Germany's first democracy, the Weimar Republic, ended with the naming of Adolf Hitler as chancellor in January 1933. This study focuses on individual workers in Berlin and their strategies of confronting the daily crises which were introduced by the transformation of society after 1918 and intensified during the Depression. Tensions between the sexes and generations, among neighbors, within families, and between citizens and their political parties led to the emergence of a radical, and at times violent, neighborhood culture that signaled a loss of faith in political institutions.

Germany's first democracy, the Weimar Republic, ended with the naming of Adolf Hitler as chancellor in January 1933. This study focuses on individual workers in Berlin and their strategies of confronting the daily crises which were introduced by the transformation of society after 1918 and intensified during the Depression. Tensions between the sexes and generations, among neighbors, within families, and between citizens and their political parties led to the emergence of a radical, and at times violent, neighborhood culture that signaled a loss of faith in political institutions.

A historical study of modern German advertising, from the Imperial period through the 1970s, that explores mass consumption in modern society and the relationship between business mentalities, artistic creation, consumer behavior, and ideology.

The sheer intensity and violence of Germany's twentieth century--through the end of an empire, two world wars, two democracies, and two dictatorships--provide a unique opportunity to assess the power and endurance of commercial imagery in the most extreme circumstances. "Selling Modernity" places advertising and advertisements in this tumultuous historical setting, exploring such themes as the relationship between advertising and propaganda in Nazi Germany, the influence of the United States on German advertising, the use of advertising to promote mass consumption in West Germany, and the...