1. Art and culture in the Weimar Repubic
Aim – to use GROUPWORK to learn how art and culture was transformed Germany.

2. Art and Culture under the Kaiser

6. Art and Culture in Weimar Germany

7. Cinema – the Blue Angel
Architecture - Bauhaus
Cabaret and
nightlife – the
Kit-Kat Club
Painting - Otto Dix
German Theatre
Painting – Hannah Hoech
Painting - Paul Klee
Painting - George Grosz

8. Task 1 – Source Carousel Building Sculpture Painting House-ware Poster
Your group will start with 3 sources. You will have 5 minutes to talk about them and fill in your grid-chart task-sheet. You will then pass the 3 sources on and receive 3 new ones, until you have completed all 15 sources. Use the word list below to help you with columns 2 and 3.
What is it?
CHOOSE from:
Building
Sculpture
Painting
House-ware
Poster
Film Still
What word best describes it?
Inspiring
Provocative
Shocking
Modernistic
Futuristic
Creative
Simplistic
Experimental
Vibrant
Daring

9. What word best describes it? Do you like it?
Source
What is it?
What word best describes it?
Do you like it?
(10/10 – love it
- 1 /10- hate it)
What does it tell us about Weimar Germany? (Think) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O

10. What word best describes it?
What is it?
CHOOSE from:
Building
Sculpture
Painting
House-ware
Poster
Film Still
What word best describes it?
Inspiring
Provocative
Shocking
Modernistic
Futuristic
Creative
Simplistic
Experimental
Vibrant
Daring

11. Source A

12. Source B

13. Source C

14. Source D

15. Source E

16. Source F

17. Source G

18. Source H

19. Source I

20. Source J

21. Source K

22. Source L

23. Source M

24. Source N

25. Source O

26. Key Words
Decadent – where self-indulgence leads to a decline
in standards.
Immoral – where accepted moral standards are
broken

27. Discuss
How has art and culture changed
in Weimar Germany?
2 Why? THINK
3 Is this a good or bad thing for
Germany?
4 Who in Germany would have thought
it was terrible? Why?

28. When the Kaiser abdicated his strict CENSORSHIP of art and
COPY the SUMMARY below:
When the Kaiser abdicated his strict CENSORSHIP of art and
culture was removed as well. The greater FREEDOM that the
Weimar Republic offered to artists and writers produced a
cultural revival.
German artists, architects, writers and musicians became
world famous.
Throughout the 1920’s Berlin challenged Paris as the cultural
capital of Europe.
This did not help the reputation of the Weimar Republic,
however; in the eyes of its right wing critics, its artists were
undermining traditional German values, creating a new
decadent and immoral Germany.

29. Cinema Architecture Nightlife Task 2 – Group-work – Research Carousel
Your group will start with one of 5 areas to research. Use the textbook and the
questions to make notes on your theme. You will have 5 minutes. You will then
pass on your theme questions to the next group. By the end of the process your
group will have made notes on all 5 themes.
Painting
Theatre
Cinema
Architecture
Nightlife

30. Theatre

31. Architecture

32. Painting

33. Cinema

34. Nightlife

35. Painting p 28
What was “New Objectivity”?
Who were its leading painters?
Answer questions 1, 2 and 3 from p 28/29
Cinema p 29
Who were Fritz Lang and Marlene Dietrich?
Answer question 4 from p 29
Architecture p 30
What was the Bauhaus?
What was their slogan?
What was their style?
Theatre p 30
What type of works were traditional performances of German theatre and opera?
What did the new styles of Zeittheater and Zeitoper literally mean?
. Describe either the plot of either Piscator’s “The Salesman of Berlin” or
“The Good Soldier Schweik.”
Cabaret and nightlife p 30
Why was Berlins nightclub scene so vibrant?
Why was Berlin considered sexually liberated?

36. Individual Task
Weimar Germany was an exciting and creative place.
The society of Weimar Germany was decadent and immoral.
Copy each of the statements above. Then explain whether you agree or disagree with each of these statements.
Support your answers with reference to Sources 1-8 and your own knowledge.
Weimar Germany was an exciting and creative place.
I disagree/agree with this because in source ___ you can see……which I
think……
I know that ……… (refer to your notes)

37. Source 3 – Cabaret and nightlife
German transvestites in The “Eldorado”
Club in Berlin during the 1920’s
Source 1
Traditional
German painting
Source 2 Painting
by George Grosz
Source 4
Cinema – the Blue Angel
Source 5
Architecture -
Bauhaus
Side Chair
Source 6
Architecture –
Bauhaus
Building
Source 7
Cinema
Dr Calgari
Source 8
Theatre
Play

38. The Legacy of Weimar Cinema
The Kammerspiel style still influences modern directors today. Kammerspiel is
a close and surreal drama that avoids huge sets and thousands of extras.
Tim Burton is highly influenced by this Kammerspiel style and his film Edward
Scissorhands is very reminiscent of Dr Caligari (a famous Weimar Kammerspiel
film)
Edward
Scissorhands
Tim Burton
Dr Caligari