Democracy in crisis : Weimar Germany, 1929-1932

Zusammenfassung: Democracies do not die; they are killed. Democracy in Crisis explores how a democracy, grounded in fair elections, parliamentary institutions, and a liberal constitution, nonetheless can fall prey to extreme partisanship, ideological radicalism, procedural manipulation, and external pressures.Arguably the greatest failure of this democratic challenge came in Germany in the early twentieth century--a failure that led to the Third Reich. Here, all of the great ideologies of the modern West collided as roughly equal and viable contenders during the so-called Weimer Republic, 1919-1933. For over a decade since World War I, liberalism, nationalism, conservatism, social democracy, Christian democracy, communism, fascism, and every variant of these movements struggled for power. Although the constitutional framework boldly enshrined liberal democratic values, the political spectrum was so broad and fully represented that a stable parliamentary majority required constant compromises--compromises that alienated citizens embittered by national humiliation in the war and ensuing treaty, struggling to survive in economic turmoil, and confused by rapidly changing cultural norms. As positions hardened, the door was opened to radical alternatives.In the game, players, as delegates of the Reichstag (parliament), must contend with intense parliamentary wrangling, constant and uncontrollable world events, street fights, assassinations, and even insurrections. Our game begins in late 1929, just after the US Stock Market Crash as the Reichstag deliberates the Young Plan (a revision to the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I). The players belong to various political parties and must debate these matters and more as the combination of economic stress, political gridlock, and foreign pressure turn Germany into a volcano on the verge of eruption.--(Provided by publisher.)

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• ISBN: 1469665549 ; 9781469665542
• Dimensions: 26 cm
• Extent: 178 Seiten
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Illustrationen ; Includes bibliographical references

Classification and Topics

• Keyword: Geschichte 1929-1932 ; Weimarer Republik ; Demokratie ; Krise ; Politisches Handeln ; Student ; Rollenspiel

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Chapel Hill
• (who): The University of North Carolina Press
• (when): [2023]
• Creator: Goodrich, Robert

Further information

• Table of contents: 1. Introduction -- Brief Overview of the Game -- The Big Issues: The Limits of Democracy -- What to Call the Weimar Republic -- Basic Features of Reacting to the Past -- Game Setup -- Game Play -- Game Requirements -- Controversy -- Skill Development -- Counterfactuals -- Challenges to Role Playing Democracy in Crisis -- Antisemitism and Nazi Discourse -- Confusing Terms for Contemporary Americans -- Maps -- Treaty of Versailles Territorial Revisions (1919) -- German Racial and Cultural Territory (1925) -- German States and Prussian Provinces (1929) -- Prologue: A Dirge for Stresemann -- Funeral -- Procession -- Monument -- 2. Historical Background -- Chronology -- German States before Unification -- German Reich (Kaiserreich) -- German Republic -- Narrative -- The World That Was: The Kaiserreich (Imperial Germany), 1871-1918 -- Birth of the Republic, 1918-1919 -- Years of Crisis, Reform, and Resurgence, 1919-1929 -- Foreign Relations -- Military Affairs -- Sexuality and Eugenics -- Race and Culture -- Industrial Relations -- Agricultural Affairs -- Where Does the Republic Find Itself Now? -- 3. The Game -- Major Items for Debate -- Foreign Relations (Foreign Ministry) -- Military Affairs (Defense Ministry) -- Sexuality and Eugenics (Justice Ministry) -- Race and Culture (Interior Ministry) -- Industrial Relations (Economics Ministry) -- Agricultural Affairs (Food Ministry) -- Rules And Procedures -- Victory Objectives and Conditions -- Stability Index -- Formal Structures of the Republic -- Reich President (Head of State) -- The Government (the Chancellor and the Cabinet) -- The Reichstag -- Extraparliamentary Forces -- Character Death and Respawning -- Basic Outline of the Game -- Typical Game Session Cycle -- Mandatory Agenda Items -- Initial Reichstag Agenda -- Debriefing -- Assignments -- Oral Participation -- Papers -- Visual Creativity (Election Poster) -- Game Points (Winning) -- 4. Roles and Factions -- The Main Parties/Factions -- Camarilla (Authoritarian / Monarchist / Militarist / Reactionary) -- Centre Party (Christian Democratic / Political Catholicism / Corporatism) -- Communist Party of Germany -- KPD (Communist / Bolshevik / Marxist) -- German National People's Party -- DNVP (National Conservative / Fascist / Volkisch) -- National Socialist German Workers' Party -- NSDAP (National Socialist / Fascist / Volkisch) -- Social Democratic Party of Germany -- SPD (Social Democratic / Socialist / Democratic Socialist / Marxist) -- Indeterminates -- Liberal Indeterminates -- Agrarian Indeterminates -- Protestant Indeterminates -- Particularist Indeterminates -- 5. Core Texts -- The Essential Texts -- Communism -- Friedrich Engels, Principles of Communism (1847) -- "Programmatic Statement for the National and Social Liberation of the German People" (1930) -- Nazism -- The Twenty-Five Points (1920) -- Joseph Goebbels, Those Damned Nazis: Something to Think About (1929) -- The Conservative Revolutionary Movement -- Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West (1918) -- Oswald Spengler, Prussianism and Socialism (1919) -- Ernst von Salomon, "We and the Intellectuals" (1930) -- Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, The Third Empire (1923) -- Edgar J. Jung, "Germany and the Conservative Revolution" (1932) -- Carl Schmitt, On the Contradiction between Parliamentarism and Democracy (1926) -- Republicanism -- Democratic Liberalism: The DDP Party Platform (1919) -- Pragmatic Republicanism: Thomas Mann, "On the German Republic" (1922) -- Social Democracy: An Exchange between Rudolf Hilferding and Siegfried Aufhauser (1927) -- Christian Democracy: National Political Manifesto (1927) -- Supplemental Documents -- Optional Documents -- Foundational Documents (1919) -- Weimar Constitution (11 August 1919) -- Treaty of Versailles (1919) -- Concerns about the Treaty of Versailles: German Delegates' Protest against the Proposed Peace Terms (1919) -- John Maynard Keynes, "On Reparations" (1919) -- Documents on Agenda Items -- Hjalmar Schacht, Memorandum on the Young Plan (1929) -- Law against the Enslavement of the German People (1929) -- German-Polish Agreement (1929) -- Philipp Scheidemann (SPD), "On the Reichswehr as a `State within the State'" (1926) -- Otto Wels (SPD), "On Cessation of Work on Armored Cruiser A" (1928) -- Law for the Protection of the Republic (1922) -- Transcript from the Ulm Reichswehr Trial (1931) -- Karl Binding and Alfred Hoche, Permitting the Destruction of Life Unworthy of Living (1920) -- Lex Zwickau, Proposed Eugenics Law (1924) -- "Enough Now! Against the Masculinization of Women" (1925) -- Paula von Reznicek, "The Hand on the Steering Wheel" (1928) -- Good Friday Prayer for the Jews; Catholic Liturgy (1920) -- Martin Luther, The Jews and Their Lies (1543) -- Heinrich von Treitschke, "The Jews Are Our Misfortune" (1879) -- Leo Baeck, The Essence of Judaism (1905) -- August Bebel, "Antisemitism and Social Democracy" (1893) -- German Penal Code § 166: Insulting of Faiths, Religious Societies, and Organizations Dedicated to a Life Philosophy -- Carl Zuckmayer, Review of All Quiet on the Western Front (1929) -- Request to Ban All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) -- Socialization Law (1919) -- Law on Job Placement and Unemployment Insurance (1927) -- Reich Setdement Law (1919) -- Fritz Hoffmann, "The Artamans" (1930).
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• Last update: 11.06.2025, 2:06 PM CEST