Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–1939

Declassified government files show Western observations as Germany unraveled in the aftermath of WWI—the upheavals of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi regime.

From intelligence officers, political analysts, and observers on the ground—diplomatic cables, military reports, internal briefings, press summaries, personal accounts, and political transcripts—the files capture the global response to the rise of fascism.

Key events covered, Weimar Republic and early 1920s

• The German Revolution of 1918-1919
• Allied occupation of the Rhineland
• The peace treaties, including the Treaty of Versailles
• The Spartacist uprising of January 1919
• Reichstag elections & cabinet formation
• Hyperinflation, 1923
• The Beer-Hall Putsch and Hitler’s trial
• The Dawes Plan
• The Kellogg-Briand Pact

Key events covered, rise of the Nazi Party to 1939

• The Reichstag fire
• Hitler appointed Chancellor
• The creation of concentration camps
• The passing of anti-Semitic laws
• The banning of political parties
• Germany’s departure from the League of Nations
• The Night of the Long Knives
• The Berlin Olympics
• The 1936 Italo-German Treaty and Mussolini
• Anschluss with Austria
• Bombing of Guernica and the Spanish Civil War
• Invasion of Czechoslovakia
• Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
• Munich Agreement
• Kristallnacht
• Invasion of Poland