Life and Death in a German Town: Osnabruck from the Weimar Republic to World War II and Beyond

The period between 1929 and 1949 is arguably the most traumatic and destructive in the history of Germany. Using vital primary sources, archival material and revealing interviews, Panikos Panayi presents an extraordinary analysis of the experiences of, and relationships between, native ethnic Germans, German refugees from Eastern Europe, German Jews, Romanies and foreigners in the German town of Osnabruck during these turbulent years. Written from the perspective of everyday life, this is the first major study of the dramatic changes that took place from the end of the Weimar Republic and the period of Hitler's ascendancy, to the Second World War, the defeat of the Nazis and the beginning of the Federal Republic, all as seen through the experiences of the different socio-ethnic groups. The story of Osnabruck is the story of the tragedy that engulfed Germany in the first half of the twentieth century and, in doing so, defined a generation.

Panikos Panayi is Professor of European History at the School of Historical and International Studies, De Montfort University, Leicester.