The essays in this volume, which are written by scholars from West Germany, Canada, Australia and Britain, provide on the basis of considerable original research a penetrating analysis and fresh insights into the impact of unemployment, including its broader social and political implications, on the crisis of certain social groups, including medical doctors, women and the younger generation, the trade unions and government, is assessed together with the endeavors of radical political parties to exploit the situation for their own ends. The book as a whole therefore aims to help fill an obvious gap in the historiography of the Weimar Republic.