Gustav Stresemann: Weimar's Greatest Statesman

by Jonathan Wright

Gustav Stresemann was the exceptional political figure of his time. His early death in 1929 has long been viewed as the beginning of the end for the Weimar Republic and the opening through which Hitler was able to come to power. His career was marked by many contradictions but also a pervading loyalty to the values of liberalism and nationalism. This enabled him in time both to adjust to defeat and revolution and to recognize in the Republic the only basis on which Germans could unite, and in European cooperation the only way to avoid a new war. His attempt to build a stable Germany as an equal power in a stable Europe throws an important light on German history in a critical time. Hitler was the beneficiary of his failure but, so long as he was alive, Stresemann offered Germans a clear alternative to the Nazis. Jonathan Wright's fascinating new study is the first modern biography of Stresemann to appear in English or German.

Genres: Biography, Politics, History, Germany

576 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2002

About the author

Jonathan Wright is a British journalist and literary translator. He studied Arabic, Turkish and Islamic civilization at St John's College, Oxford. He joined Reuters news agency in 1980 as a correspondent, and has been based in the Middle East for most of the last three decades. He has served as Reuters' Cairo bureau chief, and he has lived and worked throughout the region, including in Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Tunisia and the Gulf. From 1998 to 2003, he was based in Washington, DC, covering U.S. foreign policy for Reuters.
Wright came to literary translation comparatively late. His first major work of translation was Taxi, the celebrated book by Egyptian writer Khaled al-Khamissi. This was published by Aflame Books in 2008 and republished by Bloomsbury Qatar in 2012. Since then, he has translated several works including Azazeel and The State of Egypt.

Reviews

[cheese chutki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up for a school project, it did exactly that; nothing more, nothing less. It provided me with a wealth of information on Stresemann that I could not find anywhere else, and for that it’s great. But, it wasn’t inspirational or anything, and pretty slow paced. It was like reading a textbook, but it was definitely adequate for research. However, I did enjoy the conclusion.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Stresemann [had he lived past 1929] would have been powerless to prevent the dismissal of Bruning in May 1932 or the series of intrigues which led to the appointment of Hitler as chancellor on 30 January 1933. There is, however, one intriguing might-have-been. Before his death, Stresemann had planned to remain foreign minister until the evacuation of the Rhineland but then to retire for two years to restore his health, possibly by going to Egypt. He considered thereafter returning to politics and one of the possibilities discussed was for him to stand in the elections for the Reich presidency in April 1932. If Stresemann had been able to take the place in fact occupied by Hindenburg as the candidate supported by the democratic parties to stop Hitler, the course of German and European history might have been different."

If only.

Wright does an excellent job using Stresemann's career to illustrate a different path Germany might have taken after World War I. He does not shy away from discussing the difficulties this "other path" would have entailed, but he strongly argues that there was a real chance for Germany to pursue peace and a more integrated Europe. Well worth the read if you are interested in German history.

[Roniius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Helped me greatly in my work. It is a bit too slow-paced for my taste with a lot of repeating names, and I did lose interest in a few bits. Otherwise, very good biography.