Weimar

“Weimar is populated not by abstractions but by people. ... Hoyer writes with verve and a keen eye for the telling detail. ... She shows with quiet acuity how ordinary, self-respecting Weimarers succumbed to the siren call of Nazism.”—The Times (UK)

“Britain's favourite German historian... 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

“A bright, young historian... Strap in to watch the slow collapse of a society, amid a throng of fascists, socialists, artists and politicians.”—The Telegraph

“Its writing is gripping, Hoyer’s command of existent histories is clear, and her primary research is thorough and inventive.”—History Today

“The city of Weimar — home to many of the giants of European culture — gave its name to Germany's ill-fated republic; it was also where the Nazis gained an early foothold. Historian Hoyer charts that journey of cultural experimentation and political upheaval through the stories of those who witnessed it and whose choices and fates reveal the human experience of a descent into tyranny.”—Financial Times

“Lucid, lively. … Entirely 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.”

—New Statesman

“Hoyer'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

“Such an important book.”—The Independent, Book of the Month

“A nuanced account of the spiritual and cultural heart of Germany … Hoyer serves up history with a human heart”

—The Irish Times

“Katja Hoyer’s Weimar is a compelling tale of the city during this period through the eyes and voices of its myriad—and diverse—residents ... a magisterial account of interwar Germany.”

—Los Angeles Review of Books

“A pow­er­ful syn­the­sis of his­to­ry and deeply per­son­al sto­ries as a clear cau­tion­ary tale for our own time.”

—Jewish Book Council

“Combining gripping narrative with deep historical analysis, Weimar explores both the political upheavals and the rhythms of daily life in one town, revealing how fascism took hold first there, and then across the nation.”

—Jewish Book World

“Humane history-writing at its best.”—Literary Review

“A sprawling chronicle of interwar Germany.”—The Millions

“…a gripping narrative.”

—Art in America

“Hoyer’s telling of the the story of Weimar, its people, and Germany’s impending tragedy is both compelling and readable. Her reliance on primary sources, and her decision to tell the tale through the prism of both the obscure and the infamous serve to render the city of Weimar as a tangible time and place. The story of Weimar, as a warning to the whole world about the potential for authoritarian states to rise out of liberal ones, is well worth reading.”

—Providence Mag

“A fascinating history of Germany from 1914 to the Second World War.”

—Daily Mail

“In this eye-opening book, historian Hoyer (Beyond the Wall) vividly depicts everyday life in Weimar Germany from 1919 to 1939 ... For all readers seeking a deeper understanding of how the Nazis came into power in Germany.”—Library Journal

“[An] excellent new history.”

—Splice Today

“A charged, eminently accessible history that speaks to a troubled present as well as to the past.”—Kirkus

“A fascinating microcosm of Germany’s gradual descent into the abyss.”—Publishers Weekly

“We talk a lot about the Weimar Republic, but not so much about the town that gave the Republic its name. Weimar demonstrates through moving, often heart-breaking, personal stories how much the town’s experience embodied the turbulence of German history in the era of the world wars, Nazism, and the Holocaust. Katja Hoyer is a humane and compassionate writer, and her gripping book is poignant reading in our present circumstances.”—Benjamin Carter Hett, author of The Death of Democracy

“The autopsy of a liberal democracy, told in the words of its own citizens. 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. A book about a hundred years ago—without question a book for now.”—Neil MacGregor, historian and broadcaster

“A 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. Brilliantly researched, this is history at its very best.”—Julia Boyd, author of Travelers in the Third Reich