Culture and Inflation in Weimar Germany [Hardcover]

Bernd Widdig (Author)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 293 pages
Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (Mar 21 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0520222903
ISBN-13: 978-0520222908
Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.6 x 2.8 cm
Shipping Weight: 599 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #659,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10 in Books > Nonfiction > Economics > Inflation
- #17 in Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Inflation
- #17 in Books > Professional & Technical > Accounting & Finance > Economics > Inflation

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Product Description

Review

"A landmark study.... Widdig's energetic account uses an interdisciplinary approach to reveal how economic anxieties were powerfully symptomatic of larger social and cultural issues." - Maria Tatar, author of Lustmord: Sexual Murder in Weimar Germany "Bernd Widdig displays sharp intelligence and uncommon wit in this brilliant study of culture and inflation. Following the explosions in politics and culture that the inflation detonated from the end of World War I to the rise of the Nazis, this book is a bold and original mediation on modernity and money and the trauma of oblivion. It is a masterful, illuminating analysis." - Peter Fritzsche, author of Reading Berlin 1900"

Book Description

For many Germans the hyperinflation of 1922 to 1923 was one of the most decisive experiences of the twentieth century. In his original and authoritative study, Bernd Widdig investigates the effects of that inflation on German culture during the Weimar Republic. He argues that inflation, with its dynamics of massification, devaluation, and the rapid circulation of money, is an integral part of modern culture and intensifies and condenses the experience of modernity in a traumatic way.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
For many American readers the German inflation of the 1920s may trigger much more recent personal recollections of life in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when a hapless President Jimmy Carter tried to fight the frightening climb of the Consumer Price Index, which had reached more than 13 percent in 1979 (Nocera 176). Read the first page

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars different perspective on the subject of hyper-inflation, Jun 7 2008

By William S. Hall - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Culture and Inflation in Weimar Germany (Hardcover)

i have read lots of books on the topic of inflation and it's causes but this is the first book i've seen which addresses the impact of inflation on the people themselves. the author peers into the various ways Germans coped with rapidly rising prices, how rapid inflation distorts self worth and the feelings of guilt that mothers and fathers felt as their standard of living collapsed.
if you want to see hyper-inflation from the perspective of average people trying to cope with something utterly beyond their control this book will help a lot.

8 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for everyone, July 5 2009

By Marvin D. Pipher - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Culture and Inflation in Weimar Germany (Hardcover)

My objectives in reading this book were rather simple. I hoped to learn something about the fundamental causes of the hyper-inflation in Germany's Weimar Republic; to gain some insight into its impact on the people who experienced it; and to learn what those people did to survive and protect themselves in such trying circumstances. This book touches briefly upon these topics but goes far beyond my level of interest.

The book reads more like a doctorial thesis aimed at exploring the Weimar inflation in all its manifestations -- including its effect on Germany's culture, industry, arts, society, labor, and women -- rather than as a book intended for general public consumption. Rather than simply telling his tale AS HE SEES IT, in easy to understand language, the author devotes the bulk of his book to reviewing and analyzing the works of other intellectuals, authors, essayists, and film makers based on his study of their novels, books, essays, films, and editorial cartoons. As a consequence, readers such as I, not having seen, read, or even having heard of any of these works, must pick their way through a maze of abstract and unfamiliar information much of which seems only tangentially related to the inflation.

Clearly, this is a well researched and well documented book, but, in my view, it is not intended for the casual reader or for those who have only a superficial knowledge of and interest in 1923's hyper-inflation. Others may disagree. By my estimate, however, the few pages which addressed the topics of interest to me would have filled only a small pamphlet.

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars