Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times

Germany in 1923 was not a pleasant place. It had its own trials and tribulations. Two contrasting characters emerge as the world collapses around them: Walter Rathenau and Adolf Hitler. Germans become enamored with each for very different reasons.

The final years of World War One brings revolution, insurrections, and hyperinflation to the German people. In this episode we look at Germany from 1918 to 1923.

Welcome to Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times. We will take a street level look at life inside Germany between 1918 and 1945.

The first days of Hitler's regime is oddly normal for most people. Most are still caught between the growing friction between the Communists and the Nazis, now with the full backing of the State. Thousands flock to Carnival to relax away from politics but the joys are cut short by the Reichstag Fire. Within hours, jackboots storm the streets and break down doors looking for conspirators and enemies.

Episode Art Credit: Bundesarchive. CC BY-SA 4.0. Unedited.

Germany: 1932. Unemployment, political violence, and growing despair pushed millions to question whether democracy could still solve their problems. Through the words of ordinary Germans, diplomats, and historians, we explore how faith in a system begins to collapse and what rushes in to replace it.

Cover Art: Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-01330 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

Germany looked healed. Jobs returned. Berlin glittered with modern culture and confidence. Then came 1929!

In this episode of Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times, we step into the final years before collapse as the Great Depression tears through Weimar Germany. Nazis and Communists gain mass support which inevitably will lead to conflict. The seeds are watered and extremism bears fruit.

Meet ordinary citizens who provide firsthand accounts as watch savings vanish, unemployment explode, families break under pressure.

Let's step back in time!

This episode explores the world the Nazis destroyed. The rise of the German Communist Party, subsidized theater, legal equality, religious tolerance, queer culture.

Let's step into history!