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Weimar Germany 1918-1933 > Aspects of life in Germany, 1918-33 > Flashcards

Aspects of life in Germany, 1918-33 Flashcards

1
Q

What were ethnic minorities like in Weimar Germany?

A

They were either:
- Equal and integrated into Weimar society
- Or unequal and segregated in Weimar society

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2
Q

What mind of minorities existed in Weimar Germany?

A
  • Jews
  • Gypsies
  • Black people
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3
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What did ethnic minorities face and what kind of wages did they receive?

A

Low-level discrimination of the kind faced by women. In general, they received lower wages and were less likely to be hired by a “German” man

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4
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What did the Länder not always adhere to?

A

The Länder did not always adhere to
Article 113. The Länder had the authority to form and follow their own laws against minorities.

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5
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

Were gypsies discriminated against?

A

Yes, gypsies were discriminated against (despite Article 113) because they moved around as a community and did not contribute to the economy by working, paying taxes or integrating into the wider society.

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6
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What happened during the Great Depression re minorities?

A

Jews (along with communists and the government) were blamed for the collapse of the economy and society’s hardships. In response, Jewish organisations (such as the Reich Federation of Jewish Front-Line soldiers) were set up to fight anti-Semitism.

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7
Q

What Jewish organisation was set up to fight anti-semitism?

A

The Reich Federation of Jewish Front-Line Soldier, founded in February 1919 by Leo Löwenstein in the aftermath of World War I to demonstrate Jewish loyalty to the former German Empire and German nationalism.

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8
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What did several Länder try to control the movement of?

A

Several Länder attempted to pass laws to try and control the movement of Gypsies.

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9
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What did Bavaria pass in 1926 and 1927?

A

Bavaria passed a series of laws in 1926 and 1927 against Gypsies, aimed at controlling their movement, getting their children into schools and adults into work, and forcing them to carry identity cards.

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10
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

After 1923, who faced rising hostility and why?

A
  • Black people.
  • Black units from French colonies were mobilised in Germany during the occupation of the Ruhr.
  • From 1923, approximately 500 mixed race children were born and were denounced as “Germany’s shame.” The German press alleged that the French had deliberately sent black troops to occupy the Rhineland to humiliate the ‘superior white nation’.
  • The Nazis banned performances by black artists.
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11
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

Who was denounced as Germany’s shame?

A

From 1923, approximately 500 mixed race children were born and were denounced as “Germany’s shame.” The German press alleged that the French had deliberately sent black troops to occupy the Rhineland to humiliate the ‘superior white nation’.

Black French people who had children with German women in the Ruhr.

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12
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

Why were the government criticised?

A

For appointing Jews to high positions in government.

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13
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

Who was assassinated shortly after his appointment in 1922?

A

Walter Rathenau

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14
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

Describe some members of the judiciary

A

Some traditional members of the judiciary were anti-Semitic and made racist remarks in their judgements (comparable to their attitudes towards the left-wing).

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15
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What happened during the years of the Great Depression?

A

More and more people began to support extreme right and left wing parties. Many of these parties were extremely anti-Semitic. (E.g. May 1928: the Nazis received 2.6% of votes; July 1932: the Nazis received 37.4% of votes).

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16
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

Examples of an anti-semitic organisation and its membership

A
  • The German People’s Offensive and Defensive Alliance was an aggressive, anti-Semitic organisation.
  • Between 1919 and 1923, its membership rose from 25,000 members to 170,000.
  • They believed the Jews had conspired with the Allies and had lost Germany the war.
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17
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What happened when the border between Germany and Poland was redrawn after WWI?

A

Leaving people from each group on the wrong side of the border.
There was significant hostility towards Poles because they had fought Germany in the war.

Between 1925 and 1933, 30,000 Poles left the country.

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18
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

Between 1925 and 1933, how many Poles left Germany due to hostilities?

A

30,000

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19
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

From 1871, with German nationalism and the idea of Volk (‘the people’), who were not regarded as equal?

A

Ethnic minorities were not regarded as equal, especially by elite groups such as landowners or the army.

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20
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What kind of people did NOT see ethnic minorities as equal?

A

Elite groups
- Landowners
- The army

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21
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

By 1900, what was colonial policy, particularly in Africa, based on?

A

The assumption that white Europeans were racially superior to other races.
In Germany’s African colonies (pre-war) this led to land being taken away from indigenous people, racial segregation and genocide.

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22
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What declined in the 1920s?

A

The economic status of Jews. Many were hit by hyperinflation as well as the depression which led to an increase in discrimination.

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23
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

Who was treated differently as they came from colonies?

A

Black people who lived in Germany but had come from Germany’s former colonies were treated differently from black people from America. They had no right to state aid in times of crisis or the right to vote and viewed as racially inferior.

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24
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What did German literature show?

A

Reinforced idea that Black people were inferior - Georg Büchner’s ‘Westfront’ celebrated the merciless killing of black soldiers in Africa by German soldiers.

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25
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

Examples of Jews being segregated

A

Jews had been systematically excluded from the judiciary before 1914 and this continued after the war.

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26
Q

1919 Article 113

A

Guaranteed rights of ethnic minorities, stating they can use their own language and keep their national identity.

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27
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What were Jews underrepresented in?

A

Banking and the chemical industry which were often wonder by the conservative elites.

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28
Q

Overall attitudes of minorities in the Weimar Republic

A

While the Weimar Constitution formally recognised racial equality, much of German society was still profoundly racist. Stereotypes of Jews and Africans supported a commonly held view that Germans were racially superior. Right wing groups began applying racist policies from its colonies to Germany itself.

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29
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What were stereotypes of Jews used in?

A

Pamphlets to stress the danger that Jews presented to Germany.

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30
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What was offensive term was used to describe Jews who had arrived to Germany from Eastern Europe?

A

Polack

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31
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What were Jews also seen as?

A

Radical communists

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32
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were unequal and segregated in Weimar German society:

What was the Protestant Church’s attitude to Jews?

A

Also suspicious of Jews arguing that Jews were fundamentally selfish and greedy, putting their personal wealth ahead of the German nation.

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33
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

What did Article 113 of the Weimar constitution state?

A

Groups who spoke a different language could not be legally prevented from using their language, or preserving their national identity e.g in education and their daily lives.

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34
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

What did Jews actually have a huge influence on?

A

Culture - and some became politicians. Five Jews held cabinet posts in the Weimar Republic, including Walter Rathenau who became foreign minister in 1922.

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35
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

How many Jews held cabinet posts in the Weimar Republic?

A

Five Jews, including Walter Rathenau who became foreign minister in 1922.

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36
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

In 1915, how many married Jews were married to non-Jews?

A

Approximately 1/3 of all married Jews were married to non-Jews.

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37
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

How many Jewish soldiers had fought for Germany in WWI and how many died?

A

85,000 Jewish soldiers had fought for the German army in World War One, and 12,000 had died.

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38
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

In 1925, how many Polish speakers were there in Germany?

A

Over 200,000.

Another 500,000 spoke both Polish and German, were often born in Germany and saw themselves as German.

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39
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

In 1918, what percentage of the German population did Jews make up?

A

Approx 1%

This fell to 0.76% by 1933 with the falling birth rate.

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40
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

What percentage of Jews lived in German cities?

A

66.8% - and approximately 1/3 of them in Berlin.

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41
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

What did the government ban after Walter Rathenau’s assassination?

A

A number of anti-semitic organisations.

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42
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

Between 1918 and 1925, what percentage of Jewish men had professional jobs?

A

75% of Jewish men ha professional jobs such as a doctor or lawyer.

This compared with 25% from the rest of the population.

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43
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

Department store businesses???

A

Almost 80% of department store business were conducted by Jewish-run business.

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44
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

From 1924, what was there a demand for?

A

A significant demand for black musicians and singers in jazz clubs. Black American artists were at the forefront of the jazz scene. Black musicians could often earn 4 times as much in Germany than America and Germany did not enforce racial segregation.

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45
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

What did Black Americans have in Berlin?

A

Black Americans had more freedom and higher status in Berlin than in the US.

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46
Q

Evidence that ethnic minorities were equal and integrated in Weimar society:

How much more money could Black musicians earn in Germany than Berlin?

A

4 times as much

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47
Q

How did the Lander try to discriminate against gypsies?

A

Stop them moving around/identity cards.

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48
Q

Why was there hostility towards Polish people?

A

Borders re-drawn/they were enemies in WWI.

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49
Q

Who was known as ‘Germany’s shame’?

A

Children born of black French soldiers and white Germans.

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50
Q

How did Germany’s colonisation of Africa affect their view on black Germans from former colonies?

A

Applied racist policies to Germany/see Africans as inferior racially.

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51
Q

Ethnic minorities:

Examples of integration between different groups before 1918

A

1915: 1/3 of married Jews were married to non-Jews, businesses were integrated.

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52
Q

Ethnic minorities:

Examples of prejudice before 1918

A

Protestant prejudice against Catholics, Poles, gypsies and Jews, who were not seen as part of the Volk.

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53
Q

Ethnic minorities:

What did Article 113 say?

A

Minority groups could use their own language and preserve their identity - however not often implemented.

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54
Q

Ethnic minorities:

What contribution did Jews make to society?

A

5 Jews held cabinet posts in the government, including Rathenau, Jewish literature and films, 85,000 Jews had fought in WWI.

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55
Q

Ethnic minorities:

What was the German Principles Offensive and Defensive Alliance?

A

An anti-Semitic organisation with 170,000 members, banned in 1923,

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56
Q

Ethnic minorities:

Give another example of anti-semtism at the time.

A
  • Conservative judges were anti-semitic.
  • Jews blamed for losing the war.
  • Increase in anti-semitism during the depression.
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57
Q

Ethnic minorities:

How did Jews combat anti-Semitism?

A

Organisations like the Reich Federation of Jewish Front-Line Soldiers set up.

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58
Q

What was understanding of race influenced by?

A

Imperialism

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59
Q

What did some German nationalists argue?

A

That attitudes to Jews should be based on racial polices introduced in Africa.

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60
Q

While the WR formally recognised equality…

A

there was still a lot of racism.

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61
Q

What was the legal status of Jews?

A

Same as any German - full citizenship.

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62
Q

What percentage of Jews were senior bankers and what percentage were poor?

A

Only 1% were senior bankers and 20% were poor - underrepresented in the chemical industry too. Myth that they were all wealthy is NOT true.

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63
Q

What was Catholic church’s view on minorities?

A

They spoke out against racism.

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64
Q

What was there high demand for?

A

Black musicians and singers in nightclubs.

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65
Q

What were the aims of culture in WR?

A
  • To reflect the increasingly urban and industrial nature of society.
  • To promote democracy and freedom of expression. They’re now a democracy and they are showing this through their culture.
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66
Q

What did the government invest in to bring a better life to people?

A

Government invested in mass housing campaign.

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67
Q

What was Weimar culture influenced by?

A
  • The Bauhaus movement.
  • America - Hollywood movies like Charlie Chaplin movies were very popular.
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68
Q

Describe art and culture in WR

A

Vibrant, experimental and unsettling. Influenced by international developments and mass popular culture.

69
Q

What was the culture of Berlin said to be like in the 1920s?

A

As vibrant as that of Paris, New York or anywhere in the contemporary world.

70
Q

What questions did the 1920s pose for German artists?

A

How should they deal with the profound changes brought about by the First World War, the destruction of the German colonial empire, the fall of the Kaiser and the birth of democracy?

71
Q

What three perspectives did artists choose?

A
  • To romanticise the past
  • To deal with the present through literature or painting
  • Others looked to the future

Whatever their perspective, Weimar artists created an explosion of culture, often using radical experimental techniques.

72
Q

In what way did German cinema romanticise the past?

A

Often using experimental techniques, films of the early 1920s were inspired by traditional folk tales and popular legends.

73
Q

Culture:

Example of a film that warns against modern technological devices

A

Paul Wegener’s 1920 horror film The Golem - was based on a popular Jewish legend.

Not only is The Golem traditional in the sense that it refers to an old folk tale, the film is an ALLEGORY for the DANGERS of the MODERN world. The evil Golem is an artificial creature, a product of human knowledge and skill, rather than a natural being.

74
Q

Culture:

Example of a film that used radical experimental techniques which reflects expressionism

A

Paul Wegener’s The Golem - the set designer and cinematographer were both influential in the Expressionist movement and the film reflects this bold, experimental new style.

75
Q

What happened to cinema in the Weimar period?

A

Became increasingly popular - the number of cinemas in Germany almost doubled from around 2,800 in 1919 to more than 5,200 in 1929. Nonetheless, cinemas were concentrated in urban areas, therefore about half the population had very limited access.

76
Q

Statistic about number of cinemas 1919-1929

A

2,800 in 1919
More than 5,200 in 1929

77
Q

Who went to the cinema in WR?

A

Typically middle classes

78
Q

What is a possible reason why cinema became so popular in WR?

A

Films based on traditional themes were popular because they provided reassurance and escapism at a time of military defeat, political revolution and economic crisis.

One writer argues that cinema became so popular in the 1920s because the German middle class were ‘addicted to distraction’.

79
Q

Culture:

What was German expressionism?

A
  • An artistic style and movement that was influential in painting and film making in the 1920s.
  • The new experimental style was often striking and bold.
  • It moved away from realism, and instead paintings or films contained striking geometric angles, strong contrasts between light and shade, and caricatured or distorted faces.
80
Q

Culture:

Examples of expressionist-style cinema

A
  • Nosferatu (1922), a horror film based on Dracula
  • The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1921)
81
Q

Culture:

What other kind of movies were popular? (as well as romantic/traditional films)

A

Mountain films, or mountain movies, as they looked back to the beauty of Germany’s natural landscape.

e.g Arnold Fanck’s The Holy Mountain (1926) tells the story of two macho mountain climbers, who possess the strength and heroism to conquer nature’s most dangerous mountain.

82
Q

Culture:

Example of mountain movie that was popular in WR

A

Arnold Fanck’s ‘The Holy Mountain’ (1926)

  • tells the story of two macho. mountain climbers, who possess the strength and heroism to conquer nature’s most dangerous mountain. Both fall for a woman, a mysterious dancer who, like themselves, is at one with nature.
83
Q

Culture:

Why were mountain films popular?

A
  • These films looked back to the beauty of German’s natural landscape.
  • Celebrated traditional values and were often based on experimental techniques.
  • Fanck, director of The Holy Mountain, developed new ways of filming natural phenomena such as avalanches, and new ways of moving cameras to capture ski scenes, which influenced cinema for decades to come.
84
Q

Culture:

How did Fanck (The Holy Mountain) influence cinema?

A

He developed new ways of filming natural phenomena such as avalanches, and new ways of moving cameras to capture ski scenes, which influenced cinema for decades to come.

85
Q

Culture:

What happened to the film industry?

A
  • Germany became the most advanced film industry in 1920s Europe.
  • Offered a romantic view of the past.
  • More mass culture as number of cinemas increased to 5,200 by 1929.
86
Q

Culture:

What was the UFA and who ran it?

A

A government-organised German motion-picture production company that made artistically outstanding and technically competent films during the silent era.

Run by Alfred Hugenberg.

87
Q

Culture:

Examples of 3 films in Weimar Germany

A
  • Blue Angel (1930)
  • Gold Rush (1925), Charlie Chaplin silent movie
  • Metropolis (1926), Fritz Lang
88
Q

Culture:

Authors whose novels romanticised the past

A
  • Ernst Jünger
  • Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck
89
Q

Culture:

Examples of Ernst Jünger’s books

A
  • Storm of Steel
  • Copse 125

For Jünger the First World War was a time of intense beauty and wonder.
He describes the trenches as a kind of paradise in which men were at one with each other and at one with nature. His books describe acts of slaughter in graphic, sensual detail. They present the First World War as the best of times.

90
Q

Culture:

What did Ernst Jünger think about men in war?

A

For Jünger true men can know peace only when they are surrounded by destruction and devastation, because war is the true fulfilment of masculine nature.

91
Q

Culture:

What did Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck write about?

A

He wrote several books about his experiences in colonial Africa celebrating Germany’s guerrilla campaign against the British during the First World War.

92
Q

Culture:

Example of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck novel and what was it about

A

‘Heia Safari!’ (1920) contained the simple message that the German Empire had been the best in the world, that the German army remained undefeated at the end of the war, that the nation had been stabbed in the back.

Lettow-Vorbeck’s message was that Germany had the right and the duty to rebuild its empire.

93
Q

Culture:

What authors ‘dealt with the present’ and weren’t romantic writers?

A
  • Thomas Mann
  • Erich Maria Remarque
94
Q

Culture:

What was Thomas Mann’s perspective?

A

He embraced the new republic, arguing that the freedom offered by the republic made it possible for men of passion to devote themselves to great heroic works of art. In that sense, the new republic was a place where beauty, poetry and sensuality could flourish.

95
Q

Culture:

Novel by Thomas Mann?

A

The Magic Mountain (1925)

96
Q

Culture:

What is The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann about?

A

Novel about nostalgia and cynicism. It is based in a convalescent home in the Alps and the characters are all chronically sick and represent different political and cultural movements in pre-war Europe.

97
Q

Culture:

Novel by Erich Maria Remarque?

A

All Quiet on the Western Front 1928.

98
Q

Culture:

What is “All Quiet on the Western Front” about?

A

By Erich Maria Remarque, ex-soldier.

  • Bleak depiction of the First World War and its aftermath.
  • Describes how the continual horror, fear, destruction and suffering of the war affected young soldiers. Rather than turning them into heroes the novel shows how it ruins young men, destroying their hope and emotional wellbeing.
  • Shows those who weren’t killed were destroyed psychologically by the physical and mental torment they were forced to endure.
  • The novel leads to the bleak conclusion that those who survived became a lost generation of men so damaged that they could find no happiness.
99
Q

Culture:

How does the film Nosferatu deal with anxieties of the present?

A
  • The First World War saw tens of thousands of corpses left in mass graves, without a proper funeral.
    Nosferatu, which features scenes of vampires emerging from the grave, plays on contemporary anxieties about restless spirits.
  • References to being buried alive which is a common trigger for shell shock.
100
Q

Culture:

Who directed Nosferatu?

A

Friedrich Murnau - famous for mixing types of shots to give the impression that the camera was moving freely rather than being fixed in one location.

101
Q

Culture:

What different writing styles were present in literature in Western Germany?

A
  • Rich range of writing styles.
  • Big sellers were authors who wrote traditional, nostalgic literature such as writer Hans Grimm.
  • Other authors explored social issues growing out of the distress and misery of working people in cities.
102
Q

Culture:

What book was about the life of a worker in Weimar society?

A

Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929) by Alfred Döblin.

103
Q

Culture:

Who wrote Berlin Alexanderplatz in 1929?

A

Alfred Döblin

104
Q

Culture:

Example of visual artists that dealt with the problems of the 1920s by embracing new objectivity

A

Otto Dix and George Grosz

105
Q

Culture:

What artistic movement developed in Germany?

A

New objectivity

106
Q

Culture:

What was the new objectivity movement in Weimar Germany?

A
  • As the country experienced unprecedented and often tumultuous social, economic, and political upheaval, many artists rejected Expressionism in favour of a new realism to capture this emerging society.
  • Sought to confront the present by stripping away pre-war idealism.
  • Artists aimed to understand ordinary people in everyday life and commented on the state of society.
  • The approach was epitomised by George Grosz and Otto Dix.
107
Q

Culture:

What did new objectivity seek to confront?

A

Sought to confront the present by stripping away pre-war idealism.

108
Q

Culture:

Example of works by Otto Dix

A

-“Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas” (1924) is an etching that presents Germans soldiers as monstrous. Gas masks transform their faces into skull-like masks. Landscape of trenches looks like hell.

  • “The Portrait of the Dancer Anita Berber” (1925) - some saw the ‘new woman’ of Weimar Germany as a sign of German degradation.
109
Q

Culture:

Example of works by George Grosz

A
  • “Made in Germany” is a drawing that depicts a German soldier as ape-like, fat and grotesque.
  • “The Pillars of Society” (1926) ridicules the German elite. Presents the army as vicious and inhumane, priests look like gangsters, Ebert has poo on his head.
110
Q

Culture:

When was The Pillars of Society by Grosz

A

1926

111
Q

Culture:

When was “The Portrait of Dancer Anita Berber” by Dix

A

1925

112
Q

Culture:

What messages were focused on Dix’s and Grosz’s work?

A
  • Corruption and hypocrisy of Germany.
  • Strong political and social messages
113
Q

Culture:

While some artists confronted problems of the present and other romanticised the past, what example is there of an artist who looked to the future?

A

Walter Gropius - founder of the Bauhaus school of art

114
Q

Culture:

Who was Walter Gropius?

A

Founder of the Bauhaus school of art. Gropius looked to the future and beyond Germany for his artistic inspiration

115
Q

Culture:

When did Gropius found the Bauhaus art school?

A

In the first days of the new republic.

116
Q

Culture:

Why was the Bauhaus school founded?

A

To bring together artists and craftspeople in order to design beautiful furniture and houses for the German market.

117
Q

Culture:

What artists did Bauhaus embrace from all over Europe?

A
  • The Swiss-German painter Paul Klee.
  • The Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky.
  • Artists from Hungary and Austria.
118
Q

Culture:

When was the Bauhaus movement founded?

A

1919, in Weimar.

119
Q

Culture:

What was the Bauhaus movement?

A

A new style of architecture and design. Functional and simple designs, it emphasised the close relationship between art and technology, which is underlined by its motto “Art and Technology - a new unity”.

120
Q

Culture:

What was the motto of the Bauhaus movement?

A

“Art and Technology - a new unity”.

121
Q

Culture:

What did the Bauhaus school look like?

A

Located in Dassau, the architecture of the school reflected the ‘international style’, a modernist style that used glass, steel and reinforced concrete to create geometric buildings that had no traditional ornamentation.

122
Q

Culture:

When did Walter Gropius explain his vision of Bauhaus?

A

In the Proclamation of the Bauhaus (1919), which described a utopian craft guild combining architecture, sculpture, and painting into a single creative expression. Union of art and design.

123
Q

Culture:

What was controversial about Bauhaus and what did this lead to?

A

Bauhaus embraced forms of art that tended to look to an international future rather than a German past. The school’s work was so controversial that the initial Bauhaus was closed in 1925. However, the leading member relocated and their work continued into the 1930s.

124
Q

Culture:

Example of an experimental filmmaker who looked to the future and used shapes in his work?

A

Walter Ruttmann

125
Q

Culture:

What did film maker Walter Ruttmann believe about film?

A

Ruttmann believed that film was an art form like painting, rather than like literature. Therefore, he believed that it should focus on creating beautiful images rather than telling stories.

He trained as a painter before becoming a film-maker.

126
Q

Culture:

Example of Walter Ruttmann’s films

A
  • ‘Opus I’ (1921) was a collection of pulsing, geometric shapes.
  • ‘Berlin, Symphony of a Great City’ (1927) celebrates modern urban life. Ruttmann played with experimental techniques such as the slowing down and speeding up of film, fast cuts and edits to create a visual rhythm.
127
Q

Culture:

Example of an influential film maker who celebrates modernism

A

Fritz Lang

128
Q

Culture:

What theatre movement developed in Weimar Germany?

A

“New objectivity” developed in what was called Zeittheater (meaning ‘theatre of the time’) which was mostly left-wing plays.

129
Q

Culture:

Name two playwrights and comment on the techniques they used in their theatrical works

A
  • Bertolt Brecht
  • Erwin Piscator

used innovative techniques to introduce protest and politics in works e.g banners/slogans.

130
Q

Culture:

What were Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator exponents of?

A

Exponents of epic theatre, a form that emphasises the socio-political content of drama, rather than its emotional manipulation of the audience or the production’s formal beauty.

131
Q

Culture:

What play did Bertolt Brecht write?

A

The Threepenny Opera (1928)

132
Q

Culture:

What is Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera about?

A

A left-wing critique of the capitalist world.

133
Q

Culture:

What was the radio used as?

A

Emerged as a medium for mass communication in Weimar Germany.

134
Q

Culture:

How many Germans owned a radio by 1932?

A

25% of Germans

135
Q

Culture:

What was founded in 1923?

A

The German Radio Company

136
Q

Culture:

What emerged in Weimar Germany?

A

Emergence of a modern mass (popular) culture in Germany.

137
Q

Culture:

International influences of WR culture?

A
  • Consumer culture (consumerism)
  • Advertising (as a communication method for the masses.)
  • Western influences
  • Jazz music from USA.
138
Q

What is ‘mass culture’?

A

A mainstream culture which spread via different modes of mass media.

139
Q

Culture:

Where did cabaret clubs open?

A

Cities

140
Q

Culture:

What happened in Cabaret clubs?

A

They mocked the conventions of old Germany using satirical comedy, jazz, music and female dancers with varying degrees of nudity.

141
Q

Culture:

Example of a place with a vibrant nightlife in the 1920s

A

Berlin

142
Q

Culture:

What themes were covered in cabaret performances?

A

Social themes e.g sex, and political developments of the time. Censorship was lifted after WW1.

143
Q

What areas did cultural developments took place?

A
  • Art
  • Literature
  • Theatre
  • Architecture and design
144
Q

In what wats did Weimar Culture reach out to ordinary people

A
  • Mass culture
  • Film
  • Cabaret
  • Radio
145
Q

What was the response to cultural experimentation in WR?

A
  • Many traditional attitudes remained.
  • German Criminal Code 184 banned obscene publications.
146
Q

Where were cultural movements largely based?

A

In the cities - although not typical of all Weimar Germany.

147
Q

What did the majority of Germans think about the cultural developments of the Weimar period?

A

Most Germans were horrified by what they saw as a decline in established and moral and cultural standards, but some enjoyed and appreciated the cultural experimentation.

TRADITIONAL IDEAS STILL FLOURISHED.

148
Q

What writer wrote about traditional German ideas?

A

Hans Grimm

149
Q

What did the freedom of expression in Weimar Germany encourage people to do?

A

Allowed different ideas to flourish and allowed critics of both cultural developments and the government to express their views.

150
Q

Cultural experimentation in WR:

What did right-wing sympathisers criticise?

A

The increasing number of Jewish writers, intellectuals and artists.

151
Q

What happened to Weimar society in the years before 1929?

A

Conservative backlash against cultural developments meant society was becoming increasingly polarised.

152
Q

Did traditional attitudes remain in Weimar Germany re. the cultural developments?

A

Yes traditional attitudes remained.

153
Q

Example of Zeittheater

A

The Threepenny Opera

154
Q

What did modern cultural developments allow?

A

Freedom of expression and criticism of the social and political nature of the country.

155
Q

Were Weimar’s cultural developments sometimes denounced?

A

Yes

156
Q

Summary of Weimar culture

A

Culture was important in this time period because it reflected the increasingly urban and industrial nature of Germany. It was vibrant, Americanised, experimental and dynamic, especially in Berlin. Many artists used experimental techniques to criticise society, as well as romanticise the past. Art was expressive via Bauhaus modernism. However, an undercurrent of traditionalism remained.

157
Q

Did WR want to encourage the film industry?

A

Yes, film industry was encouraged by the Weimar government e.g UFA was a govt-organised film company.

158
Q

Example of how culture was suppressed in the WR

A

In the Weimar years, there were some attempts to restrict the cultural freedom through paragraph 184 of the Criminal code which allowed the banning of ‘obscene’ films, publication etc.

159
Q

Example of how there was nationalism in WR culture

A

Elements of nationalism running through mediums of culture e.g some writers in the WR glorified the sacrifices soldiers made in WWI.

160
Q

What were the elements of culture?

A
  • Modernism
  • Expressionism
  • New objectivity
161
Q

Example of government subsidised culture

A
  • Govt subsidised theatre, museums and film.
  • UFA - government owned film company made films like Metropolis.
162
Q

What was culture?

A

It was enjoyed by the masses.

163
Q

Example of popular culture

A
  • Cabaret
  • Radio

Not subsidised by very diverse.

164
Q

What films romanticised WWI?

A
  • Storm of Steel
  • Copse 125
165
Q

What code banned obscene publications?

A

German Criminal Code 184

166
Q

Example of why traditional attitudes were concerned about cultural developments

A
  • Centre party was worried about the decadence of Weimar culture and increasing number of Jewish artist and Americanisation of culture.
167
Q

Where were most cultural developments?

A

City based and not rural - few cinemas reached the countryside.

168
Q

How did the WR encourage the film industry to develop?

A

UFA was a government organised film company dominating the German film market.

Weimar Germany 1918-1933 (4 decks)

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