Das Haus: Familiengeschichte vom Ende des vorigen Jahrhunderts by Lou Andreas-Salomé, and: Annaliese's House: A Translation of Lou Andreas Salomé's 1921 Novel Das Haus: Familiengeschichte vom Ende des vorigen Jahrhunderts by Lou Andreas-Salomé (review)

Abstract

world historical trends than of individual decision making or ideological difference. Sebastian Ullrich’s contribution offers an overview of the historiographical interpretation of Weimar’s meaning in Bonn and to a lesser extent the Berlin Republic. As Ulrich shows, Weimar was a consistent specter of West German democracy, ultimately serving primarily as a negative foil, as seen in the oft-repeated “Bonn ist nicht Weimar.” Similarly, Frank Bösch considers the role of Weimar in the major parties of West Germany (FDP, SPD, CDU). He demonstrates how, during the 1950s, each invoked the fragmentation of Weimar politics and society as a means of distinguishing themselves from the Weimar era. Andreas Wirsching’s concluding essay on Weimar as political argument elaborates directly on themes of the previous two contributions and also covers new ground via a contrast of the role of Weimar for German chancellors Willy Brandt and Helmut Kohl. The volume reflects a broad spectrum of the political influence and impact of the Weimar Republic. The essays show how “Weimar”—as idea, past, and practice—influenced multiple generations of German politicians and politics. That said, and leaving aside the matter of whether further discussion of Weimar’s cultural, theoretical, sociological, or aesthetic legacies is warranted, this reviewer felt the lack of consideration of certain topics within this framework, e.g., German colonialism, gender or LGBTQ+ political history, to be noteworthy. In addition, the inclusion of a dedicated essay on Weimar in the post-68 or post-Wende era would have been useful as a means of adding greater balance to the volume. Jonathan Wipplinger, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee