Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times

The Battle for German Culture 1929-1930

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!

Communists at the Cabaret

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!

A Time of Troubles

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.

Treaty of Discord

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.

Introduction

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