Reichs & Republics | The German History Podcast

In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the German Revolution of 1918–19, when a mass popular uprising swept away the Kaiser and every other German dynasty. Tracing its roots to the thwarted revolutions of 1848, they follow the upheaval through the munitions workers’ strikes of January 1918, the naval mutiny that autumn, the formation across Germany of workers’ and soldiers’ councils, and the extraordinary ascent of Friedrich Ebert, a socialist and former saddler, to head of state. They unpick the storied Ebert–Groener Pact and the bloody suppression of the January 1919 uprising in Berlin, culminating in the murders of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. Was this a half-hearted revolution, a revolution betrayed – or a democratic breakthrough judged much too harshly in hindsight?

Links:

https://www.academia.edu/81063033/Kiel_Uprising_Womens_activism_and_the_German_Revolution_November_1918

Join us as we untangle this complex story, dispelling the popular myths and misapprehensions about a national history that still shapes the world we live in.

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Then please leave us a review, it helps us a lot!

Host: Katja Hoyer & Dr Christopher Dillon
https://battleguide.co.uk/reichs-republics#host

To comment and ask questions, please join our community: https://reichs-and-republics.com/supporters

Support via Paypal: http://battleguide.co.uk/rr-paypal
Merchandise and Shop: https://reichs-and-republics.com/collections/all

Our WW1 Podcast: https://listen.not-so-quiet.com/
Our WW2 Podcast: https://listen.both-sides-of-the-wire.com
Untitled History Podcast: http://listen.untitled-history.com/
Battle Guide YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BattleGuideVT

If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what the team at Battle Guide have been getting up to, why not sign up to our monthly newsletter: https://battleguide.co.uk/newsletter

Katjas socials
X (Twitter): https://x.com/hoyer_kat
Substack: Zeitgeist https://www.katjahoyer.uk/
General Enquiries: republics@battleguide.co.uk

Credits:
- Host: Katja Hoyer and Dr Christopher Dillon
- Production: Linus Klaßen
- Editing: Jessa Sargento
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In this episode, Katja and Chris are joined by Sarah Bowden, Professor of German and Medieval Studies at King’s College London, to explore one of the strangest puzzles of medieval Europe: why hundreds of churches and chapels across southern Germany, Austria and the Alps are dedicated to Oswald, a 7th-century king of Northumbria. From Bede’s account of a Christian warrior king and his miraculously incorruptible right arm to the royal marriages that carried his cult into the Holy Roman Empire, they trace how Oswald travelled from northern England to Weingarten Abbey and beyond. Along the way, they uncover how German storytellers transformed him almost beyond recognition, adding a multilingual raven, a bridal quest, mermaids and a chaste marriage enforced by a cold bath. What can one saint’s many reinventions tell us about power, faith and culture in medieval Germany?

Links:

https://oswaldusrex.co.uk/

Join us as we untangle this complex story, dispelling the popular myths and misapprehensions about a national history that still shapes the world we live in.

Do you like our podcast?
Then please leave us a review, it helps us a lot!

Host: Katja Hoyer & Dr Christopher Dillon
https://battleguide.co.uk/reichs-republics#host

To comment and ask questions, please join our community: https://reichs-and-republics.com/supporters

Support via Paypal: http://battleguide.co.uk/rr-paypal
Merchandise and Shop: https://reichs-and-republics.com/collections/all

Our WW1 Podcast: https://listen.not-so-quiet.com/
Our WW2 Podcast: https://listen.both-sides-of-the-wire.com
Untitled History Podcast: http://listen.untitled-history.com/
Battle Guide YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BattleGuideVT

If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what the team at Battle Guide have been getting up to, why not sign up to our monthly newsletter: https://battleguide.co.uk/newsletter

Katjas socials
X (Twitter): https://x.com/hoyer_kat
Substack: Zeitgeist https://www.katjahoyer.uk/
General Enquiries: republics@battleguide.co.uk

Credits:
- Host: Katja Hoyer and Dr Christopher Dillon
- Production: Linus Klaßen
- Editing: Jessa Sargento
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the life of Baldur von Schirach, leader of the Hitler Youth and one of the more unlikely figures in the Nazi elite. Born into a wealthy, cosmopolitan family with American roots, Schirach enjoyed the privilege and connections to pursue almost any career. Instead, he threw himself into the fledgling Nazi movement long before it had any prospect of power. From his antisemitic schooling in Weimar and starstruck first encounter with Hitler to his mobilisation of ultranationalist university students and his ambition to forge an entire generation of children in Nazism’s image, Katja and Chris explore Schirach’s rise within the Nazi movement. They trace how a sensitive young aristocrat became a convicted war criminal, culminating in his role in the deportation of Vienna’s Jews. They also examine how his grandson, the bestselling author Ferdinand von Schirach, has grappled with this troubling inheritance, and what his response reveals about Germany’s continuing struggle with the memory of Nazism.

Join us as we untangle this complex story, dispelling the popular myths and misapprehensions about a national history that still shapes the world we live in.

Do you like our podcast?
Then please leave us a review, it helps us a lot!

Host: Katja Hoyer & Dr Christopher Dillon
https://battleguide.co.uk/reichs-republics#host

To comment and ask questions, please join our community: https://reichs-and-republics.com/supporters

Support via Paypal: http://battleguide.co.uk/rr-paypal
Merchandise and Shop: https://reichs-and-republics.com/collections/all

Our WW1 Podcast: https://listen.not-so-quiet.com/
Our WW2 Podcast: https://listen.both-sides-of-the-wire.com
Untitled History Podcast: http://listen.untitled-history.com/
Battle Guide YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BattleGuideVT

If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what the team at Battle Guide have been getting up to, why not sign up to our monthly newsletter: https://battleguide.co.uk/newsletter

Katjas socials
X (Twitter): https://x.com/hoyer_kat
Substack: Zeitgeist https://www.katjahoyer.uk/
General Enquiries: republics@battleguide.co.uk

Credits:
- Host: Katja Hoyer and Dr Christopher Dillon
- Production: Linus Klaßen
- Editing: Jessa Sargento
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Katja and Chris are joined by Professor Tim Blanning to discuss Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Famous for his strength, mistresses and lavish parties, Augustus has been called one of Europe's worst monarchs. They explore how he won and lost the Polish crown, his failures in the Great Northern War, and his triumph as the patron who transformed Dresden. So was he really such a bad king?

Books
Augustus the Strong: A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Augustus-Strong-Artistic-Greatness-Political/dp/0241705142

The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pursuit-Glory-Europe-1648-1815/dp/014016667X/

Frederick the Great: King of Prussia
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Frederick-Great-Prussia-Tim-Blanning/dp/0141039191/

Join us as we untangle this complex story, dispelling the popular myths and misapprehensions about a national history that still shapes the world we live in.

Do you like our podcast?
Then please leave us a review, it helps us a lot!

Host: Katja Hoyer & Dr Christopher Dillon
https://battleguide.co.uk/reichs-republics#host

To comment and ask questions, please join our community: https://reichs-and-republics.com/supporters

Support via Paypal: http://battleguide.co.uk/rr-paypal
Merchandise and Shop: https://reichs-and-republics.com/collections/all

Our WW1 Podcast: https://listen.not-so-quiet.com/
Our WW2 Podcast: https://listen.both-sides-of-the-wire.com
Untitled History Podcast: http://listen.untitled-history.com/
Battle Guide YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BattleGuideVT

If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what the team at Battle Guide have been getting up to, why not sign up to our monthly newsletter: https://battleguide.co.uk/newsletter

Katjas socials
X (Twitter): https://x.com/hoyer_kat
Substack: Zeitgeist https://www.katjahoyer.uk/
General Enquiries: republics@battleguide.co.uk

Credits:
- Host: Katja Hoyer and Dr Christopher Dillon
- Production: Linus Klaßen
- Editing: Jessa Sargento
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the Guillaume Affair, one of the Cold War's most dramatic spy scandals. Günter Guillaume was an East German Stasi officer who spent nearly two decades climbing the ranks of the SPD to become Chancellor Willy Brandt's personal aide. They ask how he got there, what West German intelligence knew, and why his arrest in 1974 brought down one of West Germany's most charismatic chancellors.

Join us as we untangle this complex story, dispelling the popular myths and misapprehensions about a national history that still shapes the world we live in.

Do you like our podcast?
Then please leave us a review, it helps us a lot!

Host: Katja Hoyer & Dr Christopher Dillon
https://battleguide.co.uk/reichs-republics#host

To comment and ask questions, please join our community: https://reichs-and-republics.com/supporters

Support via Paypal: http://battleguide.co.uk/rr-paypal
Merchandise and Shop: https://reichs-and-republics.com/collections/all

Our WW1 Podcast: https://listen.not-so-quiet.com/
Our WW2 Podcast: https://listen.both-sides-of-the-wire.com
Untitled History Podcast: http://listen.untitled-history.com/
Battle Guide YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BattleGuideVT

If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what the team at Battle Guide have been getting up to, why not sign up to our monthly newsletter: https://battleguide.co.uk/newsletter

Katjas socials
X (Twitter): https://x.com/hoyer_kat
Substack: Zeitgeist https://www.katjahoyer.uk/
General Enquiries: republics@battleguide.co.uk

Credits:
- Host: Katja Hoyer and Dr Christopher Dillon
- Production: Linus Klaßen
- Editing: Jessa Sargento
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices