Heinrich Bruning and the Dissolution of the Weimar Republic

This 1998 book was the first scholarly biography of Heinrich Brüning, chancellor of Germany from 1930 to 1932.

William L. Patch, Jr (Author)

9780521624220, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 August 1998

372 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.7 kg

"As a work of empirical history, Patch's book leaves the reader with yet another impression, namely, that Weimar politics had become chaotic and meandering in the early 1930s. One is almost overwhelmed by the detailed descriptions of political moves and countermoves, of schemes and counterschemes, of intrigues and counterintrigues. It is in this maze of tactical maneuvering by many other individuals that not only Br^D''uningbut also larger strategic questions become miniaturized. Maybe some day historians will go back to the bold structuralism of Bracher or - dare I mention the name? - of David Abraham. Until then Patch's important book stands as an impressive achievement in political history of the most meticulous kind." Journal of Modern History

Scholars have long debated whether Heinrich Brüning, head of the German government from 1930 to 1932, was the 'last democratic chancellor'of the Weimar Republic or the trailblazer of the Nazi dictatorship. His memoirs (published in 1970) damaged his reputation badly by terming the restoration of monarchy the 'crux' of his policies. This 1998 book is the first scholarly biography of Bruning in any language and offers a systematic analysis of the economic, social, foreign, and military policies of his cabinet as it sought to cope with the Great Depression. With the help of newly available sources, it clarifies the peculiar distortions in the memoirs, showing that Chancellor Brüning intended to restore parliamentary democracy intact when the economic crisis passed. He was curbing the Nazi menace successfully when President Hindenburg, reactionary landowners, and army generals eager for massive rearmament made the disastrously misguided decision to topple him.

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Brüning and the Prussian tradition
1. Brüning's political apprenticeship
2. The establishment of semi-parlimentary government
3. Foreign policy and the 'National Opposition'
4. Economics and politics in the shadow of the bank crisis
5. Brüning's fall
6. The destruction of the rule of law
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]