Harald Jahner

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Vertigo

Germany, 1918: a country in flux. The First World War is lost, traditional values are shaken to their core, revolution is afoot and the victory of democracy beckons. Everything must change with the times. The country is abuzz with talk of the 'new woman', the 'new man', 'new living' and 'new thinking'.

What follows is the establishment of the Weimar Republic, an economic crisis and the transformation of Germany. A triumphant procession of liberated lifestyles emerges. Women conquer the racetracks and tennis courts, go out alone in the evenings, cut their hair short and cast the idea of marriage aside. Unisex style comes into fashion, androgynous and experimental. People revel in the discovery of leisure, filling up boxing halls, dance palaces and the hotspots of the New Age, embracing the department stores' promise of happiness and accepting the streets as a place of fierce battles. So much of this short burst of life between the wars seems amazingly modern today, including, amidst a frenzy of change, the backlash from those who did not see themselves reflected in this new culture. Little by little, deep divisions in society began to emerge. Divisions that would have devastating consequences, altering the course of the twentieth century and the lives of millions around the world.

Praise for Aftermath by Harald Jahner:

'Exemplary [and] important... This is the kind of book few writers possess the clarity of vision to write' - Max Hastings, Sunday Times

'A masterpiece' - Spectator

'Magnificent... There are great lessons in the nature of humanity to be learnt here' - Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph

'Jahner is masterly in telling the tragic, despicable, comedic and uplifting stories of those who were there' - Katja Hoyer, The Times

'Thought-provoking... Jahner's unflinching account is a reminder that historical truths are rarely simple and always nuanced' - Daily Mail

'A reminder that the German experience will always stand apart' - Economist