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In this Wednesday, April 3, 2019 photo, historic posters displayed at the exhibition 'Weimar: The Essence And Value Of Democracy' at the German Historical Museum in Berlin, Germany. The exhibition explores the Weimar Republic of 1919-1933, which has become synonymous with political and social turmoil and will run until Sept. 22, 2019. The posters reads: ' Never may the national fortune fall to the prince.' and 'This referendum is theft stay at home.' (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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In this Wednesday, April 3, 2019 photo, a historic gun is displayed at the exhibition 'Weimar: The Essence And Value Of Democracy' at the German Historical Museum in Berlin, Germany. The exhibition explores the Weimar Republic of 1919-1933, which has become synonymous with political and social turmoil and will run until Sept. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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In this Wednesday, April 3, 2019 photo, a historic 'Frankfurter Kitchen' is displayed at the exhibition 'Weimar: The Essence And Value Of Democracy' at the German Historical Museum in Berlin, Germany. The exhibition explores the Weimar Republic of 1919-1933, which has become synonymous with political and social turmoil and will run until Sept. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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In this Wednesday, April 3, 2019 photo, a historic poster is displayed at the exhibition 'Weimar: The Essence And Value Of Democracy' at the German Historical Museum in Berlin, Germany. The exhibition explores the Weimar Republic of 1919-1933, which has become synonymous with political and social turmoil and will run until Sept. 22, 2019. The poster read: ' Workers, Citizen, Farmer, Soldiers of all German tribes united for the National Assembly.' (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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People dressed in costumes take part at the so-called Bauhaus Parade to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement in Weimar, Germany, Saturday, April 6, 2019. Architect Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus in 1919 and was its first director. The new Bauhaus Museum Weimar opened on Friday, April 5. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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A woman dressed in a costume performs during the so-called Bauhaus Parade to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement in Weimar, Germany, Saturday, April 6, 2019. Architect Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus in 1919 and was its first director. The new Bauhaus Museum Weimar opened on Friday, April 5. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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People stand in front of the new Bauhaus Museum building during a light installation performance at the official opening by the Klassik Stiftung Weimar in Weimar, Germany, Friday, April 5, 2019. The museum, designed by Berlin-based Heike Hanada, will focus on the early Bauhaus that was founded in Weimar in 1919 and stayed there until 1925. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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People walk in front of the new Bauhaus Museum building during a light installation performance at the official opening by the Klassik Stiftung Weimar in Weimar, Germany, Friday, April 5, 2019. The museum, designed by Berlin-based Heike Hanada, will focus on the early Bauhaus that was founded in Weimar in 1919 and stayed there until 1925. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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People take part at the so-called Bauhaus Parade to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement in Weimar, Germany, Saturday, April 6, 2019. Architect Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus in 1919 and was its first director. The new Bauhaus Museum Weimar opened on Friday, April 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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A student dressed in a costume take participates at the so-called Bauhaus Parade to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement in Weimar, Germany, Saturday, April 6, 2019. Architect Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus in 1919 and was its first director. The new Bauhaus Museum Weimar opened on Friday, April 5. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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A person dressed in costumes at the so-called Bauhaus Parade to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement in front of the new Bauhaus Museum in Weimar, Germany, Saturday, April 6, 2019. Architect Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus in 1919 and was its first director. The new Bauhaus Museum Weimar opened on Friday, April 5. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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New exhibit reconsiders the Weimar Republic, 100 years later

By Associated Press New Berlin

PUBLISHED 2:44 PM ET May. 09, 2019

BERLIN (AP) — A divided nation grappling with rising inequality, new mass media and the growth of populist politics.

Sounds familiar?

Germany's first democracy, the Weimar Republic of 1919-1933, has long been regarded as a lesson in political failure. Lately, it has also been held up as a cautionary tale for the present.

It emerged from the ruins of World War I, as a defeated nation tried to reinvent itself in the midst of economic and social turmoil. It ended with Adolf Hitler's Nazi party seizing power, persecuting minorities and leading Germany into another calamitous war.

A new exhibition in Berlin, 100 hundred years later, is questioning the perception that the era's political and economic disaster was inevitable and stressing the lasting impact of the Weimar Republic.