Fateful Hours

Democracies are fragile. Liberties that seemed won for all time can be squandered. Few historical events illustrate this as vividly as the failure of the Weimar Republic, which resulted in the transfer of power to Hitler's Nazi Party. But this tragedy was not inevitable. In this gripping new book, celebrated historian Volker Ullrich charts the many lost alternatives and missed opportunities that contributed to German democracy's collapse. In an immersive style that takes us to the heart of political power, Ullrich argues that, right up until January 1933, history was open - and so too in the present it is within our hands whether democracy lives or dies.