November 1918: The German Revolution(Making of the Modern World)

The German Revolution of November 1918 is nowadays largely forgotten outside Germany. It is generally regarded as a failure even by those who have heard of it, a missed opportunity which paved the way for the rise of the Nazis and the catastrophe to come. Robert Gerwarth argues here that to view the German Revolution in this way is a serious misjudgement. Not only did it bring down the authoritarian monarchy of the Hohenzollern, it also brought into being the first ever German democracy in an amazingly bloodless way. Focusing on the dramatic events between the last months of the First World War in 1918 and Hitler's Munich Putsch of 1923, Robert Gerwarth illuminates the fundamental and deep-seated ways in which the November Revolution changed Germany. In doing so, he reminds us that, while it is easy with the benefit of hindsight to write off the 1918 Revolution as a 'failure', this failure was not somehow pre-ordained. In 1918, the fate of the German Revolution remained very much an open book.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction: <"Like a Beautiful Dream> " 1: 1917 and the Revolution of Expectations 2: Hoping for Victory 3: Endgame 4: The Sailors' Mutiny 5: The Sailors' Mutiny 6: Showdown in Berlin 7: Making Peace in the West 8: Challenges for the Young Republic 9: Fighting Radicalization 10: The Triumph of Liberalism 11: Democracy Besieged 12: Undermining Weimar: Versailles The Defiant Republic: Germany 1919-23 Index

About the Author :
Robert Gerwarth is Professor of Modern History at UCD and Director of the Centre for War Studies. He is the author of The Bismarck Myth (Oxford UP, 2005) and a biography of Reinhard Heydrich (Yale UP, 2011). His third monograph, The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End was published by Penguin (UK) and FSG (US) in the autumn of 2016. He has authored several articles in leading international journals such as Past & Present, The Journal of Modern History, Geschichte & Gesellschaft, and Vingtième Siècle. His work has been translated into some thirty languages.

Review :
Gerwarth argues in his polished narrative drawing on the eyewitness testimony of famous writers and thinkers that Weimar was not "the doomed republic" of legend, a hopeless 14-year interval between a warmongering Kaiser and Hitlers Nazi dictatorship, but a success in its own right... 'November 1918' is a perceptive study of an orderly people who proved that a revolution need not lead to extremes of left and right. Gerwarth's November 1918 [is one] of the most stimulating histories of the interwar period to have been published in recent years. Gerwarth's scholarship cannot be faulted... a superlative piece of research into a sequence of events that are of immense importance. Readable and informative. Authoritative new account... Gerwarth has... done us [a] service by rescuing the Weimar Republic from what EP Thompson, in another context, called 'the enormous condescension of posterity'. [Gerwarth's] account is written in clear prose and richly documented with eyewitness accounts from the most vivid diaries and correspondence of the period. As an audacious bid to restore the German Revolution to its rightful place in history, November 1918 could hardly have been more skillfully executed. ...stands out as one of the most successful... Splendidly researched, and with a striking new thesis... a fascinating study, whose insights will stop you dead even if you thought, as I did, that you already knew this stuff. Thought-provoking and readable ... Gerwarth's invaluable book shows that, compared to their counterparts in other central European states facing similar turmoil, the moderate German revolutionaries had spectacular success in securing their democracy. By 1929, only cataclysmic economic crisis could overturn what was Europes most open and representative liberal state. Hitler, it seems, got lucky. its salutary to have a fresh account of the birthing pains of that vaunted republic rather than another autopsy of its demise Where Gerwarth most excels is deftly weaving together the impressions of contemporary commentators, of whom he has assembled a rich banquet: Victor Serge, Thomas Mann, Kaethe Kollwitz, Alfred Doeblin, Harry Graf Kessler, and Joseph Roth, among others. A fascinating narrative of the events that transpired during the time in which Germans called for a more democratic government and more political and social freedom. Throughout the book, the author balances small biographies of important political leaders with the extensive use of newspapers, memoirs, and letterseffectively giving those who lived through the revolution a voice Gerwarths book is a wonderful addition to the history of the Weimar Republic. November 1918 provides a first-rate survey of events and personalities surrounding the revolution in Germany ... Robert Gerwarth has written a detailed account of a fascinating topic. The writing is clear and avoids jargon and theory. The research is thorough, as is made evident by the notes and the comprehensive bibliography. His book has academic credibility but can also be recommended for the general reader. Meticulously researched, judiciously argued, and written with enviable panache, November 1918 is an engaging history with much original insight that should become the standard work on the subject.