
Weimar's descent from democracy to barbarism
From HistoryExtra podcast by Immediate
June 2, 2026 · 39 min · Episode 2554
About this episode
The episode discusses how Weimar, a city synonymous with liberalism, descended into tyranny and embraced Nazism within a decade.
Weimar is a small German city. Yet it looms large in European history. In the 1920s, it was synonymous with liberalism, internationalism and the fine arts. Yet, within a decade, many of its residents had embraced Nazism and Hitler was professing his love for the city. Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, historian and author Katja Hoyer reveals how the city that gave its name to Germany's great social democratic experiment succumbed to tyranny. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST If you'd like to hear more from Katja Hoyer talking about German history on the HistoryExtra podcast, then you can check out this Life of the Week episode on Otto von Bismarck: https://bit.ly/49jLTio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Spencer Mizen
Guest: Katja Hoyer
Topics covered
- Weimar Republic
- German history
- Nazism
- democracy
- tyranny
- liberalism
- fine arts
Keywords
- Weimar
- democracy
- Nazism
- Hitler
- German history
- liberalism
- tyranny
- fine arts
- Katja Hoyer
- Spencer Mizen
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Nazism, Germany
Books & works: Life of the Week
Places: Weimar
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