Reichs & Republics | The German History Podcast
von Katja Hoyer & Dr. Christopher Dillon
- #162 Geschichte
- #162beste Platzierung
- wöchentlichErscheinungsrhythmus
- 56 mintypische Länge
- vor 4 Tagenletzte Folge
Takes you beyond the familiar clichés to uncover the richness and diversity of the German past.
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
battleguide.co.uk/reichs-republics#host
To comment and ask questions, please join our community: reichs-and-republics.com/supporters
Support via Paypal: battleguide.co.uk/rr-paypal
Merchandise and Shop: reichs-and-republics.com/collections/all
Our WW1 Podcast: listen.not-so-quiet.com/
Our WW2 Podcast: listen.both-sides-of-the-wire.com
Untitled History Podcast: listen.untitled-history.com
Battle Guide YouTube Channel: 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: battleguide.co.uk/newsletter
Katjas socials
X (Twitter): x.com/hoyer_kat
Substack: Zeitgeist katjahoyer.uk
General Enquiries: republics@battleguide.co.uk
Credits:
- Host: Katja Hoyer and Dr Christopher Dillon
- Production: Linus Klaßen
Folgen
Episode 33: ‘The Greatest of All Revolutions’. November 1918 and the Fall of the Kaiserreich
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 th
Episode 32: The Curious Cult of St Oswald: Kings, Ravens and Mermaids with Sarah Bowden
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
Episode 31: The Making of Baldur von Schirach and the Hitler Youth
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
Episode 30: Augustus the Strong - Europe's Worst King? with Prof. Tim Blanning
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 Europ
Episode 29: The Guillaume Affair: A Stasi Spy in the Chancellery
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 Chancell
Episode 28: Wilhelm I with Jan Markert
In this episode, Katja and Chris are joined by historian Dr. Jan Markert to look past the myth of Wilhelm I as a passive "soldier on the throne" and uncover the shrewd, hands-on monarch who shaped Germany's path to unification. They trace h
Episode 27: The Hidden Germans of the White House
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the hidden history of German America in the White House. From Friedrich Trump's secretive teenage flight from Kallstadt in 1885 to the presidencies of Dwight Eisenhower, Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon
Episode 26: A Bureaucracy of Death: Nazi Germany's T4 Programme
In this episode, Katja and Chris examine the origins and implementation of Aktion T4, the Nazi regime’s systematic programme of mass murder targeting disabled people. They trace the intellectual and political foundations of the programme, f
Episode 25: The Dark Legacy of Nietzsche’s Sister
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the extraordinary life of Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, the sister who became the architect of her brother Friedrich's public legacy. From a devout Protestant upbringing in Saxony and a doomed attempt
Episode 24: From the Rhine to the Reich: German Jewish Life Before 1871
In this episode, Katja and Chris trace the long and sometimes misunderstood history of Jews in German-speaking Europe, from Roman Cologne to the founding of the German Empire in 1871. They explore how Jewish communities settled along the Rh
Episode 23: Building Socialism: How the GDR Tried to House a Nation
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the East German regime's ambitious drive to build socialism one prefabricated apartment at a time. Between 1971 and 1989, the GDR pledged to build millions of new homes, using concrete, steel and pro
Episode 22: How Germany Invented the Way You Eat with Claudia Kreklau
In this episode, Katja and Chris are joined by historian Dr Claudia Kreklau to uncover the surprising German origins of the way the world eats today. They explore how chefs fleeing the French Revolution found new homes in Prussian courts, h
Episode 21: Blood and Iron in Africa - Germany's Colonial Violence
In this episode, Katja and Chris continue their exploration of Germany's colonial empire, turning to the violence that underpinned it. They examine the daily brutality of plantation and settler life, the international suppression of China's
Episode 20: The Reich Overseas
In this episode Katja and Chris explore Germany’s colonial empire, from its early roots in Brandenburg to its rapid expansion under the Kaiserreich. They examine why Germany pursued colonies, how empire was sold to the public at home, and t
Episode 19: Reichs and Wrongs: Your German History Questions
In this special Q&A episode, Katja and Chris tackle listener questions on everything from whether the Nazis were really right-wing, to why Hitler never invaded Switzerland, the myth of the German Sonderweg, and the deep roots of Germany's "
Episode 18: Hitler’s Long Death with Caroline Sharples
In this episode, Katja and Chris are joined by historian Dr Caroline Sharples to discuss Adolf Hitler’s death. Drawing on Caroline’s new book, The Long Death of Adolf Hitler: An Investigative History (Yale University Press), they explore th
Episode 17: Konrad Adenauer and the Making of West Germany
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the long chancellorship of Konrad Adenauer, West Germany’s first postwar leader. From the narrow vote that brought him to power in 1949 to the economic miracle, Western integration, NATO membership,
Episode 16: Konrad Adenauer, the Rhineland and the Reich
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the life of Konrad Adenauer before he became West Germany’s first chancellor. From his Catholic Rhineland upbringing and bitter opposition to Prussian dominance to his transformation of Cologne and u
Episode 15: The Eulenburg Affair and the Kaiser's Secret Circle
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the Eulenburg Affair, a royal scandal that struck deep into the heart of Kaiser Wilhelm II's circle of friends and advisors with grave and unintended consequences for Europe. They examine Wilhelm's i
Episode 14: Erich Mielke and the Origins of the Stasi
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the origins of the Stasi, East Germany’s notorious secret police, and the ruthless mindset of its long-serving chief, Erich Mielke. From Soviet influence and early political repression to mass survei
Episode 13: Austria and Germany: The Anschluss
In this week’s episode, Katja and Chris continue their exploration of the tangled relationship between Austria and Germany, from the collapse of the Habsburg Empire in 1918 to the Nazi regime’s annexation of Austria in 1938. Why had so many
Episode 12: Why is Austria not in Germany?
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the long and complicated relationship between Germany and Austria. They explain how religious differences and Great Power rivalry sustained two competing German identities in Central Europe. Starting
Episode 11: 1923 The Ruhr Crisis with Mark Jones
In this week’s episode, Katja and Chris are joined by historian Mark Jones to discuss the 1923 Ruhr Crisis: the French and Belgian occupation of Germany’s industrial heartland, the policy of passive resistance, and the crisis of violence, h
Episode 10: Who Wants To Be A Trillionaire? The Weimar Hyperinflation
In this week’s episode, Katja and Chris explore the Weimar hyperinflation crisis, when German money became almost worthless, prices changed by the hour, and a loaf of bread could cost billions of marks. How did Germany reach this point? Wha
Episode 9: 'We Are The People'. How the Berlin Wall Fell
In this episode, Katja and Chris dive into the final, frantic days of the GDR. They explore the lived reality of the Wende (the turning point) from the perspective of East Germans watching their world dissolve in real-time. From the bravery
Episode 8: What did you do in the war, Papa? The Student Revolt of 1968
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore how West Germany transformed from a conservative postwar society into one rocked by youth rebellion. From the economic miracle of the 1950s to the student protests of 1968, they examine why a new gen
Episode 7: East Germany’s Forgotten Uprising
In this episode, Katja and Chris dive into the dramatic events of 17 June 1953, when East Germany was shaken by a mass uprising that nearly toppled the young socialist regime. What began as a workers’ strike in East Berlin quickly spread ac
Episode 6: Where Did All the Nazis Go After 1945?
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore how the Allies attempted to denazify Germany after Hitler’s fall, focusing not just on top Nazi leaders but on the millions of ordinary Germans who had supported the regime. They compare the very dif
Episode 5: Terror Before the War: Concentration Camps in the 1930s
In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the origins of the Nazi concentration camp system before the Second World War. They examine how the early camps were created, who they were meant to imprison, and how terror was normalized in German
Episode 4: Weimar 1928: The Humiliation of the NSDAP
In this episode, Katja and Chris examine the Weimar Republic at its apparent high point in 1928 and ask the question that still haunts historians today: was German democracy ever truly secure, or was collapse already built in? Looking at el
