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Modernity and its Discontents

Modernity and its Discontents. HI136, History of Germany Lecture 7. The “Crisis of Classical Modernity”? How Golden were the “Golden Twenties”?. Urbanisation Class Generational Conflict Gender. Social Change. Continued urbanisation after 1918.

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Modernity and its Discontents

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  1. Modernity and its Discontents HI136, History of Germany Lecture 7

  2. The “Crisis of Classical Modernity”? • How Golden were the “Golden Twenties”?

  3. Urbanisation • Class • Generational Conflict • Gender Social Change

  4. Continued urbanisation after 1918. • Berlin Became Germany’s premier cultural & social centre. • A hub for European travel. • 1924: Tempelhof Airport opened. • Berlin had a population of 4 million by 1925 & grew by 80-100,000 people a year. • By 1928 Berlin was the world’s 3rd largest city after London and New York. • 1926: Funkturm Radio Tower built. • 1928: KempinskiHausVaterland amusement park opened. The Urban Republic

  5. The PotsdamerPlatz at night (below right), the KempinskiHausVaterland (above), six day bicycle race (above right)

  6. No fundamental change to the social & economic structure after 1918 – no redistribution of wealth, no nationalization of industry. • But some social change: • The aristocracy (at least temporarily) dislodged from their dominant position. • Aristocratic ranks and titles banned after 1918 – many families incorporate their titles into their surnames. • Nevertheless, industrialists and landowners still powerful and the old elites represented in the Reichstag by the DVP and DNVP. • The Officer Corps of the Reichswehr more aristocratic than the old Imperial Army: • 25% of regular officers came from old military families in 1913, • this number had risen to 67% by 1929. The Upper Classes

  7. Small businesses struggled to survive in the difficult economic climate of the 1920s and early 30s. • Many middle class families continued to fear a loss of status and the threat of revolution and the extreme left. • The Middle classes divided into ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ but also ‘old’ and ‘new’. • Between 1907 and 1925 the number of white collar workers grew by 4 million. The Middle Classes Family of the Lawyer Dr Fritz vonGlaser (1920) by Otto Dix.

  8. Slow improvement in living standards after 1924. • Shorter working day, legal Union representation and higher wages. • SPD government in Prussia invested in public works – affordable housing, increased benefits, education etc. • Extension of adult education aimed at workers. • But curriculum designed to raise class consciousness, not improve employment prospects or provide re-training. The Working Classes

  9. Political Culture • A highly politicised, but deeply divided society. • A republic without republicans?

  10. Structural weaknesses in the Weimar economy. • Reliance on foreign investment left Germany dangerously exposed to fluctuations in the world economy. • Trend towards ‘rationalisation’ and business mergers. • Wages rose, but so did prices. • Growing unemployment. • Shrinking exports. The Economy

  11. New sensitivity to lack of proper supervision of youth and too much freedom for jugendliche • 1922 Reich Youth Welfare Law: “Every German child has the right to an upbringing that will ensure physical, intellectual and social fitness.” • Boy subcultures • Youth unemployment Youth

  12. Gender The American film star Louise Brooks (left) came to epitomise the look of the ‘New Woman’, while Marlene Deitrich (right) exuded sexuality and sophistication.

  13. Nobel Prizes in physics: • 1918: Max Planck • 1921: Albert Einstein • 1925: Gustav Hertz • 1932: Werner Heisenberg • Classical Music: Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg • Philosophy: Martin Heidegger, Sein und Zeit(1927) • Research centres: • Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute (1920) • Institute for Social Research (‘Frankfurt School’, 1923) • Warburg Institute (1926) Weimar Culture

  14. Expressionism Above left: The Einstein Tower, Potsdam (1919-20) Below right: WassilyKandinski, On White II (1923) Below left: still from Das Cabinett des Dr.Caligari (1919)

  15. New Objectivity Großstadt (Metropolis) Triptych (1927-28) by Otto Dix

  16. New Objectivity Left: The Pillars of the Establishment (1926) by George Grosz Right: Three Whores (1926) by Otto Dix

  17. Bauhaus

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