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Harald Jähner’s account of Germany’s brief post-war democratic republic is clearly written with an eye on today and it’s tempting to turn the pages thinking “Ah, that’s how democracy dies. See how similar these times are.” But this vivid and enormously readable history, taking in fashion, jazz and art as well as street violence, unimaginable inflation and food riots, does not overlay on modern society, no matter how tempting the comparisons are. What it does do is highlight how people despair when work is no longer worth it, populists strut and debate is merely insults. All history contains warnings. But Jähner’s detail also highlights how specific Hitler’s rise was. Godwin’s Law states that introducing the Nazis into an argument means you’ve already lost. So, this is an excellent history book. It is not a prophecy.
