Weimar Germany

East Germany, its demise relayed through the mass media of recent history, has in popular consciousness been posited as negative, a corrupt bulwark of the last dying days of Communism in Eastern Europe, barren and silent. The other Germany to its West, its citizens free, was striding confidently ahead into the millennium. Recent cinema has sought to examine re-unification, the Wolfgang Becker film Goodbye Lenin! (2003) a recent example of such an investigation into the past through cinema. In this essay I will look at the film and the narrative techniques it uses, probing whether it portrays the East German nation as positive or

The Weimar Republic would have continued to be a functional government far longer than achieved if not for the defeat of WWI, the economic burdens imposed by the Versailles Treaty, and the flawed Article 48 which all contributed to the down fall of Germany’s first attempt at a legitimate Democracy. This paper will argue that the societal, economical, and constitutional aspects all played a role in the hopeless Democracy Germany attempted which ultimately lead Germany into a totalitarian state that would further shake the world with the rise of the NSDAP and Adolf Hitler.

After World War II Germany was left devastated and in ruins. There had been massive destruction of the country’s infrastructure (Bessel 2011), it lacked political structure and economic activity had plummeted. There was a scarcity of food, fuel and housing and Germany was in no condition to clothe or feed its population (O’Dochartaigh 2003).

In Wolfgang Staudte’s (1951) film, Der Untertan, the main character named Diederich Hessling develops from being a meek and cowardly boy to become a manipulative and self-involved man. The film uses many instances of imagery and subtle moments of foreshadowing to convey the ideals of the people of that time which lead up to the World Wars. Diederich is a typical Prussian citizen who blindly follows, supports the true “German values”, and bows to his superiors while stepping on his subordinates. The film illustrates Diederich’s character development, his shift in personality, and political confrontations through carefully crafted camera techniques that also highlight the time period that the film was set in as well as produced in.

The Treaty of Versailles formed after World War I forced Germany to pay great amounts in reparation payments, which was severely damaging to their economy and to their collective national ego. In addition, they were forced to greatly weaken their army by demobilizing, abolishing universal compulsory military service, and by having their army be comprised by no more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of cavalry. Furthermore, the country was also forced to return lands which they had viewed as 'Germanic' and had laid claim to, as well as overseas colonies, back to various other countries.

Leni Riefenstahl was one of the most revolutionary and certainly most controversial filmmakers of the early twentieth century. The lasting influence of her innovative filmmaking techniques on twentieth century cinema is undisputed by scholars throughout history, but the exact nature of her work is surrounded by ongoing controversy. Riefenstahl’s production of the feature films “Triumph of the Will” (Source 3) and “Olympia” (Source 1) have left a lasting imprint on history; these films established Riefenstahl’s influential career as a film director under the years of the Nazi regime. Although these films are attributed by scholars and critics to be Riefenstahl’s greatest achievements they are also considered to be her greatest fault, for

1) Germany before the Fuhrer. Germany’s defeat at the end of World War I left the nation socially, politically, and economically shattered. The reparation agreements inflicted upon Germany without its’ consent at the end of the war meant that the nation was in complete financial ruin. In the wake of Germany’s defeat, public decent climaxed on the 9th November 1918 during the revolution that took place on Berlin’s Postdamer Platz. This revolution transpired as a result of the public’s culminating discontent towards the imperial monarchy, and lasted up until August 1919, which saw the establishment of the Weimar Republic. In attempts to guide Germany out of economic

Germany emerged from World War I with huge debts incurred to finance a costly war for almost five years. The treasury was empty, the currency was losing value, and Germany needed to pay its war debts and the huge reparations bill imposed on it by the Treaty of Versailles, which officially ended the war. The treaty also deprived Germany of territory, natural resources, and even ships, trains, and factory equipment. Germany’s population was undernourished and contained many widows, orphans, and disabled veterans living in poverty. The new German government struggled to deal with these crises, which had produced a serious hyperinflation.

The situations that arose in Germany were completely forced upon the country when Germany was forced to accept guilt for causing WWI. Being forcibly guilty put loads of pressure on the country. In Germany, the versailles treaty was considered an ‘Atrocious injustice’.(Doc H) When Germany was forced to take blame for WWI the inhabitants had to change practically their whole lifestyle to fit the new responsibilities placed onto their country. The Militaristic lifestyle the country once had was forcibly removed and controlled. Germany was

Females of every age group, whether it was minimal or considerable, were treated differently during the Third Reich compared to during the Weimar Government. Throughout the Weimar Government, there had been movements to increase the rights of women. Under the constitution, women had complete equality with men. This incredible step was entirely erased once Hitler came to power. In Hitler’s mind, the natural role for women was domestic, they were best equipped to look after the home, care for the husbands and raise children so that’s what they should do. Life under the Nazi’s control had many changes, most impacting for the worse for women however, despite this, the support for Hitler from women increased and remained strong.

Resulting from the propaganda debate is the view that Riefenstahl’s films and their ability to influence political beliefs have transcended their original context to modern society, thus demonstrating the power of propaganda. Nevertheless, when considering Riefenstahl’s films, one cannot neglect the fact that her work was not considered propaganda when they were first produced. Riefenstahl’s most notable films, Triumph of the Will and Olympia, both won awards after their releases and were acclaimed as masterpieces. In light of this, the widespread Fascist movement within Riefenstahl’s own context justifies the propagandistic nature of her work as they were a reflection of her society, and the belief that Riefenstahl should be celebrated rather than condemned for the contribution she made to German culture and society

The Weimar republic is regarded as a time in Germany where there was ambivalence towards liberalization (Pine, 200). Some historians regard the Weimar republic as the “Age of Liberated Women” because of the freedom and rights given to women during its time of rule (Frevert, 176). Although the Republic itself was moving towards modernization, a conservative population still existed in Germany and the impact of modernizing forces created a backlash from the conservative population (Pine, 200). Although women gained many rights during the Weimar Republic, many citizens, mostly male, wanted to preserve male authority in society, these people

During the Weimar Republic, many considerable changes transpired. One of the more note-worthy changes being the destabilizing of gender roles that were previously deeply engrained in Germany prior to this period. The film The Blue Angel features iconic personality Lola Lola, cabaret performer and marked seductress. She exemplifies the transition that occurred, in regard to what it means to be a woman. Ultimately, the film The Blue Angel remains a significant marker in German film history as it challenges gender roles with the portrayal of the character Lola Lola as “The New Woman” through her choice of dress and overt display of sexuality, gumption as a wage earner, and her uninhibited ability to express herself.

The literal dislocation between East and West Germany was a major factor in the suffering of German cinema

As we look deeper into the historical contexts that came about in Germany during the 1920’s, Germany was confined due to the isolation the country was experiencing during World War I. During this solitude, the German government banned foreign films. German Expressionism was formed in result of the conclusion of World War I which compelled Germany to establish its own style of cinema. German Expressionist films produced in the Weimar Republic