The crisis-ridden years between the end of World War I and the beginning of Nazi rule in Germany became a golden age for German-language literature. Helmuth Kiesel explores its development in this comprehensive literary history in three phases: first, from an epochal perspective; then, from a political and social historical viewpoint; and finally, from a genre perspective. German, Austrian, and Swiss-German contexts are equally taken into account. The war and the November Revolution not only forced significant political and social changes but also led to a politicization of literature, which sought to depict and actively influence this transformation, the associated conflicts, and the rapid modernization of living conditions. This so-called contemporary literature produced a wealth of poems, plays, and novels.