Weimar Germany 1919- 1933
Weimar Germany 1919- 1933
By Keila Munz and Alex Salvatore
Versailles TreatyDrafted by Britain (George), France (Clemenceau), Italy (Orlando), and the US (Wilson)
Germany lost land
creation of “mandates”
was forced to pay for war reparations, “war guilt”
tan- annexed by neighboring countries after WWIGreen- taken by the League of Nations
red- Weimar Republic 1919-1933
Weimar ConstitutionDrafted by the National Assembly of Germany
Turned Germany into a parliamentary [Reichstag] Democracy whose members were elected by the people
President Freidrich Ebert monitered the Reichstag
Berlin CultureDevelopment of German Expressionism
Developed architecture, literature, film, painting, music, philosophy, psychology and fashion
The humboldt university of Berlin was the center of intellectual activity in Germany, Europe and the World
Albert Einstein worked for the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics
art movement reflected in many different types of media
demonstrates a distorted reality as well as a depiction the artists mental state of being
three subdivisions of the movement were the “die Brucke”, the “blaue reiter”, and the Rhenish Expressionists
Die Brucke- influenced by Freudian theories, create art to challenge the accepted taste
Blaue Reiter- disdained every principle of the die brucke, portrayed the world as it existed
The Rhenish Expressionists- thoughts and ideas best portayed through form, people had become a collective group of individuals who fell to the mercy of their society and its politics
German expressionism
Bauhaus Architecture The Bauhaus school of architecture was founded in weimar in 1919
Founded by walter Gropius
one of the main goals was to renew architecture and develop creative minds for architecture and industry
means “the building of the future”
motto: “art and technology-a new unity”
LiteratureBertolt Brecht (1898-1956)- poet, playwright, and theatrical performer
developed epic theater form of drama
attended Ludwig maximilian University of Munich
studies Karl Marx’s, later adapted Communist beliefs
his books and plays were banned from germany in the 1930’s
went into exile and didn’t return to germany until after WWII
literature continuedThomas Mann
german essayist, cultural critic and novelist
won nobel prize for literature in 1929
Buddenbrooks-1901- most famous work
Der Kleine Herr Friedmann- 1898
influenced by Schopenhauer and Nietzsche
called German intellectuals to support the new weimar state
“all Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria remarque-1924
Like in Art, Berlin became the world leader in cinema. It made more films in the 1920s than all of Europe put together
Fritz Lang- “Master of Darkness” his most famous films are metropolis and M
Joseph von Sternberg- had influence on the film noir period and is known for his mastery of the mise-en-scene, lighting and the soft lens
collaborated with Marlene Dietrich
film
Dadaismanti-art movement
rejected the way art was appreciated and defined in contemporary art scenes
started in switzerland
George Grosz- savage caricature drawings of 1920s berlin- beginning of political cartoons- associated with the left wing
MusicLiszt School of music- first orchestral school in Germany founded in 1872
Kurt Weill- prominent Jewish composer- collaborated with Bertolt Brecht on the Beggar’s Opera and The Seven Deadly Sins ballet
Otto Klemperer- Jewish composer and conductor- fled Germany in 1933 and became music director of the LA Philharmonic
Wall Street Crash-1929help trigger the collapse of the world economy
world trade and industrial production dropped dramatically
under the Dawes plan, the US provided loans to germany, when the US economy crashed, so did the German economy
Weimar government increased taxes and lowered wages of government officials which only made things worse
The Depression
Unemployment shot up. By
1932 unemployment figures stood at a missive 6
million
German businesses
closed down as loans were
repaid and trade dramatically
slumped
Millions of Germans became homeless, and set up camps on the outskirts of towns. They
became reliant on charity food and soup kitchens
Inflationhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfSDPY5rYZE
the Rise of the Nazisonce the stock market crashed, people began to blame the weimar government
they began to look at the Nazi party who promised hope
earlier attempted to overthrow the government in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923
in 1933 the Nazis were the biggest Political party in Germany later that year, hitler was elected Chancellor of Germamy
By the end of 1933, hitler had seized power and proclaimed the third reich
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