Weimar culture

Question 1

how did the Weimar Constitution have a strong impact on Weimar culture?

Answer 1

the Bill of Rights outlined freedom of speech and banned any form of censorship

Question 2

what was the culture in Imperial Germany?

Answer 2

conservative
authoritarian
conformist

Question 3

with the Weimar Republic being liberal, what cultural values were upheld?

Answer 3

toleration
reduced censorship

Question 4

what was Neue Sachlichkeit?

Answer 4

new objectivity

Question 5

how did art show Neue Sachlichkeit?

Answer 5

art would often portray the state of society
art held an aggressive style with strong political and social messages

Question 6

famous artists

Answer 6

Otto Dix
George Grosz

Question 7

what did the work of Grosz often satirise?

Answer 7

the right-wing elite in Germany
specifically the Junker class

cartoons and caricatures which held strong political messages

Question 8

which architecture developed in Weimar Germany?

Answer 8

Bauhaus

Question 9

what architecture did Bauhaus influence?

Answer 9

furniture
urban design
pottery

Question 10

what was Bauhaus architecture?

Answer 10

a modern style of architecture

was very simplistic

Question 11

who founded Bauhaus architecture?

Answer 11

Walter Gropius

Question 12

what materials did Bauhaus architecture use?

Answer 12

steel
cement
plastic

Question 13

how far did literature conform to Neue Sachlichkeit?

Answer 13

not as much as art
the most popular art remained the traditional nostalgic writing

Question 14

which Weimar author won the Nobel Prize for literature?

Answer 14

Thomas Mann

Question 15

what was expressionism?

Answer 15

form of art which focussed on expressing feelings through symbolism, exaggeration or distorition

Question 16

famous Weimar book

Answer 16

All Quiet on the Western Front

Question 17

what was All Quiet on the Western Front about?

Answer 17

first book to depict the horrors of WW1

also showed the detachment from civilian life which many soldiers experienced after the war

Question 18

why was All Quiet on the Western Front a controversial book?

Answer 18

it was extremely pacifist so was heavily criticised by the right-wing

Question 19

how many copies of All Quiet on the Western Front were sold in the first 18 months of release?

Answer 19

2.5 million

Question 20

what was Zeittheater?

Answer 20

theatre of the time

Question 21

what did Zeittheater often display?

Answer 21

explicit left-wing sympathies

Question 22

what methods would Zeittheater use which were new to German theatre?

Answer 22

use of banners, slogans and film

Question 23

what did Weimar Germany take from culture in the USA?

Answer 23

jazz
consumerism

Question 24

what emerged in the 1920s in terms of culture around the world?

Answer 24

mass media:
- film
- radio

Question 25

notable German film in the 1920s

Answer 25

Metropolis (sci-fi film) in 1926

Question 26

what did Metropolis present the future world to be?

Answer 26

it raised concerns over the direction of a modernised industrial society which was developing in Germany

Question 27

what organisation controlled the German film market?

Answer 27

UFA

Question 28

who owned the UFA?

Answer 28

Alfred Hugenberg

Question 29

what showed that Weimar culture was not just German?

Answer 29

the popularity of American films such as the comedies of Charlie Chaplin

Question 30

when was the German Radio Company formed?

Answer 30

1923

Question 31

what did the German Radio Company do?

Answer 31

it ran a network of 9 radio stations across Germany

Question 32

by 1932, how many Germans had a radio?

Answer 32

1 in 4

Question 33

which city had embraced both traditional and expressionist culture in Germany?

Answer 33

Berlin

Question 34

what was cabaret?

Answer 34

theatre which mocked traditional German values

Question 35

what did cabaret include?

Answer 35

jazz music
women dancers
nudity

Question 36

how did sexuality play a part in experimentalism?

Answer 36

many turned to homosexuality and transvestism to express themselves

Question 37

what was the split in opinion on Weimar culture?

Answer 37

many enjoyed the new ideas and expressionism

traditionalists (a large majority) were horrified by what culture had become

Question 38

what had Weimar culture played a major part in causing?

Answer 38

the polarisation of the German people

Question 39

how had culure polarised the German people?

Answer 39

traditionalists who were heavily critical of the new expressionism in Germany were opposed to Weimar liberalism and those who indulged in it