The masterfully told story of what happened in Germany following its defeat in the first world war: the Kaiserâs exit from the stage, the sailorsâ mutiny, the spreading of the revolution and its betrayal by its own chosen socialist leaders. Haffner recounts the murder of Karl Liebknecht and of Rosa Luxemburg â and the deliberate creation of those relentless counter-revolutionary forces that became the nightmare of the Third Reich. More than a brilliant historical study: it has vital lessons for our own day.
âHaffnerâs history of the revolution is unrivalled â tight, precise, passionately rational, brilliantly formulated.â â Profil/Wien
âNo-one else has described and analysed the events of 1918/19 that were decisive for the century as well and as convincingly as Sebastian Haffner.â â Tagespiegel
âFor Haffner, the revolution was a social-democratic revolution. That it was nevertheless ultimately suppressed bloodily by social-democratic politicians confirms Haffnerâs suspicion that this was a case of betrayal.â â Norddeutscher Rundfunk (North German Radio)
âHaffnerâs book is one of the few that breaks open previously locked doors and shines a light on dark corners of our past.â â Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger
âSebastian Haffnerâs brilliant intellect clarifies contrasts and similarities in situations, motivations and deeds and describes lucidly and dramatically the main lines of the complex developments from September 1918 to January 1919.â â Dieter Wunderlich
âThose who know Haffnerâs method of making the writing of history an inspection of the past motivated by the present, will appreciate this book.â â zitty/Berlin
Failure of a Revolution: Germany 1918-1919 - Sebastian Haffner
The masterfully told story of what happened in Germany following its defeat in the first world war: the Kaiserâs exit from the stage, the sailorsâ mutiny, the spreading of the revolution and its betrayal by its own chosen socialist leaders. Haffner recounts the murder of Karl Liebknecht and of Rosa Luxemburg â and the deliberate creation of those relentless counter-revolutionary forces that became the nightmare of the Third Reich. More than a brilliant historical study: it has vital lessons for our own day.
âHaffnerâs history of the revolution is unrivalled â tight, precise, passionately rational, brilliantly formulated.â â Profil/Wien
âNo-one else has described and analysed the events of 1918/19 that were decisive for the century as well and as convincingly as Sebastian Haffner.â â Tagespiegel
âFor Haffner, the revolution was a social-democratic revolution. That it was nevertheless ultimately suppressed bloodily by social-democratic politicians confirms Haffnerâs suspicion that this was a case of betrayal.â â Norddeutscher Rundfunk (North German Radio)
âHaffnerâs book is one of the few that breaks open previously locked doors and shines a light on dark corners of our past.â â Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger
âSebastian Haffnerâs brilliant intellect clarifies contrasts and similarities in situations, motivations and deeds and describes lucidly and dramatically the main lines of the complex developments from September 1918 to January 1919.â â Dieter Wunderlich
âThose who know Haffnerâs method of making the writing of history an inspection of the past motivated by the present, will appreciate this book.â â zitty/Berlin