In Hitler's Munich

“Munich as the point of origin for the explosion of antisemitism in Germany in the early 1920s is the focus of In Hitler’s Munich. For Michael Brenner what mattered most was not the reprieve Jews experienced in 1923 but the failed revolution of 1918–1919 that put them at so much risk in the first place.”—Christopher R. Browning, New York Review of Books“Michael Brenner… has written a book that tells the tragic story of the city and its Jews after World War I without fear or favor and, indeed, in this particular case, without either pride or shame.”—Steven E. Aschheim, Jewish Review of Books“In Hitler’s Munich: Jews, the Revolution and the Rise of Nazism explores the great variety of roles played by Munich’s Jews in those years, putting to rest any simple characterization of pre-World War II German Jewry.”—Robert Siegel, Moment“In his excellent new book, the noted German Jewish historian Michael Brenner explains and analyses how and why Munich became the bedrock of Nazism.”—Colin Shindler, Jewish Chronicle“Brenner’s scholarship is rigorous and impressive… . [He] never lets us forget that these were people, not just figures in a historical text… . Although he did not intend or fore­see it when he began to write, it quick­ly became appar­ent to him that what he was describ­ing res­onat­ed uncom­fort­ably with the events of Jan­u­ary 6th, 2020 — the storm­ing of the Capi­tol in Wash­ing­ton. At every turn the read­er is remind­ed of the lessons of history.”—Mark Welch, Jewish Book Council“Deep, important research by a master historian.” * Kirkus Reviews *“An indispensable account of how, after the failed left-wing November Revolution of 1918–19 in Munich, the new conservative government of Germany promoted the lie that Jews were responsible for Germany’s defeat in World War I and the rise of Bolshevism in Germany… . Highly recommended.” * Choice Reviews *“Magnificent… a careful, erudite, imaginative and beautifully written book that brings us deep into the world that produced Adolf Hitler.”—Helmut Walser Smith, Antisemitism Studies“Michael Brenner… provides important lessons which might help thwart the ongoing collapse of democracies across the world… . the book is a timely lesson on how it’s imperative to shake up people gullible enough to fall into the trap of manufactured lies and give their unequivocal allegiance to forces that silently work towards genocidal politics and the weakening of the fabric of constitutional democracy. As democracies are imperilled, Brenner’s relevant account of the anti-Semitic discourse that underpinned the early years of Hitler’s quest for power becomes a wake-up call.”—Shelley Walia, The Hindu“Anyone who wants to understand the rise of the Nazis would do well to read Brenner’s book.”—Sabine Beppler-Spahl, Radicalism of Fools: Rethinking Anti-Semitism“Immensely readable and well-searched… . Brenner’s work brilliantly reveals how antisemitism rose from Munich’s gutters to dominate early interwar society and politics.”—Kevin Spicer, Contemporary Church History Quarterly ​​​​​​​”[A] significant new contribution to the study of Weimar politics and the rise of Nazism.”—Dana Smith, German Studies Review

Michael Brenner is the Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies and director of the Center for Israel Studies at American University and professor of Jewish history and culture at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. His many books include In Search of Israel: The History of an Idea and A Short History of the Jews.