Sebastian Elsbach

Sebastian Elsbach

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

democratic transformation, political violence & extremism, republican elites & education, civic nationalism, polish-german relations, antisemitism

The Weimar Republic stands as a striking example of both the promises and the perils of democratic transformation. Conflict and violence permeated the political life of Germany’s first democracy—often in destructive, but at times also in productive ways—contributing to the emergence of an exceptionally dynamic society. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective that draws on history, political science, and sociology, my research has focused on various aspects of the political culture and societal developments during the Weimar era, particularly on efforts to defend the republic against violence and political extremism. What lessons can we draw from this democratic experiment—and what is the relevance of the „Weimar” comparison today?

PROJECTS

At the Center for Sociological Research, I am part of the project Patchwork Parliaments. I view the histories of the Polish and German republics as deeply intertwined. What I find particularly appealing in this project is its comparative framework and its ambition to connect regional and national analyses with the study of political discourse and social protest.

My dissertation, funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, explored the largest pro-democratic paramilitary organization of the Weimar Republic—the Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold. Founded in 1924, it counted approximately 1.5 million members.

In a subsequent project, I joined the research college „Das demokratische Gewaltmonopol in der frühen Weimarer Republik, 1918–1924” (DemGeWeR)—The Democratic Monopoly on Violence in the Early Weimar Republic, 1918–1924. As a postdoctoral researcher, I investigated the themes of civil war and separatism during the early years of the republic. This project was also funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, as part of its program “Democracy as Utopia, Experience, and Threat” (Funding Programme Democracy).

EDUCATION

  • 2019–2022 – Research Fellow of the Gerda Henkel Foundation, Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena
  • 2018 – PhD at the Research Center for the Study of the Weimar republic, Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena,
  • 2013 – M.A. in Social Theory, Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena
  • 2010–2011 – Erasmus stay at the University of Łódź
  • 2011 – B.A. in European Studies with a Social Science Focus, University of Chemnitz

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Books:

Awards:

  • Award from the Institute of Political Science at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena for the best dissertation in 2018
  • Friedrich Ebert Research Prize for the best dissertation on the history of the Weimar Republic

shortened version: Schwarz-Rot-Gold. Das Reichsbanner im Kampf um die Weimarer Republik [Black-Red-Gold. The Reichsbanners Fight for the Weimar Republic], Metropol Verlag, 2023.
reviewed in: Tagesspiegel

  • Für „Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit“. Republikanische Offiziere in der Novemberrevolution und frühen Weimarer Republik [For „Unity and Law and Freedom“. Republican Officers in the November Revolution and the early Weimar Republic], written with Christian Lübcke, Metropol Verlag, 2023.
  • Eiserne Front. Abwehrbündnis gegen Rechts 1931 bis 1933 [The Iron Front. Defensive Alliance against the Right 1931 to 1933], Verlagshaus Römerweg, 2022.

    • reviewed in: Archiv für Sozialgeschichte

Edited volumes:

  • Bildung und Demokratie in der Weimarer Republik [Education and Democracy in the Weimar Republic], edited with Andreas Braune and Ronny Noak, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2022.

    • reviewed in: Krakowskie Studia z Historii Państwa i Prawa

  • Vom drohenden Bürgerkrieg zum demokratischen Gewaltmonopol (1918–1924) [From Looming Civil War to Democratic Monopoly on Violence], edited with Andreas Braune and Michael Dreyer, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2021.

    • reviewed in: Giornale di Storia costituzionale, Militärgeschichtliche Zeitschrift, International Journal of Military History and Historiography

  • Demokratische Persönlichkeiten in der Weimarer Republik [Democratic Personalities in the Weimar Republic], edited with Marcel Böhles and Andreas Braune, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2020.

    • reviewed in: Jahrbuch zur Liberalismus-Forschung, Neue Politische Literatur, Francia-Recensio

  • Konsens und Konflikt. Demokratische Transformation in der Weimarer und Bonner Republik [Consensus and Conflict. Democratic Transformation in the Weimar and Bonn republics], edited with Ronny Noak and Andreas Braune, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2019.

    • reviewed in: Auskunft, Neue Politische Literatur, Jahrbuch Extremismus & Demokratie, Moving the Social

Selected Articles in order of publication:
Veteranenpolitik

  • „Thüringer! Bewahrt die Ruhe, möge kommen, was kommen will!“. Unsicherheitsgefühle im Kontext des Kapp-Lüttwitz-Putsches 1920, in: Auf der Suche nach Sicherheit? Die Weimarer Republik zwischen Sicherheitserwartungen und Verunsicherungsgefühlen [“Thuringians! Keep calm, come what may!” Feelings of Insecurity in the Context of the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch of 1920, in:In Search of Security? The Weimar Republic between Expectations of Security and Feelings of Insecurity], Martin Platt (ed.), Stuttgart 2024, pp. 75–98.
  • The Reichsbanner Black-Red-Gold. Militant democrats in the Weimar Republic, in: Civil Democracy Protection. Success Conditions of Non-Governmental Organisations in Comparison, Uwe Backes / Thomas Lindenberger (Hg.), Abingdon 2024, pp. 33–51.

    • translated into German: Das Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold. Wehrhafte Demokraten in der Weimarer Republik, in: Totalitarismus und Demokratie 20/2 (2023), pp. 171–192.

  • Die östlichen Grenzkämpfe 1918–1922 (Posen und Oberschlesien), in: Gewalt gegen Weimar. Zerreißproben der frühen Republik 1918–1923 [The Eastern Border Clashes 1918–1922 (Poznan and Upper Silesia), in: Violence against Weimar: The Struggles of the Early Republic 1918–1923], Martin Sabrow (ed.), Göttingen 2023, pp. 89–107.
  • Die Baltikumer. Zur Genese eines rechtsradikalen Freikorpsmythos, in: Gewalt gegen Weimar. Zerreißproben der frühen Republik 1918–1923 [The Baltic Fighters. On the Genesis of a Right-Wing Freikorps Myth, in: Violence Against Weimar: The Struggle for the Early Republic, 1918–1923], Martin Sabrow (ed.), written with Marc Bartuschka, Göttingen 2023, S. 109–123.
  • Anarchie oder Ordnung. Die Revolutionäre Erich Mühsam und Ernst Niekisch im Vergleich, in: Die große Furcht. Revolution in Kiel – Revolutionsangst in der Geschichte [Anarchy or Order? The Revolutionaries Erich Mühsam and Ernst Niekisch in Comparison, in: The Great Fear. Revolution in Kiel – Fear of Revolution in History], Oliver Auge / Knut-Hinrich Kollex (eds.), written with Florian Schreiner, Kiel / Hamburg 2021, pp. 149–178.
  • Der „Deutsche Bürgerkrieg“ und das Versprechen des demokratischen Gewaltmonopols, in: Vom drohenden Bürgerkrieg zum demokratischen Gewaltmonopol (1918–1924) [The “German Civil War” and the Promise of the Democratic Monopoly of Violence, in: From the Threatening Civil War to the Democratic Monopoly of Violence (1918–1924)], Andreas Braune / Michael Dreyer / Sebastian Elsbach (eds.), Stuttgart 2021, pp. 1–25.
  • Straßenkampf oder Bürgerkrieg? Wehrverbände und Polizeigewalt in der Weimarer Republik, in: Gewaltgemeinschaften? Studien zur Gewaltgeschichte im und nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg [Street Fighting or Civil War? Combat Associations and Police Violence in the Weimar Republic, in: Violent Communities? Studies on the History of Violence in and after the First World War], Sven Oliver Müller / Christin Pschichholz (eds.), Frankfurt am Main / New York 2021, pp. 191–212.
  • Irrwege eines Antisemiten. Ernst Niekisch in der frühen DDR [The Misguided Path of an Anti-Semite: Ernst Niekisch in the Early GDR], in: Medaon 15 (2021).
  • Vernunft gegen Gewalt. Der Nationalsozialismus im Spiegel der Exilschriften Wolfgang Heines, in: Zeitdiagnosen im Exil. Zur Deutung des Nationalsozialismus nach 1933 [Reason versus Violence. National Socialism as Reflected in Wolfgang Heine’s Exile Writings, in: Diagnoses of the Times in Exile: On the Interpretation of National Socialism after 1933], Beiträge zur Geschichte des Nationalsozialismus Bd. 36, Rüdiger Hachtmann / Franka Maubach / Markus Roth (eds.), Göttingen 2020, pp. 141–160.
  • Ein Paladin der Freiheit. Der Reichsbannermann Hubertus Prinz zu Löwenstein (1906–1984), in: Demokratische Persönlichkeiten in der Weimarer Republik [A Paladin of Freedom. The Reichsbannerman Hubertus Prince zu Löwenstein (1906-1984), in: Democratic Personalities in the Weimar Republic], Sebastian Elsbach / Marcel Böhles / Andreas Braune (eds.), Stuttgart 2020, pp. 85–98.
  • Der militante Journalist und Archivar Walter Gyssling, in: Demokratische Persönlichkeiten in der Weimarer Republik [The Militant Journalist and Archivist Walter Gyssling, in: Democratic Personalities in the Weimar Republic], Sebastian Elsbach / Marcel Böhles / Andreas Braune (eds.), written with Simon Sax, Stuttgart 2020, pp.223–238.
  • Ein gespaltenes „enges“ Vaterland, in: „Engere Heimat“. Die Gründung des Landes Thüringen 1920 [A Divided “Narrow” Fatherland, in: “Narrower Homeland.” The Founding of the State of Thuringia in 1920], Christian Faludi / Marc Bartuschka (eds.), written with Ronny Noak, Wiesbaden 2020, pp. 253–269.
  • Von der Revolution in Anhalt zum Kapp-Putsch in Berlin. Wolfgang Heines politisches Denken und Handeln, in: Revolutionäre Zeiten zwischen Saale und Elbe [From the Revolution in Anhalt to the Kapp Putsch in Berlin. Wolfgang Heine’s Political Thought and Action, in: Revolutionary Times between the Saale and Elbe], Patrick Wagner / Manfred Hettling (eds.), Halle/Saale 2019, pp. 102–128.
  • Gewalt, Prestige und der Schutz der Republik. Mikrosoziologie politischer Tötungsdelikte im Freistaat Preußen, 1924–1930, in: Konsens und Konflikt. Demokratische Transformation in der Weimarer und Bonner Republik [Violence, Prestige, and the Protection of the Republic: Microsociology of Political Homicides in the Free State of Prussia, 1924–1930, in: Consensus and Conflict. Democratic Transformation in the Weimar and Bonn republics], Sebastian Elsbach / Ronny Noak / Andreas Braune (eds.), Stuttgart 2019, S. 171–194.
  • „Das freie Auge spricht!“. Politische Bildung in den Parteien der Weimarer Koalition und dem Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold [“The free eye speaks!” Political education in the parties of the Weimar Coalition and the Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold], in: Jahrbuch für Historische Bildungsforschung 25 (2019), written with Ronny Noak, S. 87–114.
  • Völkischer Bolschewismus und der „ewige Jude“. Antisemitismus bei Ernst Niekisch [National Bolshevism and the “Eternal Jew.” Antisemitism in the Works of Ernst Niekisch], in: Jahrbuch für Antisemitismusforschung 24/2015, S. 155–181.