'Corruption' is an ever-present topic in the Weimar Republic. Accusations of corruption not only result in scandals, they quickly turn into a permanent part of the debates about the state of the republic. What form do these scandals and debates take? Whom do they affect and why do accusations of corruption work so effectively as a political weapon? What happens when the notion of corruption is used as an explanation for an increasingly widening array of problems in a crisis-struck political system? The book answers these questions by reconstructing both individual corruption scandals and debates as well as the emergence of a comprehensive discourse. The study shows that corruption debates provide both clear rules and a common language for political actors thereby serving as a means to carry out both fundamental debates and smaller conflicts.

Dr. Annika Klein arbeitet als wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Historischen Seminar der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main.