Weimar's descent from democracy to barbarism

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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