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.

List of figures and plates; List of abbreviations; Note on sources; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Neighborhoods and metropolis; 2. Rebellion at home and in the community; 3. Republicanism or radicalism: appeals to Berlin's workers; 4. Conflict and cooperation: political independence in Berlin's neighborhoods; 5. The logic of violence; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.