Expressionism flourished in Weimar Germany - a brief history
It is often argued that it’s easier to say what Expressionism was not, rather than to say what it was. Diverse and eclectic, this movement stressed deconstruction rather than building, individuality rather than the communion of feelings and experiences, making it inherently difficult to define.
Some say that rather than being a way to create art, a distinguished style or method of creations,…
Germany’s first experiment in democracy satisfied few
Germany had been a Kaiserreich — an Empire — for over fifty years. In this time, many rights had been extended to a larger population. It could be said that democracy had advanced, although the government responded to the Kaiser rather than the Reichstag, the parliament.
In the dramatic times at the end of World War I, in the hope to create a change that would please the Allies, Kaiser…
A brief history of cabaret in Weimar Germany
Weimar culture is often identified with its cabaret experience, and rightly so. In the cabarets springing up in every big city (in Berlin more numerous than anywhere else), the extreme, modern, free postwar lifestyle found its fuller form of expression.
Cabarets were born in France in the late 1880s and from the beginning were associated with sexual innuendo and lewd shows. This form of…
Everything about 1920s Berlin was extreme: Read Part 2 in Sarah Zama’s history for Weimar Germany
The Weimar Republic was born from revolution in 1919 and died in totalitarianism in 1933. But in this short period (Die Goldene Zwanziger, or Golden Twenties) it really shone, and today Weimar culture is considered one of the most influential periods for creativity — not just for Germany, but for all of humanity.
In all different aspects of life, Weimar culture was contradictory. Everything…
The end of World War I was the beginning of a difficult time for Germany: A brief history of the 1918 Armistice
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. It should have been the end of the Great War. It was in fact the beginning of more troubled times.
Continue reading
steampunkd