Fateful Hours

From the New York Times best-selling historian, the riveting story of the Weimar Republic—a fledgling democracy beset by chaos and extremism—and its dissolution into the Third Reich.

"In Fateful Hours, the road map to authoritarian disaster is laid out in gleamingly sinister detail by German historian Volker Ullrich. . . Ullrich breaks new ground, laying out his case in illuminating granularity, moving inch by inch through the political machinations that began with the establishment of Germany’s first democratically elected government, in 1919, and ended with the chancellorship of Hitler. . . The parallels to our own moment aren’t perfect, but they are resonant enough to make us ask, once again, who or what it will take for us to save ourselves."

"Immersive, masterful and profoundly disturbing. . . Outstanding. . . likely to be studied for decades or more as a standard work on the Weimar tragedy. "

"In his hands, the death of the Weimar Republic is a parable of missed opportunities to save liberal democracy. . . An elegant and sober account. . . by a master storyteller."

"An engaging retelling of a momentous era of history. . . a close-up view of the flawed political mechanics of a time not entirely unlike our own.  "

"Uncomfortably timely . . . The parallels to our own time, as Ullrich lays them out in this fluent narrative, are alarming, with new authoritarian parties and governments following the fascist playbook in every detail, from culture wars and book banning to anti-immigration decrees and the steady, willful erosion of the constitution and democratic practices."

"A prescient reminder of the fragility of democracy. "

"A resonant and sobering cautionary tale of how a democracy can die."

Volker Ullrich is a German historian and the best-selling, award-winning author of Hitler: Ascent, 1889–1939; Hitler: Downfall, 1939–1945; Eight Day in May; and Germany 1923. He lives in Germany. Jefferson Chase has translated works by Thomas Mann and Wolfgang Schivelbusch, among others. He lives in Berlin.