The First Republic is often regarded as the flawed predecessor of the Second. This perspective has proven to be a confidence-building prologue to the Second Republic, but it contributes little to the understanding of the interwar period. Lothar Höbelt describes the First Republic as a provisional state that never fully managed to escape its character of being unfinished and makeshift. He portrays the events of the years 1918-1938 not as a history of missed opportunities, but "as it actually was." Utilizing the archives of all three camps, from industry and agriculture, and from the perspective of diplomats and occasionally very undiplomatic paramilitary groups.