1st Edition

The Rise of National Socialism in the Bavarian Highlands A Microhistory of Murnau, 1919-1933

By Edith Raim Copyright 2022
254 Pages 37 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

254 Pages 37 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

254 Pages 37 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

The Rise of National Socialism in the Bavarian Highlands offers a microhistory of the town of Murnau between 1919 and 1933, a period which witnessed the rise of national socialism in Germany. National socialism had its roots in Bavaria, where the Weimar Republic found it difficult to secure popular support amongst the rural population. It was in this region that economic hardship and effective... Read more

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1: Murnau at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century

Life in Murnau

Population

Clubs and societies

Tourism

Chapter 2: Murnau During the Early Years of Crisis (1918/19-1923)

Bavaria after 1918: politics in a state of emergency

Revolution and demobilization

Parties and elections on local, regional and national levels

The citizens' militia

Economic crisis, plight and inflation

Local protagonists and völkisch propaganda

Agitation against the Allies and reparations

The Oberland League

Andreas Hofer League

The founding of the National Socialist local branch in Murnau

Membership in the NSDAP local branch

Campaigning for the NSDAP

Hitler's visit to Murnau

Murnau citizens participating in the Hitler Putsch

War legacy

Returning soldiers and death cult

James Loeb and the controversy about ‘Jewish’ money

Sports and politics

Winter Sports Club

Aviation as rearmament effort

‘Schützenvereine’: marksmen’s clubs

Warriors’ and Veterans’ Association and League of Front Fighters

Tourism and xenophobia

Shrovetide

Cultural self-assertion

Chapter 3: Murnau during the Roaring Twenties (1924-1928)

Tourism and politics

Politics

The Association for Germandom Abroad

Imposters and the bankruptcy and closure of businesses

Mass entertainment under völkisch rumbling

Retail’s struggle against consumer cooperatives

Infrastructure and welfare

Chapter 4: Murnau and the Slide into Dictatorship (1929-1932)

Propaganda

Communal, Landtag and Reichstag elections

Mastering crisis

The Year 1930

The year 1931

The Murnau hospital. A perfect solution?

Excursus: The trace of money

The year 1932

Conclusion

Unpublished Sources

Archives

Periodicals

Published Sources

Primary sources

Secondary sources

Index

Biography

Edith Raim is Lecturer of Contemporary History at the University of Augsburg, Germany. She has previously worked at the University of Durham, the Haus der Geschichte in Bonn, and the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich.