A Portrayal of Berlin in the 1920s
Before the Deluge is a panorama of the political, economic, scientific, and cultural events in Berlin between the end of World War I and the beginning of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich in 1933. Topics covered include the abdication of the Kaiser, the mutiny of the German navy in Kiel, the Spartakus uprising, the creation of the Weimar Republic, Albert Einstein, the assassination of Walter Rathenau, inflation, the Jews in Germany, Anti-Semitism, the Dada movement in art, architecture, music, Joseph Goebbels, the Berlin theatre, film, Marlene Dietrich, Adolf Hitler, the Nazi party, and many other topics. Author Otto Friedrich makes frequent use of the diaries of Count Henry Kessler and Joseph Goebbels. And, much of the book features recollections of the participants involved with the various events described in the book and gives the reader a vivid glimpse of what life was like in Berlin during the 1920s. The annotated bibliography is very useful as it provides not only books for additional reading but a summary of each chapter. Two maps and several pages of photographs are included. In sum, Before the Deluge is an excellent portrayal of a critical era in both German and world history.
