In spite of having been short-lived, "Weimar" has never lost its fascination. Until recently the Weimar Republic's place in German history was primarily defined by its catastrophic beginning and end - Germany's defeat in 1918 and the Nazi seizure of power in 1933; its history seen mainly in terms of politics and as an arena of flawed decisions...

List of Illustrations Preface List of Contributors Introduction Kathleen Canning PART I: DEFEAT AND THE LEGACY OF WAR Chapter 1. The Return of the Undead: Weimar Cinema and the Great War Anton Kaes Chapter 2. The Work of Art and the Problem of Politics in Berlin Dada Brigid Doherty Chapter 3. The Secret History of Photomontage: on the Origins of the Composite Form and the Weimar Photomontages of Marianne Brandt Elizabeth Otto PART II: NEW CITIZENS/NEW SUBJECTIVITIES Chapter 4. Mother, Citizens, and Consumers. Female Readers in Weimar Germany Kerstin Barndt Chapter 5. Claiming Citizenship: Suffrage and Subjectivity in Germany after the First World War Kathleen Canning Chapter 6. Feminist Politics beyond the Reichstag: A Radical Vision of Reform in the Weimar Republic Kristin McGuire Chapter 7. Producing Jews: Maternity, Eugenics, and the Embodiment of the Jewish Subject Sharon Gillerman PART III: SYMBOLS, RITUALS AND DISCOURSES OF DEMOCRACY Chapter 8. Reforming the Reich: Democratic Symbols and Rituals in the Weimar Republic Manuela Achilles Chapter 9. High Expectations – Deep Disappointment: Structures of the Public Perception of Politics in the Weimar Republic Thomas Mergel Chapter 10. Contested Narratives of the Weimar Republic: The Case of the "Kutisker-Barmat Scandal" Martin Geyer Chapter 11. Political Violence, Contested Public Space, and Reasserted Masculinity in Weimar Germany Dirk Schumann PART IV: PUBLICS, PUBLICITY AND MASS CULTURE Chapter 12.  “A Self-Representation of the Masses”: Siegfried Kracauer's Curious Americanism Miriam Hansen Chapter 13. Neither Masses Nor Individuals. Representations of the Collective in Inter-War German Culture Stefan Jonsson Chapter 14. Cultural Capital in Decline:Inflation and the Distress of Intellectuals Bernd Widdig PART V: WEIMAR TOPOGRAPHIES Chapter 15. Defining the Nation in Crisis: Citizenship Policy in the Early Weimar Republic Annemarie Sammartino Chapter 16. Gender and Colonial Politics after the Versailles Treaty Lora Wildenthal Chapter 17. The Economy of Experience in Weimar Germany Peter Fritzsche Bibliography Index

"The interpretative and methodological pluralism, which is evident throughout [this volume]is a major strength, rendering the volume ideally suited for graduate courses in modern European and German history. By covering an extraordinary range of topics and analytical perspectives, the book opens up a fascinating panoramic view onto ‘the landscapes of ambition and hope, promise and disappointment that galvanized new publics during the Weimar era.’” · Journal of Modern History “…taken together [these articles] provide an excellent and stimulating introduction to current ways of thinking and writing about the Weimar Republic since the ‘cultural turn’. A common theme running through each contribution is the role of individual consciousness and its striving to be heard and expressed in an age when notions of community and collective struggle were also high up on the artistic and political agenda.“  ·  German History “These essays are interesting and useful for the material they present…the efforts it presents in rethinking the existing scholarship and adding new material has much to offer scholars of the Weimar era.”  ·  European History Quarterly