off campus access

History of Weimar Germany

Background Sources | Books | Journal Articles | Primary Sources | Selected Websites

This webpage provides resources to help you find more information on the themes and topics of the course.

Most of the databases on this page are restricted to UW students, staff and faculty. These are marked with a lock UW Restricted. To connect to these databases from home you will need to first click on the Off-Campus Access link in the upper-right hand corner and login.

Have questions or need research help? Please contact Theresa Mudrock, the history librarian, via email at mudrock@u.washington.edu.


Background Sources

Encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms for finding additional information. More importantly, because encyclopedias often cover the major issues surrounding the subect, they can help you narrow your research from a broad “who, what, where, when” topic to a “how or why” question. In addition many encyclopedia articles include short bibliographies that will lead you to the major works on the topic.
  • Encyclopedia of contemporary German culture
         Suzzallo Reference -- DD290.26 .E53 1999
  • Encyclopedia of European social history from 1350 to 2000
         Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- HN373 .E63 2000
  • A Historical Dictionary of Germany's Weimar Republic, 1918-1933
         Suzzallo Reference -- DD84 .V56 1997
  • Modern Germany: an encyclopedia of history, people, and culture, 1871-1990
         Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- DD14 .M64 1998

Locating Books

Use the following catalogs to locate books in the UW Libraries and in other libraries around the region, nation and world. Books unavailable at the UW can be requested through Summit (if available at one of the member libraries) or through Interlibrary Loan.

  • UW Libraries Catalog
    A listing of the books, journal subscriptions and other material available at the University of Washington Libraries.
  • Summit
    Joint catalog of more than 25 academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. Books can be requested and shipped to the UW for pick-up. Especially useful when the book you need is checked-out.
  • UW Restricted OCLC WorldCat
    Joint catalog of thousands of major libraries in the U.S. and abroad.

Journal Articles

Use research databases to find articles on a topic. Since most databases cover a specific subject area, choose those that best fit your research topic. For a complete list of databases see Research Databases on the UW Libraries Homepage.

To find a copy of the article, use the Check for UW Holdings button available on most databases to locate a copy in the library. If there is no button, search the UW Libraries Catalog for the title of the journal to locate a copy. Be sure to have the complete citation (author, title, journal name, volume, pages and year) of your article.

Articles from journals which the UW does not own can be requested via Interlibrary loan.

  • Printed
    • Dahlmann-Waitz. Quellenkunde der deutschen Geschichte
      Standard bibliography of all of German history to the end of World War II. Multiple volumes. [Reference Z2236 .D14 1969]
    • Jahresberichte für deutsche Geschichte
      Index to articles and books in Germany history. Dates from 1949 onward. [Reference Z2236 .J26]
  • Using Secondary Sources to Find Primary Sources

    Secondary sources, scholarly journal articles and books, are a great source for identifying potential primary sources and additional secondary sources. Find a few articles, books or dissertations related to your topic and then mine the footnotes and bibliography. Keep in mind that most of the primary sources on German history will be in the German language. You will have the best luck finding published primary sources such as books, government reports, newspapers and magazines within the UW Libraries. Use the UW Libraries Catalog to determine if we have the primary source.

    Finding Primary Sources -- Books

    The UW Libraries has a good collection of books (in print, microform and electronic) that can be considered primary sources for history. These include books written during the period for your topic (i.e., during the 1920s), books written by key people, published collections of correspondence and other personal writings, memoirs and reprinted collections of primary source material.

    Using the UW Libraries Catalog
    • Limit your search by publication date.
    • Search for books written by key participants and organizations.
    • Use special subject terms that designate primary sources:
      sources, personal narratives, diaries, correspondence
    • Example of a Keyword search:
      • germany and women and (diaries or correspondence)
      • germany and 1918 1933 and (correspondence or diaries)

    Finding Primary Sources -- Articles

    The following databases will help you identify magazine and newspaper articles. The databases primarily cover English-language publications so you will find American and British perspectives on Germany. You can also use JSTOR to find older scholarly articles in fields such as sociology and political science.
    1922 article from Current Opinion

    Times article 22 June 1920

    1926 article from Living Age

    Magazines for Browsing
    Microform & Newspapers is located on the ground floor of Suzzallo Library; Special Collections in the basement of Allen Library South; Suzzallo Periodicals on the 3rd floor of Suzzallo Library. Items in Auxilliary Stacks (storage) need to be requested via the UW Libraries Catalog.
    • A-I-Z, 1927-1936
              Microform & Newspapers - A10353
    • Berliner illustrirte Zeitung, 1914-1945
              Microform & Newspapers - A10350
    • Frauenliebe, 1926-1930
              Microform & Newspapers - A10348
    • Frauenwelt, 1924-1933
              Microform & Newspapers - M-3516
    • Illustrirte Zeitung, 1899-1941
              Auxiliary Stacks Folio - 053 IL
    • Die neue Generation, 1908-1932
              Microform & Newspapers - M-3520
    • Die Woche, 1899-1944
              Microform & Newspapers - A10369

    Selected Websites

    This is a short selection of web sites useful for modern German history.
    1930 poster


    History Subject Page | UW Libraries | Class Bibliography | Library Research Award for Undergraduates

    1 October 2006
    Theresa Mudrock | mudrock@u.washington.edu