Weimar

Britain’s favourite German historian… Hoyer has been beavering away in the archives to tell the story of the crack-up of democracy in interwar Germany, through a vivid cast of characters * Sunday Times, Books to Look Out for in 2026 *A bright, young historian… Strap in to watch the slow collapse of a society, amid a throng of fascists, socialists, artists and politicians * Telegraph, Books to Look Forward to in 2026 *The city of Weimar — home to many of the giants of European culture — gave its name to Germany’s ill-fated republic; it was also where the Nazis gained an early foothold. Historian Hoyer charts that journey of cultural experimentation and political upheaval through the stories of those who witnessed it and whose choices and fates reveal the human experience of a descent into tyranny * Financial Times, What to Read in 2026 *The autopsy of a liberal democracy, told in the words of its own citizens. Katja Hoyer tracks the everyday acts of omission and concession in the face of ruthless wrong, showing how the compliant and the complacent ultimately undermine the brave. A book about a hundred years ago— without question a book for now – Neil MacGregorA fresh and gripping account of the interwar years seen through the lens of Germany’s most legendary town. By skilfully weaving into the political narrative the stories of ordinary people, Katja Hoyer gives readers a vivid sense of what it was like to be alive then and there. Brilliantly researched, this is history at its very best – Julia Boyd

Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian, journalist and the author of the international bestseller Beyond the Wall as well as Blood and Iron.

A visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, she writes for Bloomberg and Berliner Zeitung and is a commentator on German current affairs for many British newspapers.

She was born in Germany and is now based in the UK.