The roots of the Weimar Republic are traced as far back as 1871, in order to sketch the power politics of the new German Empire leading into World War I as well as to examine the defeat of Versailles as the fatal heritage of the new republic. From this standpoint, Fischer describes the fall of Weimar as the failed compromise between old imperial and new republican power, between unsatisfied and persisting imperial interests and the oncoming push for democracy, both with revolutionary potential. The main focus here is on the Social Democrats, who are blamed for under-estimating Germany’s old right, and the National Socialists. The influence of each political group is measured by poll results, where the society is seen as equally divided or politically polarized during the republic that precedes the primacy of Hitler’s National Socialism.
