Read me first

Visit each of the three stations, look atthe various articles/ exhibits and answer the questions for each one.

 

When you are done coma back here and in your notebook give your opinions on:

“If an alien landed in Germany in 1927 and only looked at its art, would they conclude the country was happy and stable, or deeply troubled?

Explain using one example from the gallery.”

 

Station A: Paintings and Visual Arts

The visual arts showed major change from the rnmantic, emotionally charged impressionism that dominated theearly twenties.

Art in Weimar Germany emphasised a NEW OBJECTIVITY  (Neue Sachlichkeit)  a cynical or satirical view of the world. The main idea behind this new onjectivity was to portray the reality of the world in a brutally honest way. Artists such as Otto Dix and George Grosz were to the forefront of this new movement.

Otto Dix 1891 – 1969


From the Catacombs of Palermo, 1924


Parents of the artist, 1924

Stormtroopers advancing under gas, 1924


Goodbye to Hamburg, 1921


Portrait of the dancer Anita Berber, 1925

George Grosz 1893 – 1959

Cain or Hitler in Hell, 1944


Metropolis, 1917

Landscape Cape Cod, House in the Dunes, 1940


Manhattan Skyline, 1934


The War, 1915

Discussion Prompts:

  1. Contrast: Look at the figures in the foreground versus the background. How does the artist contrast the “winners” (war profiteers, cabaret dancers) and the “losers” (disabled veterans, beggars) of the Golden Age?
  2. Tone: Is this image celebrating the economic recovery or mocking it? Identify one specific detail (e.g., jewelry, artificial limbs, facial expressions) that supports your view.
  3. Historical Link: How does this visual source support the historiographical argument that the Golden Years were a “facade” covering deep social divisions?

Other artists you could check out in this genre 

  • Christian Schad
  • Max Beckmann



 

Section B Architecture and Design

From 1925 the Bauhuas school wa sbased in Dassau. The focus of the group was to reject the ornate, heavy style of the Kaiser’s Germany. They prioritized “form follows function,” mass production, and equality. The core idea of the school were Rationality and Modernism. 

A significant name in the Bauhaus school was architect Walter Gropius who founded the school

The Bauhaus headquarters in Dassau

Gropius House in Massachusetts

THE US Embassy in Athens

The Harvard Graduate Centre, Massachussets

Discussion Prompts:

  1. Symbolism: Compare this building to a traditional German palace or city hall. What political statement is made by using glass walls, steel, and simple geometric shapes? (Think: Transparency vs. Secrecy).
  2. Society: Bauhaus design was meant to be affordable for the working class. To what extent does this reflect the socialist ideals of the Weimar Constitution?
  3. Reaction: Why might conservative, right-wing Germans (like the Nazis) have hated this style and labeled it “Un-German”?

Section C Film and Cinema

: German cinema was a world leader during this period. Metropolis is a dystopian vision of a future city sharply divided between thinkers/owners above ground and workers below. The emphasis of cimema in Germany during the twenties was German Expressioism and scie Fi , a fear of the future

The director of Metropolis, Fritz Lang was tha main person promoting German film mKING IN THE 1920’S

Trailer for Metropolis

 

The Full Movie

Trip to the Moon Full film (1902) is also worth a watch

Discussion Prompts:

  1. Class Struggle: How does the visual separation of the city (skyscrapers vs. underground machine rooms) mirror the economic reality of the Weimar Republic under the Dawes Plan?
  2. Psychology: This film was released during the height of the “Golden Years.” Why was the public fascinated by a movie about societal collapse and rebellion during a time of supposed stability?
  3. The “New Woman”: Analyze the depiction of the female robot (Maschinenmensch). How does it reflect anxieties about modern technology or the changing role of women in the 1920s?