‘The Weimar Years’ by Frank McDonough review
The Weimar Years: Rise and Fall 1918-1933 by Frank McDonough is a lucid overview of Germany’s tumultuous interwar years.
Interwar period
The Bruneri-Canella Case
The curious case of an apparent amnesiac in Collegno paved the way for forensic science to become one of the pillars of Italian law.
Adelaide Casely Hayford’s African Education
Colonial schools in Africa eroded national identity and pride; in Sierra Leone a new way of teaching had to be found.
The Beer Hall Putsch: What Hitler Learnt
In the aftermath of the Munich Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923, Hitler was in prison and the Nazi Party banned. But its failure taught him valuable lessons.
Turkey and the End of the Ottoman Empire
The Republic of Turkey is 100 years old. Built on the ashes of an old empire, what place is there for the Ottoman past in the secular state?
George McMahon: Fascist Assassin or British Spy?
Mystery surrounds George McMahon who, having tried to assassinate Edward VIII, outed himself as an agent of a ‘foreign power’. Does the discovery of new Italian documents solve the puzzle or obscure it further?
Shots Fired: Marjorie Foster and Women at War
After winning the biggest shooting prize in the Empire, Marjorie Foster joined the new pantheon of women making sporting headlines. On the eve of the Second World War, she had a new target in her sights: the War Office.
The Munich Crisis: Waiting for the End of the World
The wait for the outcome of the Munich Conference and the looming spectre of another war hung over Britain in 1938. Its impact was deeply felt.
The Limits of Nationhood
In the interwar period, France and Germany worked towards an integrated Europe.
Turkey’s First Coup: The 1926 Plot to Assassinate Atatürk
Turkey has a long history of coups, but the failed İzmir plot to assassinate Atatürk in 1926 had a lasting impact. One foreign journalist recorded the reprisals that followed with admiration – which soon turned to fear.