account of Weimar\u003c\/b\u003e, a city that is central to Germany's literary tradition - as well as to the darker chapters of its history * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003eThis \u003cb\u003eclever inter-war study\u003c\/b\u003e takes the city of Weimar as a microcosm of the doomed republic that bore its name. We meet a rich cast of ordinary Germans, struggling to survive – then turning on each other. \u003cb\u003eHoyer is one of our brightest young historians: \u003ci\u003eWeimar \u003c\/i\u003eis another triumph to her name\u003c\/b\u003e * The Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBritain's favourite German historian\u003c\/b\u003e... Hoyer has been beavering away in the archives to tell the story of the crack-up of democracy in interwar Germany, through a vivid cast of characters * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eMost histories of interwar Germany focus on Berlin (sleaze, cabarets, expressionist art) or Munich (beer, Nazis in lederhosen), so it’s clever to tell the ill-starred story of the Weimar Republic through the 35,000-strong town of Weimar itself, home to Goethe and so many parks. Katja Hoyer weaves her story using the lives of various locals — book-keepers, hoteliers, party activists — to show what it was like to live on “the edge of catastrophe” and show why so many Germans succumbed to Nazi fever * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eThere has been a renewed uptick in books about the Weimar Republic, with many observers worrying about possible contemporary parallels. Historian Hoyer opts for a different tack, going to the picturesque Thuringian town that gave its name to Germany’s first ill-fated experiment with democracy to explore, via a collection of individuals, how the home to many of Europe’s cultural giants became an early Nazi stronghold * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eFrom literary and artistic gem to Nazi stronghold, how a quaint town encapsulated the best and worst in German history ... \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWeimar\u003c\/i\u003e is an excellent read\u003c\/b\u003e * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eHoyer's book confronts us with troubling ambiguities ... Understanding why ordinary, even likeable, people turned away from democracy is, she argues, essential to safeguarding freedom ... that task could scarcely be more urgent * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eA bright, young historian...\u003cb\u003e Strap in to watch the slow collapse of a society, amid a throng of fascists, socialists, artists and politicians\u003c\/b\u003e * Telegraph, Books to Look Forward to in 2026 *\u003cbr\u003eSuperb... Katja Hoyer finds the town of Weimar a perfect microcosm for a country teetering into darkness...\u003cb\u003e intelligent, original and well-researched... an exemplary insight into a grim chapter in German history\u003c\/b\u003e -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWeimar\u003c\/i\u003e is populated not by abstractions but by people... Hoyer writes with verve and a keen eye for telling detail\u003c\/b\u003e... She shows with quiet acuity how ordinary, self-respecting Weimarers succumbed to the siren call of Nazism * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eLucid, lively... \u003cb\u003eEntirely to her credit, Hoyer describes the vices, vanities, fears, cowardice, heroism, naivety, cynicism, opportunism and the very human instinct to protect one's loved ones without indulging in self-righteous moralising\u003c\/b\u003e -- Ian Buruma * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHumane history-writing at its best\u003c\/b\u003e * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSuch an important book\u003c\/b\u003e * The Independent *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIts writing is gripping, Hoyer’s command of existent histories is clear, and her primary research is thorough and inventive\u003c\/b\u003e... Reading Hoyer’s book, I recalled Svetlana Alexievich’s stated aim in \u003ci\u003eVoices from Chernobyl:\u003c\/i\u003e to tell the stories of ‘little, great people’ who voice their ‘own, little histories’ while ‘big history is told along the way’. This is where \u003ci\u003eWeimar \u003c\/i\u003eexcels * History Today *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA fascinating history\u003c\/b\u003e of Germany from 1914 to the Second World War * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eA nuanced account of the spiritual and cultural heart of Germany … Hoyer serves up history with a human heart * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe autopsy of a liberal democracy, told in the words of its own citizens.\u003c\/b\u003e Katja Hoyer tracks the everyday acts of omission and concession in the face of ruthless wrong, showing how the compliant and the complacent ultimately undermine the brave. \u003cb\u003eA book about a hundred years ago— without question a book for now\u003c\/b\u003e -- Neil MacGregor\u003cbr\u003eA fresh and gripping account of the interwar years seen through the lens of Germany’s most legendary town. By skilfully weaving into the political narrative the stories of ordinary people, Katja Hoyer gives readers a vivid sense of what it was like to be alive then and there. \u003cb\u003eBrilliantly researched, this is history at its very best\u003c\/b\u003e -- Julia Boyd\u003cbr\u003eKatja Hoyer's \u003cb\u003esuperb \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eWeimar \u003c\/i\u003efocuses on a cross-section of characters in a single German town in the inter-war years to help us better understand the rise of Nazism -- Saul David\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKatja Hoyer has pulled off another triumph\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003ci\u003eWeimar \u003c\/i\u003etells the story of the city that gave its name to the doomed German republic, formed in the aftermath of the First World War ... Hoyer has delved deep into the German archives to paint \u003cb\u003ea vivid and compelling picture of a city that had dreamed of democracy but ended in darkness. A great read\u003c\/b\u003e -- Giles Milton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA humane and profoundly sympathetic history\u003c\/b\u003e of the Weimar Republic, demonstrating the neuroses, the passions and the human failings that would propel that polity to disaster. \u003cb\u003eTotally absorbing, it is highly recommended\u003c\/b\u003e -- Roger Moorhouse","brand":"Katja Hoyer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49113814991065,"sku":"9780241681244","price":69.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9780241681244.jpg?v=1787147177","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/weimar-life-on-the-edge-of-catastrophe-9780241681244","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}