“How a Democratic Country Could Become a Dictatorial Monster”: A Conversation with Volker Kutscher About His Crime Novels, Babylon Berlin, and the Lessons of the Past

Abstract

The German TV series Babylon Berlin is based on the popular crime novels by Volker Kutscher on Weimar Berlin in the 1920s. In this conversation, the author explains his ambitions to make his readers aware how a democracy can change into a dictatorship. He describes his research methods, discusses the relationship of historical facts and fiction, and talks about differences between his books and the series Babylon Berlin.