The literature of the Weimar Republic (1918-1933) is, in the words of Marcel Reich-Ranicki, a literature “between two German catastrophes”. Just as the political, economic, and social history of Germany between 1918 and 1933 can hardly be separated from the decline of the German empire during the First World War or the rise of the “Third Reich” in the 1930s, so too is it nearly impossible to conceive of Weimar Republic literature and culture outside of the framework provided by these two modern German calamities. As such the Republic’s literature is noteworthy for its representation of competing political perspectives, its innovative aesthetic practices, and its insight into a society that was struggling to redef

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Published 09 February 2005

Citation: Skidmore, James M.. "Literature of the Weimar Republic". The Literary Encyclopedia. 9 February 2005.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1524, accessed 20 November 2009.]