Germany 1923: Hyperinflation, Hitler’s Putsch, and Democracy in Crisis

Germany 1923 by historian Volker Ullrich is a gripping account of the Weimar Republic’s year of chaos, when hyperinflation, political unrest, and extremist movements nearly destroyed Germany’s fledgling democracy. In 1923, the French occupation of the Ruhr and reckless inflationary policies sent the German mark into collapse—reducing life savings to nothing and fueling despair. Amid this turmoil, Adolf Hitler staged his failed Beer Hall Putsch, revealing the growing threat of Nazism.

Drawing on letters, memoirs, and contemporary reports, Ullrich captures both the political and cultural turbulence of the time, from revolutionary art movements like Dada and Bauhaus to the rising sense of national crisis. Published a century later, Germany 1923 is a powerful reminder of how economic collapse and political extremism can imperil democracy—then and now.