Authority and Upheaval in Leipzig, 1910-1920: The Story of a Relationship

by Sean Dobson

Overview

In the fall of 1918, after it had become clear that the Great War was lost, revolution broke out in Germany. In the area around Leipzig, workers supported the revolution with unusual determination, in many cases seeking to socialize their companies on their own authority.

In the first book to devote serious scholarly attention to Leipzig's turbulent transition from authoritarian monarchy to democratic republic, Sean Dobson offers a cogent history of political change in what was one of Germany's most industrialized and politically radical districts. Durgaing most of the post–WWII period, only Leninist historians—following the strict ideological guidelines dictated by the Socialist Unity Party of the German Democratic Republic—were permitted access to the relevant archives. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dobson gained unprecedented access to those archives. His study tells the real story of what happened in one of the revolution's storm centers and enriches the larger theoretical discussion of class and identity formation.

Because the turmoil in and around Leipzig is incomprehensible without an understanding of the region before 1914, Dobson details the antecedents of the revolution. In the process, he challenges common historiographical assumptions about prewar and wartime Germany.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231120760
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	04/18/2001
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.31(d)
Lexile:	1690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Sean Dobson worked as a historian for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and taught at Portland State University before serving as adviser for communication and strategy in President Clinton's National Economic Council. He is now helping to found Progressive Maryland, a nonprofit organization advancing a pro-working family agenda through grassroots action.

What People are Saying About This

Jay Winter

This study of the 1918--1919 revolution in the city of Leipzig is powerful, ingenious, and imaginative. Dobson tells a story of a revolution whose roots long antedated the 1914--1918 war. But it is ultimately a story of a revolution gone cold, lost in part through incompetence, in part through exhaustion. It is an important story, one that adds significantly to the historical literature of the period.

— Jay Winter, professor of history, Columbia University

Editorial Reviews

Scholars interested in the history of workers...will want to read this book, and it would enliven many undergraduate courses as well

Journal of Modern History - Elizabeth H. Tobin

Exploring the longer-term causes of the revolution, Professor Dobson challenges common historiographical assumptions about the desire for reform among the Wilhelmine elites and the extent of integration of the working class in the established sociopolitical order.

International Review of Social History

Authority and Upheaval in Leipzig is the most vivid account in English of German working-class radicalism in war and revolution and will be indispensable to scholars of the period. Because it synthesizes with remarkable clarity the historiography on Germany more generally, it is also highly suitable for undergraduate courses.

German History - Andrew Donson

Dobon provides here a thorough account of the relations between workers and nonworkers in a major center of industrial activity... a fine first book.

Central European History - Andrew Lees

Scholars interested in the history of workers...will want to read this book, and it would enliven many undergraduate courses as well

— Elizabeth H. Tobin

Journal of Modern History

Authority and Upheaval in Leipzig is the most vivid account in English of German working-class radicalism in war and revolution and will be indispensable to scholars of the period. Because it synthesizes with remarkable clarity the historiography on Germany more generally, it is also highly suitable for undergraduate courses.

— Andrew Donson

German History

Dobon provides here a thorough account of the relations between workers and nonworkers in a major center of industrial activity... a fine first book.

— Andrew Lees

Central European History

In what appears to be a revision of his doctoral thesis (from Columbia U.), Dobson provides a detailed analysis of the history of the revolution of 1918 by workers in the industrial city of Leipzig, with a focus on issues of class and collective identity formation. Dobson traces the worker interactions with non-workers which, in his view, fueled Leipzig's political fortunes (this is the "relationship" of the title). The study considers the prewar relationship, its social and political dimensions, and how these led to dissatisfaction of the workers. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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