1923

''Gripping . . . thoroughly researched and beautifully written . . . a warning for our times'' Alex Watson, author of Ring of steel

''Fascinating . . . shows powerfully that there was nothing inevitable about the survival of Germany''s young democracy in that year - nor about its death a decade later. A timely reminder'' Katja Hoyer, author of Blood and Iron

The astonishing year when German democracy faced crisis and near destruction.

1923 was one of the most remarkable years of modern European history. In January, France and Belgium militarily occupied Germany''s economic heartland, the Ruhr; triggering a series of crises that almost spiralled out of control. Hyperinflation plunged millions into poverty. The search for scapegoats empowered political extremes. Hitler''s populism ascended to national prominence. Communists, Nazis, separatists all thought that they could use the crises to destroy democracy.