Description
Book SynopsisThis first scholarly biography of Chancellor Brüning analyses his economic and fiscal policies, the diplomatic campaign to redress Germany's grievances against the Treaty of Versailles, and his strategy for creating a broad anti-fascist political coalition. It also seeks to explain why President Hindenburg decided to topple Brüning, leading to Nazi power.
Trade Review"...Patch has written a thoughtful biographical study that dispels many of the misconceptions, some fostered in later years by BrÜning himself, surrounding Weimar's `last democratic Chancellor.'" Choice
"...Patch's sifting of both primary materials and secondary accounts is remarkably sensible, fair and balanced. As a reliable compendium of the evidence that adds new levels of subtlety and complexity to our knowledge of an important figure, this fine book should serve as the standard account for some time." Canadian Journal of History
"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
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments; 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.
