Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times

Jay Daniels

Experience Germany from 1918 to 1945 through the eyes of those who lived it. Join Jay Daniels as diaries, letters, and memoirs bring the Weimar Republic and Third Reich into homes, classrooms, cafés, and streets. From revolution and hardship to dictatorship and war, discover how ordinary people resisted, adapted, complied, and survived extraordinary times—and how a changing country transformed their daily lives. https://ordinarylivesextraordinarytimes.blog/

Episodes

  1. Oct 18

    Treaty of Discord

    World War 1 is nearly finished. Germany is bankrupt. A revolution erupts in Berlin. The Emperor flees. From the Spartacist uprising and the violence of the Freikorps to the bitter reception of the Treaty of Versailles. This episode traces the crises that burdened Germany’s new democracy. When the Kapp Putsch threatens to overthrow the republic, workers and civil servants demonstrate how a country can resist simply by refusing to function. Find our blog: https://ordinarylivesextraordinarytimes.blog/

    Treaty of Discord

  2. Oct 9

    Enabling a Dictator

    Spring 1933. The Reichstag is destroyed. Those arrested in the resulting purges are thrown into makeshift jails to be beaten and humiliated. Lawyer, Sebastian Haffner, does his best to go about his life. Bella Fromm gets a surprise when a cadre of Brownshirts arrive at her home in the middle of hosting a society party. Fear and violence become a constant companion to people like them, Johannes Grote, Friedrich Haase, Lady Rumbold, and others while the Nazis consolidate absolute power with the Enabling Act.

  3. Jul 4

    Fire in the Reichstag

    The first days of Hitler's regime is oddly normal for most people. Most are still caught between the growing friction between the Communists and the Nazis, now with the full backing of the State. Thousands flock to Carnival to relax away from politics but the joys are cut short by the Reichstag Fire. Within hours, jackboots storm the streets and break down doors looking for conspirators and enemies. Episode Art Credit: Bundesarchive. CC BY-SA 4.0. Unedited.

    Fire in the Reichstag

  4. Jun 27

    Elections(3)

    Germany: 1932. Unemployment, political violence, and growing despair pushed millions to question whether democracy could still solve their problems. Through the words of ordinary Germans, diplomats, and historians, we explore how faith in a system begins to collapse and what rushes in to replace it. Cover Art: Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-01330 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

    Elections(3)

  5. Jun 12

    A German Great Depression 1929-1930

    Germany looked healed. Jobs returned. Berlin glittered with modern culture and confidence. Then came 1929! In this episode of Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times, we step into the final years before collapse as the Great Depression tears through Weimar Germany. Nazis and Communists gain mass support which inevitably will lead to conflict. The seeds are watered and extremism bears fruit. Meet ordinary citizens who provide firsthand accounts as watch savings vanish, unemployment explode, families break under pressure. Let's step back in time!

  6. Mar 27

    Communists at the Cabaret

    This episode explores the world the Nazis destroyed. The rise of the German Communist Party, subsidized theater, legal equality, religious tolerance, queer culture. Let's step into history!

  • 6 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

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out of 5
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About

Experience Germany from 1918 to 1945 through the eyes of those who lived it. Join Jay Daniels as diaries, letters, and memoirs bring the Weimar Republic and Third Reich into homes, classrooms, cafés, and streets. From revolution and hardship to dictatorship and war, discover how ordinary people resisted, adapted, complied, and survived extraordinary times—and how a changing country transformed their daily lives. https://ordinarylivesextraordinarytimes.blog/

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