The Death of Democracy

A revelatory account of the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler, based on new (and award-winning) research, and recently discovered archival material. Drawing on individual stories to illustrate its broader arguments, The Death of Democracy examines the reasons for the fall of one of the most progressive governments in twentieth-century Europe, and the rise of the most terrifying. It focuses on the global dimension of the Nazi phenomenon, as a part of a widespread reaction against a world order of triumphant, cosmopolitan liberal democracy and capitalism after the First World War. This world situation pushed its opponents to embrace authoritarianism, nationalism and economic self-sufficiency, kick starting a revolution reliant upon the innovative exploitation of new media technologies, and the formidable political and self-promotional skills of its leader. The Death of Democracy is an authoritative and panoramic new survey of one of the most pivotal periods in modern history, and a book with a clear and important message for the world today.